Have you (parent) visited every school your child is considering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Last summer, we took a five-day driving vacation, carefully planned, and drove as far north as Providence, RI vositing schools. Though the student body was minimal with mostly summer school students, we were able to at least walk the grounds and some schools had tours. One day because of proximity, we visited three campuses, two hours on each.

The hotels we stayed at were outside of major cities, not Bates Motels, and were used with discounts, AAA, and any discounts . Again, a very well planned trip and on the move. We are far from affluent, and DC at least got to see colleges and picked three to return to during spring break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think DC would consider applying to a school without visiting and he's not visiting any schools without one of us along. He has a short list of schools in NYC and Boston plus our state flagship. We're trying to coax him to consider some other schools so we're adding a west coast trip that will be mostly fun with only a little time devoted to school visits. I am certain DC would balk at the idea of touring 7 schools in 5 days or some other crazy schedule like that.

Shit really? My kids cranked out three college visits a day. It was only two when three were geographically prohibitive. Our college tours were college tours, not vacations. They were fact finding missions. I made them write down impressions and crap like that after each one so they didn't mix up schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think DC would consider applying to a school without visiting and he's not visiting any schools without one of us along. He has a short list of schools in NYC and Boston plus our state flagship. We're trying to coax him to consider some other schools so we're adding a west coast trip that will be mostly fun with only a little time devoted to school visits. I am certain DC would balk at the idea of touring 7 schools in 5 days or some other crazy schedule like that.

Shit really? My kids cranked out three college visits a day. It was only two when three were geographically prohibitive. Our college tours were college tours, not vacations. They were fact finding missions. I made them write down impressions and crap like that after each one so they didn't mix up schools.

+1

[Anonymous]

Different people do it different ways. We narrowed schools down to serious contenders before visiting. And when we visited, we spent some time in each place -- usually stayed overnight near each campus and did something fun that was cheap enough for a student to afford (movie, student production, walk in the woods or along the water, visit to a used bookstore, late-night breakfast place). Did the tours and info sessions too, but learned more from informal exploration (and prior website research re majors, course offerings and sizes, faculty, schedule, demographics, internships and study abroad, arts, sport, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Your kid is going to the school, not you, and I think what a parent would experience or notice in a brief visit is pretty useless. Most of the "due diligence" necessary can be done on line. If the school is an academic good fit from stats, departmental strengths and your kids talents/interests, in a location that you can cope with in terms of the travel (i.e. paying for flights etc) then can;t see why it matters that you visited the school. More important that your kid visit if possible, particularly without you, staying with an enrolled student that perhaps went to the same HS. That type of visit is far more important to see if the school seems like a "fit" than anything a parent would figure out on a 1 hour tour and session with an admissions officer that actually has nothing to do with the school once the kid is admitted.

Both schools my two DDs are at (and thriving at) were ones they visited on their own (although were in places we had been so we were to be fair somewhat familiar with the campuses etc, I had applied to one of them as a student myself)

[Anonymous]

I disagree. I worry about things like safety in an inner city school, for example, and I want to see that myself, not have my child's impressions of it. Parents tend to notice things like who is on campus, whether doors are locked in dorms and to ask different questions. My kid would not ask things like "Is my financial aid transferable if I go abroad my junior year?" etc. I notice things like how noisy the dorms are, whether you can actually study there. Kids are notorious for noticing if there's pizza nearby, whether there's an ice cream machine in the dining hall -- while a parent might notice how large the introductory classes are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different people do it different ways. We narrowed schools down to serious contenders before visiting. And when we visited, we spent some time in each place -- usually stayed overnight near each campus and did something fun that was cheap enough for a student to afford (movie, student production, walk in the woods or along the water, visit to a used bookstore, late-night breakfast place). Did the tours and info sessions too, but learned more from informal exploration (and prior website research re majors, course offerings and sizes, faculty, schedule, demographics, internships and study abroad, arts, sport, etc.)

