when to visit colleges

[Anonymous]

DC is a rising hs junior. He plays sports year round with his most intense one in spring (he can’t travel over spring break). We are heading to CA and NC this summer on vacation/family visits and I am wondering if we should try to schedule some college visits although it seems so early. My main concern is that ee burn him out on college info before he has even started the process, but it does seem that summer is his best time for visits so this summer and that before 12th grade would be the times to do it.

Thoughts on visiting colleges this early?

[Anonymous]

Do it in a casual way so they can get a sense of different types of campus settings and sizes. DO NOT focus on highly rated schools. IOW, when in NC, don't just go to Duke. When in CA, don't just go to UCLA and Pomona. Look at off the beaten path schools as well, so they can see that all sorts of campuses are pretty etc. and not to just focus on T20 schools.

[Anonymous]

Not too early, especially for doing some visits to check on basics like big university versus small liberal arts college, etc. And if he wants to play in college, this is the time to get on the radar of coaches. If he's very good, but not soccer scholarship material, he may want to look at SLACs. No scholarships, but provide a chance to continue to play in college, and often a boost in admissions. He should write to coaches.

Visiting colleges with no students might not give an accurate picture of rhe school's vibe. You may want to visit colleges that are running real summer semesters. A few colleges added a semester this year as a way to de-densify their campus during covid.

Keep it relaxed and fun. Btw, most schools won't interview this earlier, but you can still go to info sessions and tours.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I hear you and agree. But …

- isn’t the best way to get a real sense via an actual scheduled tour? which basically removes the “casual” nature

- this may be our only times in CA and NC before son applied to college, so shouldn’t we actually visit ones of interest even if they will be “reaches” (eg, ucla and pomona instead of pepperdine and ucsb)

[Anonymous]

The first step is to build college awareness. Help him define for himself the top 5 or 10 elements that are important to him in a college.

Is there even reason to believe UCLA would be his dream school? Or are you projecting your own hopes for him?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I hear you and agree. But …

- isn’t the best way to get a real sense via an actual scheduled tour? which basically removes the “casual” nature

- this may be our only times in CA and NC before son applied to college, so shouldn’t we actually visit ones of interest even if they will be “reaches” (eg, ucla and pomona instead of pepperdine and ucsb)

It's a bit on the early side for info sessions and tours. You can do them if you like, but just be aware that he might not absorb the info quite the same way. Often a walk around campus, just to get sense of the physical place, would be the thing to do at this stage. Low-key, just swing by because you happen to be close. And with the caveat that you really can't get the vibe of what it's like with students if they're not around. If possible, some official visits this fall would be better, and also next summer as you already may be planning to do.

[Anonymous]

Op - I am absorbing and taking this all to heart. Is interesting, though, because I have also been told there isn’t much point to just self-touring an empty campus in summer because kids just can’t get any sense (vs a tour when campus is empty at least is more engaging, and a self tour when campus is hopping gives you a good vibe).

[Anonymous]

I would visit while you are there. But it will make a big difference if you can get a real tour. We visited two schools on a recent vacation to Los Angeles - one had a student tour guide, the other was a self guided tour. We learned so much more about the school with the tour guide (even with the campus empty of students). The other school was probably a better match for DC but it was hard to have any sense of day to day life for the students in classes or socially.

Some schools won't have student tours in summer. But I think maybe more schools will have them this summer (than pre-COVID) because of the COVID backlog. This is especially true in CA where there were very strict restrictions until mid-June. I think if we had been there a week later, we could have had student led tours at the second school, but both had just opened access to anyone being on campus the week before we arrived.

If your student is thinking of going as far away as CA, I'd either (1) just visit the schools they most likely would want to apply to if they are casting a wide net nationwide or (2) add CA safeties to the visit list one of their primary goals is to go to school in CA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would visit while you are there. But it will make a big difference if you can get a real tour. We visited two schools on a recent vacation to Los Angeles - one had a student tour guide, the other was a self guided tour. We learned so much more about the school with the tour guide (even with the campus empty of students). The other school was probably a better match for DC but it was hard to have any sense of day to day life for the students in classes or socially.

