Anonymous
03/23/2014 18:38
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are these colleges that DC has been accepted to? My niece and parents will visit seven different colleges over spring break that she was accepted to ranging from U Penn to Brown.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
No, DC is in 11th grade, and I forgot to mention Chicago, which we have also visited. The visits to these colleges and universities over some time has been to have them consider questions of large universities versus small colleges, graduate-school focused institutions versus undergraduate ones, research versus teaching, urban versus small town, the student population, the programs. Of course, if DC has a strong feeling, one way or the other, it may also help to focus the application process. We will hopefully get out to Duke soon.
Might want to mix in a couple of schools with admit rates over 10%. Even UVA can be unpredictable as a safety.
Thank you for that good and helpful advice, I really appreciate the experience of those parents who have been through the process before. These particular choices, and there are others, have been vetted by a very good, long-time college counselor at DC's school, and there are at least two schools in the mix which DC should feel good about.
Anonymous
03/23/2014 18:28
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Are these colleges that DC has been accepted to? My niece and parents will visit seven different colleges over spring break that she was accepted to ranging from U Penn to Brown.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
No, DC is in 11th grade, and I forgot to mention Chicago, which we have also visited. The visits to these colleges and universities over some time has been to have them consider questions of large universities versus small colleges, graduate-school focused institutions versus undergraduate ones, research versus teaching, urban versus small town, the student population, the programs. Of course, if DC has a strong feeling, one way or the other, it may also help to focus the application process. We will hopefully get out to Duke soon.
Might want to mix in a couple of schools with admit rates over 10%. Even UVA can be unpredictable as a safety.
Anonymous
03/23/2014 18:26
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:Are these colleges that DC has been accepted to? My niece and parents will visit seven different colleges over spring break that she was accepted to ranging from U Penn to Brown.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
How is she already accepted to the Ivies since they don't notify until Thursday? LLs?
Anonymous
03/23/2014 18:24
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:Are these colleges that DC has been accepted to? My niece and parents will visit seven different colleges over spring break that she was accepted to ranging from U Penn to Brown.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
No, DC is in 11th grade, and I forgot to mention Chicago, which we have also visited. The visits to these colleges and universities over some time has been to have them consider questions of large universities versus small colleges, graduate-school focused institutions versus undergraduate ones, research versus teaching, urban versus small town, the student population, the programs. Of course, if DC has a strong feeling, one way or the other, it may also help to focus the application process. We will hopefully get out to Duke soon.
Anonymous
03/23/2014 17:22
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Are these colleges that DC has been accepted to? My niece and parents will visit seven different colleges over spring break that she was accepted to ranging from U Penn to Brown.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
Anonymous
03/23/2014 16:09
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Over a week we will visit Penn, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. We have already visited, for one reason or another, and in the last few years, Virginia, Georgetown, UCLA, and Stanford.
Anonymous
03/20/2014 09:36
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
NP here. In addition to above, definitely plan this well ahead if you are doing this next year. Some colleges mayl be off the same week as your spring break. That was the case for us, so we had to see some on the Thursday/Friday of one week and others the following week -- so we made the weekend a mini Boston /New England vacation -- not ideal but otherwise it's back and forth on the weekend. But if you don't call ahead, you may find some schools you want to see are on break and not giving any tours or info sessions. you can still walk around them, of course, but not the same thing.
One more suggestion. If you are seeing any schools that offer interviews, consider preparing to do an interview -- preferably at a school that is not in the likely top choices -- just as practice (and pick one that is not supposed to be evaluative although I don't trust that). The practice will pay off later for other interviews senior year.
One more suggestion. If you are seeing any schools that offer interviews, consider preparing to do an interview -- preferably at a school that is not in the likely top choices -- just as practice (and pick one that is not supposed to be evaluative although I don't trust that). The practice will pay off later for other interviews senior year.
