Maybe it's because I'm an academic, but I just don't get this tourism approach to college choice. Is it just premised on the assumptions that the kid doesn't know what s/he will major in, ECs weren't actual interests so much as activities/resume enhancers, and what you learn in college doesn't matter -- it's just the degree and the GPA that matter, so which school is just a lifestyle choice?

Why not start with interests and programs (conceived broadly because they do change or evolve), then look at finances and qualifications, then start visiting?

I agree that many schools are not open on Memorial Day, so double check.

We started by sampling local schools - even one our son wasn't really interested in - to get a feeling for what kind of campus environment was appealing. Dickinson and Swarthmore ruled out SLAC in either a rural or more suburban setting. GW ruled out schools with a very urban environment, but Georgetown/JHU ruled in ubran schools with a defined campus. UVA ruled in some larger schools than he initially thought might be appealing.

Once you get some broad parameters like that, then you can begin to effectively target certain kinds of schools. No reason to schlep all the way to Davidson to learn he doesn't like liberal arts schools, for example.

"Rolling meadows" is a lovely factor.

My daughter accepted UVA's offer over Columbia and Brown based on the cheerleading squad. The FA was about the same so we let her decide. Excellent four years in C'ville. She is now at Columbia for law school having turned down Duke, NYU, GT and GW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ 'rolling meadows'? really? your DC picking college based on that?

My DC declined a very good college with a national/international reputation because of safety concerns but ended up going to another college of equal standing with a 'safer' surrounding environment. DC is happy and doing well.

There is nothing wrong with taking 'aesthetics' into consideration when making choices.

this isn't aesthetics, it is safety and location.

We did PA schools one weekend. That is not too bad of a drive and there are train/bus options.

Thanks for all the replies. I know it's best to tour when school is in session. I was just hoping to get him thinking about what type of campus feels right. Maybe we will start doing that locally with Georgetown, etc.

We found any visits done before 2nd half of junior year were a waste of time. There's a lot of maturation between sophomore and senior years. I would savor the time and not think about college any more than you have to.

Anonymous wrote:^ 'rolling meadows'? really? your DC picking college based on that?

My DC declined a very good college with a national/international reputation because of safety concerns but ended up going to another college of equal standing with a 'safer' surrounding environment. DC is happy and doing well.

There is nothing wrong with taking 'aesthetics' into consideration when making choices.

Anonymous wrote:^ 'rolling meadows'? really? your DC picking college based on that?

Please, it was a combination of academics and aesthetics.

^ 'rolling meadows'? really? your DC picking college based on that?

We did a lot of 'brick and mortar' tours when colleges weren't in session for our sophomore a couple of years ago. We realized that part of the process for DC was the aesthetics as DC did not want an industrial looking school but preferred 'rolling meadows' so to speak. I could understand that if you have to live at a college for four years, I relate it to having a fabulous apartment with a view of a brick wall. DC still chose the 'rolling meadows' when we returned for real time tours. We were able to eliminate a few schools by doing brick and mortar tours.

I wouldn't rule out visits during the holiday weekend just because schools are closed.

I agree with PP in that you can see a lot of schools even on a Saturday this spring when school is in session. We went to see Bucknell last year and they do a visit day that's Sophomores and Juniors combined. We also looked at Dickinson which was a short drive. Even closer are places mentioned above as well as American and GW. I'm trying to only look at schools when they are in session because last summer I tried to show DD a few schools in August (she was a sophomore) and she told me they looked boring. Of course they did - nobody was there except visitors and their parents!

It may be hard but it is really important to visit schools when they are in session. Otherwise, all you are seeing is a bunch of buildings. Seeing the student body, getting a feel for what goes on campus will not happen when school isn't in session.

If you plan on seeing Boston, you should see it in the winter. All schools look great in good weather. The test whether you like a school is if your kid likes it in bad weather.

Plenty of schools close by to get an idea of big vs small. Go see Georgetown, Univ of MD, UVA, Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins to get a feel for what college is like.

First check the colleges' web sites to see if they are open then. So far, none from DD's list are.

I have a high school sophomore and we're starting the whole college process. He needs to starting thinking about things like state vs. private, big vs. small, southern vs. northern, east coast vs. west coast, etc. I thought we might do some low-key college visits (no official tours, etc.) over Memorial Day weekend. Any suggestions for the first area we should target? We're saving the Boston area for summer. I was thinking about heading down to NC -- Duke, UNC, Wake Forrest, Elon and Davidson -- but then realized we'd have to drive down I95 on a holiday weekend. Any suggestions for where we should go?