Some schools won't have student tours in summer. But I think maybe more schools will have them this summer (than pre-COVID) because of the COVID backlog. This is especially true in CA where there were very strict restrictions until mid-June. I think if we had been there a week later, we could have had student led tours at the second school, but both had just opened access to anyone being on campus the week before we arrived.

If your student is thinking of going as far away as CA, I'd either (1) just visit the schools they most likely would want to apply to if they are casting a wide net nationwide or (2) add CA safeties to the visit list one of their primary goals is to go to school in CA.

Forgot to also add these:

Some schools were only allowing tours for rising seniors and stuck to that even after we contacted them to say we were coming from the east coast

Your NC options could be more broad than my (1) vs (2) recommendations above, because it's closer and probably easier for your to go back.

[Anonymous]

I would do an official visit--he'll get more info, you're not likely to get out to those places again and it is a way to register interest if the schools turn out to be good fits. Just don't put too much pressure on it--it's just getting ideas and getting a sense of the variety of campuses. We did this and found the "slow path" worked with DS's thinking--he needed to let the idea of college simmer for awhile before he's ready to think about the decision.

Also just look to 3-day weekends/holidays in the upcoming year--those are when you can schedule visits for schools in the area.

[Anonymous]

My parents were driving me to college visits when I was 13/14

the blight of the only child

[Anonymous]

oh we incorporated college visits as early as sophomore year. we went to CA the summer before my kids junior year and stopped as just about every college we could on our trip. Just drove around or walked around depending on the interest level.

Sophomore year, just for giggles, we went to a basketball game at Davidson College in NC and made a point to see all the other schools in the area such as Duke, UNC, Elon etc.

When my kids were juniors, we did formal information sessions and tours but only at two schools that my kids had narrowed down to their top choices. They would have done more but Covid came about...

[Anonymous]

Yes, do some visits this summer. It might give him inspiration to work hard in school next year.

[Anonymous]

We have done 4 tours with my rising junior - he likes it - gives him a sense of what he likes and doesn't like and gives him motivation to work hard at a few of the schools that might be a bit of a reach.

Pro tip- do not look at schools your kid has no chance of being accepted to. No reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - I am absorbing and taking this all to heart. Is interesting, though, because I have also been told there isn’t much point to just self-touring an empty campus in summer because kids just can’t get any sense (vs a tour when campus is empty at least is more engaging, and a self tour when campus is hopping gives you a good vibe).

Your instincts are good, OP.
As one who recently did this, here's my advice, FWIW.

1. Most schools will excuse an absence if it's for a college tour. In addition, teacher work days can also be helpful.
2. Since your kid's schedule is more intense in the spring, aim for fall visits this year (junior year).
3. You aren't necessarily trying to achieve every single possible school you kid will apply to, but it can be really helpful to get a variety of schools. Go to a big university. Go to a small liberal arts size place. Go to a school in a city. Go to a school in a small/rural area.
4. There are pros to both the weekday tour and the weekend "focus" weekends. Weekday tour definitely gives you more of a feel of actual life on the campus. Weekend focus days are a more orchestrated event, where you will see far more high schoolers and their parents vs. actual students. On the other hand it can provide access to certain things you won't get on a weekday tour. All of this will be laid out on the websites.
5. I really think there's very little benefit to going to campuses during the summer or during a fall/spring break.
6. We did a scattering of Monday, Friday, or sometimes weekend trips. Only one time did we go to two schools on same trip. Doing a week-long slog of jamming multiple tours just makes the whole thing a blur. Not really enough time to consider each school.
7. Make it fun! We saw some families that looked so stressed an miserable on the tours. Make it fun and low-stakes.
8. Do some financial research now. It's cruel to visit a place that your kid might fall in love with if there is no way you can pay for it.