Anonymous
03/20/2014 08:39
Subject: Re:Spring Break College Tours
Visits early i.e. spring break can help with narrowing down from big vs small or urban vs isolated. But then would save your money (and time) and focus on targeted overnight visits to a few potential top choices (that are also realistic) in the fall, preferably WITHOUT the parent, or at least ditch the parent as much as possible to go stay with a friend/acquaintance from your town/high school/family friend, whatever, to really have some idea what student life at the school is like. With both my DDs they found this was 1000X more informative and helpful that being dragged around campus with parents on the formal tours, which after one or two sound exactly alike and really can't be used to make decisions. Most of the factual relevant information about degrees offered, majors, requirements, semesters abroad etc etc is all on line, all that can be figured out in advance, and then with that info plus much more complete info on what schools will be realistic after at least one SAT and final junior year grades, can really focus on visits fall of senior year, before having to make the early decision application decision.
Anonymous
03/20/2014 07:56
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
Anonymous wrote:I've seen about 20 colleges with 2 DCs over the past two years. A few suggestions.
1. Don't waste your whole spring break visiting schools. Do some fun stuff. DC won't be around much longer.
2. Spring Break is a good time to visit the schools that are farthest away. It is a good time to do the mandatory Boston trip. Two schools is the most you can realistically see in one day. And I would not recommend more than 4 on any one trip. At some point, they all start looking and sounding the same.
3. Let DC lead. If DC isn't ready to seriously look at schools yet, don't sweat it and don't push it. They won't be interested anyway. I saw a lot of kids on tours who were clearly bored to be there, although their parents were clearly not.
4. Both of our kids got more out of the summer tours because by that time they were starting to more seriously think about colleges.
5. Save the most likely schools for last. DD, in particular, liked every school more than the last one. I would wait for early senior year to look at the most likely schools. We saw NYU last and that is now DD's top choice. The first school we saw never even got an app.
6. If DC's school's Spring break is at the same time as other schools be ready for some big crowds. Fortunately DCs privates had off-cycle breaks - but even then the Spring break tours were bigger and less personal than the summer tours. Seeing the actual students, however, is the best benefit of a Spring a break tour.
Have fun. The tours were definitely more fun for us than the kids, but we had lots of good quality time traveling!
I agree with everything posted here except about summer tours. My DC found it very important to see what the student population was like, the social activities going on during the school year, off campus feel etc. You just don't get that on Summer tours even if the school has a summer session. we also went to lunch in the off campus hangout to get a feel for the students.
We found it really important to visit northern schools during March. You get a feel for how cold it is, what goes there and what it is like to be on campus when it is not beautiful. If your child really likes a school then, you know they understand what it will really be like. Thinking schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston schools, Cornell, Syracuse.
Anonymous
03/19/2014 20:28
Subject: Re:Spring Break College Tours
Thanks everyone. All of this information is so helpful!
Anonymous
03/19/2014 19:24
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
I've seen about 20 colleges with 2 DCs over the past two years. A few suggestions.
1. Don't waste your whole spring break visiting schools. Do some fun stuff. DC won't be around much longer.
2. Spring Break is a good time to visit the schools that are farthest away. It is a good time to do the mandatory Boston trip. Two schools is the most you can realistically see in one day. And I would not recommend more than 4 on any one trip. At some point, they all start looking and sounding the same.
3. Let DC lead. If DC isn't ready to seriously look at schools yet, don't sweat it and don't push it. They won't be interested anyway. I saw a lot of kids on tours who were clearly bored to be there, although their parents were clearly not.
4. Both of our kids got more out of the summer tours because by that time they were starting to more seriously think about colleges.
5. Save the most likely schools for last. DD, in particular, liked every school more than the last one. I would wait for early senior year to look at the most likely schools. We saw NYU last and that is now DD's top choice. The first school we saw never even got an app.
6. If DC's school's Spring break is at the same time as other schools be ready for some big crowds. Fortunately DCs privates had off-cycle breaks - but even then the Spring break tours were bigger and less personal than the summer tours. Seeing the actual students, however, is the best benefit of a Spring a break tour.
Have fun. The tours were definitely more fun for us than the kids, but we had lots of good quality time traveling!
