It might help with getting a sense of what you like and dislike about colleges generally.

I went on a tour of Yale with a friend of mine who was then accepted by Harvard, so she didn't bother applying to Yale. But she did have the comparison.

Curious others thoughts on this.

IMO unless kid is debating whether ED or apply at all, total waste of time and money. Why show your kid schools there is a very low chance they will have the option of attending?

Absolutely worth visiting if the visit doesn't pose a financial hardship. We visited last year to decide which school would be the best fit for submitting DD early applications. She was able to rule out certain schools, Princeton in particular.

I also think there is value to a kid seeing that some of these places are not “all that.”

Mine for example, did not like Harvard or Princeton.

Which was…eh…fortunate.

😂

We didn't. DS applied to two at the last minute, in a "what the heck" moment, and he got admitted to one, which he visited on Admitted Students' Day. He wasn't enthused, and went to a safety instead, which offered him merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s worth it if you’re planning to choose an ED school. Otherwise not so much.

This 1000%. You should always visit a school before ED'ing. Otherwise, wait until March/April once you have acceptances and visit then.

Anonymous wrote:Visited Harvard. Disappointed and not impressed. It was immediately dropped from consideration. It's not a waste. Helps to narrow the list and realize things you may never have learned without an in-person visit.

Ha ha ha. I’m sure Harvard was devastated.

Anonymous wrote:Have you visited a likely and some matches?
If you have this could be a worthwhile trip.
We hit 3 schools during a long weekend in Oct and visited 2 targets and a reach. Ruled out both tgts which was really valuable information.

+1 I wouldn't make a huge effort to visit high reaches and prioritize safety/match schools but if a high reach is convenient to others why not. Understanding what features of that school are appealing might help you better ID the best safety/match schools.

We went to a few ivies because the DDs school admissions officer thought she should and DD decided that she didn’t like the vibe, or the size, and didn’t apply to any Ivies. Asian kid, 1 year pre Supreme Court decision, so the deck was stacked again and she really didn’t stand a chance. Better for her that she didn’t set her heart on it. So visiting some Ivies WAS helpful, in a backwards way.

Visited Harvard. Disappointed and not impressed. It was immediately dropped from consideration. It's not a waste. Helps to narrow the list and realize things you may never have learned without an in-person visit.

Have you visited a likely and some matches?
If you have this could be a worthwhile trip.
We hit 3 schools during a long weekend in Oct and visited 2 targets and a reach. Ruled out both tgts which was really valuable information.

My high stats DS and I did a spring break trip that allowed us to see a bunch of high reaches in a short period of time. It helped him figure out which ones he was most interested in and which ones he didn't like enough to apply to. And that information could also help identify less selective schools that might be similar in location/size/offerings that are potential targets or safeties.

I do think it's good for kids to go into the process knowing that the most selective schools are basically a lottery, even for the highest achievers. If you think a kid might get fixated on schools really outside their reach, I might focus on starting by identifying (and possibly touring) safety schools that might be a good fit.

I wouldn't bother until early fall of senior year when you have a clear picture of how your kid's application looks (GPA, test scores, quality of the essays, depth of extracurriculars, etc.)

I think it’s worth it if you’re planning to choose an ED school. Otherwise not so much.

I can't help but think it's a waste of time and money. Thoughts?