This is what we've been doing with my daughter. She has been "fact finding" by looking at websites for schools she might want to consider and learning about what majors are offered etc and is narrowing them down. We try to spend about 24 hours around a school if it makes the short list - maybe arriving in the late afternoon and staying at a place close to campus and then walking from campus to the town or city nearby (she wants a school walkable to a town). It has been a lot of fun so far and she's not stressed about it. For her, meeting professors and attending classes is really helpful too so I'm trying to see if she can schedule more interactions like that as opposed to the forced walk through campus taking notes. I know everyone does things differently but this is what is working for us so far. And I'm happy to go along because she's graduating next year and I will miss having her around!

[Anonymous]

After first 2 or 3, they all look and sound the same.

[Anonymous]

DH and each of the kids did the trips. IT was a great bonding experience. DS mostly stayed close by although he and DH traveled to Duke and Notre Dame. DD and DH took a trip from DC to Ohio and down to the Carolinas. When DD had narrowed it down to 2, I went out with them to visit during a prospective student weekend.

No, wouldn't let my kid go to a school they had not visited. DD was in love with a school until she went there. DS had a similar experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think DC would consider applying to a school without visiting and he's not visiting any schools without one of us along. He has a short list of schools in NYC and Boston plus our state flagship. We're trying to coax him to consider some other schools so we're adding a west coast trip that will be mostly fun with only a little time devoted to school visits. I am certain DC would balk at the idea of touring 7 schools in 5 days or some other crazy schedule like that.

Shit really? My kids cranked out three college visits a day. It was only two when three were geographically prohibitive. Our college tours were college tours, not vacations. They were fact finding missions. I made them write down impressions and crap like that after each one so they didn't mix up schools.

There are different reasons for different students and families to do these visits. DC knows Cambridge and Providence and New York pretty well because that's where our friends are and we've visited them a lot. He's done plenty of research on requirements and course offerings and faculty members. But, he has to apply to more schools than Harvard, Brown, and Columbia. And what matters to me is that he is enthusiastic about his second choices and safety in case he has to go there. So I really don't care what facts he collects on these visits, as long as he's excited about whatever schools he adds to the list. Rushing through three visits a day and forcing him to write a report afterwards wouldn't get him excited about any of the second choices.

[Anonymous]

^^^The PP didn't say she made her son write a report. Stop embellishing.

[Anonymous]

There is no right or wrong answer on any of this. Many people do excessive trips starting even before the Junior year, and many visit schools well before they know whether they are in reach. In any event, it is helpful to visit if you can, and generally highly desirable to visit before accepting. But many kids attend colleges they did not visit, many also attend colleges they visited only after they are accepted. Some of the smaller schools do gauge interest because it can affect their yield, and it is worth trying to figure out if any of the schools your child is interested in fall within that category and some also do interviews (but I think only beginning in the Spring of your Junior year) and those too might be worth hitting, but they are typically not mandatory. The only real advice is that if it is possible, visit when in session, even on a Saturday, as opposed to the summer. A summer visit can likely be done just as easily from their website unless you are primarily checking out the area rather than the school.

[Anonymous]

I think the overnight shadow visits and give a student great insights, but I guess I'm just not sure what can be learned from a 1 hour walking tour/admissions presentation that can't be found online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

Nonsense. Penn offers shadow days and a short driving distance. Use your spring break and some imagination. Many schools, while in session, offer Saturday tours and classroom visits AND there are classes in session.

Understandable if you're traveling to the west coast which can be costly but if traveling along the east coast, mid-Atlantic, and south east, Southwest and Jet Blue have bargain tickets. Try taking advantage of the days off from school. Of course, you don't have to visit every school but certainly you can give up one or two vacations days from work for something so important. Geez!

If you live a short distance from the target school, and you have the ability to take time off of work on a weekday, and possibly repeat the process for multiple schools, sure.

Quite a few people don't have time off, unless they call in sick. This is more of an issue with working class jobs, though, which is a probably not common on DCUM. Travel is obviously expensive when you factor in hotels, etc.

There's a reason why less affluent people tend to stick with their local state schools.

[Anonymous]

^^^Everyone should do what works for their family. If you can visit whether it's just to put a real time face to the brochure, do so. If the expense is too much and local sessions or scouring the Internet provides sufficient information, that's good also.

Ridiculous argument that your way (or anybody else) is the best and exclusive way. Just do what works for you and others will do the same.