1. Don't waste your whole spring break visiting schools. Do some fun stuff. DC won't be around much longer.
2. Spring Break is a good time to visit the schools that are farthest away. It is a good time to do the mandatory Boston trip. Two schools is the most you can realistically see in one day. And I would not recommend more than 4 on any one trip. At some point, they all start looking and sounding the same.
3. Let DC lead. If DC isn't ready to seriously look at schools yet, don't sweat it and don't push it. They won't be interested anyway. I saw a lot of kids on tours who were clearly bored to be there, although their parents were clearly not.
4. Both of our kids got more out of the summer tours because by that time they were starting to more seriously think about colleges.
5. Save the most likely schools for last. DD, in particular, liked every school more than the last one. I would wait for early senior year to look at the most likely schools. We saw NYU last and that is now DD's top choice. The first school we saw never even got an app.
6. If DC's school's Spring break is at the same time as other schools be ready for some big crowds. Fortunately DCs privates had off-cycle breaks - but even then the Spring break tours were bigger and less personal than the summer tours. Seeing the actual students, however, is the best benefit of a Spring a break tour.
Have fun. The tours were definitely more fun for us than the kids, but we had lots of good quality time traveling!
Anonymous
03/19/2014 18:33
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
If your child has some idea of what major s/he would like to pursue, look through the list of professors in the department and e-mail one of them to ask for an informational interview. We found these to be much more valuable than the generic tours, which all looked the same after a while.
Anonymous
03/19/2014 18:27
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
OP, I doubt you will able to schedule visits for next year now, but do schedule a couple months in advance. Our travel plans just changed, and when I went to reschedule some spring break visits today (about a month in advance), some of the slots were filled. Don't plan too far ahead since your DC's interests can change so much in a year. You can get a lot done on a budget by doing a driving tour. We started in the fall of junior year with in-state schools. That was helpful to give DC an idea of what type of school he wants (rural vs. urban, small vs. large, etc.). This spring we are doing a "southern tour" (see the other thread) all within driving distance. In August we will do schools that we have to fly to. I figure it is a good idea to save those for last because DC will have test scores by then and will have a better sense of what schools interest and might be available to him. No sense in wasting a plane trip on a school that might be beyond reach, or on a big school if a few local visits confirm that DC wants a small school, for example. I figure the fall will be for any repeat visits where he might want to sit in on a class or do an interview. Good luck!
Anonymous
03/19/2014 16:38
Subject: Re:Spring Break College Tours
Definitely spring break because colleges are typically in session. When we went last spring break only one was on break. My DCs found the summer tours much less useful. We did a northern driving tour. We hit Philadelphia, Boston, NH/VT and NY. We saw 8 colleges in 7 days but with 2 days of no visits to break it up. We had 3 days with 2 visits and 2 days with one visit. That would have been too much without the no visit days. We tried to stay as close to campus as possible, eat a meal on campus or in town, go to the bookstore, walk around on our own, etc. Generally this worked out pretty well and we didn't feel rushed because even on the two visit days we were in the town the night before or the night after.
DC ended up applying to 4 of the 8 (as well some others we saw on other visits, plus 3 that we didn't visit and DC will visit if accepted and interested in attending).
Definitely book tours in advance as we found most of the schools mobbed since every high school junior seemed to be on break. Some do get booked up. We definitely saw several of the same families at more than one school.
DC ended up applying to 4 of the 8 (as well some others we saw on other visits, plus 3 that we didn't visit and DC will visit if accepted and interested in attending).
Definitely book tours in advance as we found most of the schools mobbed since every high school junior seemed to be on break. Some do get booked up. We definitely saw several of the same families at more than one school.
Anonymous
03/19/2014 16:28
Subject: Spring Break College Tours
What colleges are you touring over break? How many do you plan to visit in a week? How far ahead did you have to book your tours? For those parents and students who have done this before, do you think it is worth going in the spring vs the summer. I am just trying to think ahead to next years spring break in terms of planning (need to budget). Also if you want to share any details about your trips/colleges I would love to hear them. Thanks!