Started visiting schools summer after junior year and just finished final schools senior year fall break. Visited ten schools total. All track demonstrated interest.

Applying to seven others that don’t track, so 17 total. We will visit them if admitted in the spring and are still interested. Hopefully we don’t have to, as DS has an ED1 school that is a clear first choice. Visiting other schools was not going to change that.

An AO once told me that schools really like it when you attend their open houses. It shows that you are not just squeezing them in on a road trip.

I visited a lot with DC #2
1/2 of the schools visited got removed and she learned more about herself and what she wanted. Some schools she wanted to love - she didn't. Some schools I loved for her - she didn't.
Reminder - kids change a lot over the next few years. So give them the space to change their minds.
My oldest was all in on large urban schools - visited a SLAC and he fell in love with it. Decided to ED.

No, we visited the top two choices junior year. Applied early to 4 (including one ED.) Will submit more apps if ED doesn’t work out and will do visits in spring if necessary.

Visits really mattered for our DC. Visted the 4 schools he considered for ED and then others that were near those. In the end he didn’t ED so we visited some after he was accepted

Keep in mind that depending on when you can make your visits, some schools will only offer guided tours during the week, which makes planning ahead essential to find a school holiday to use.

My oldest kid is a senior so this is all new to us. We did a decent number of visits starting fall in junior year, but mostly to schools that were easy to get to and that encompassed a variety of aspects like large, rural, small, etc. She did apply to a decent number that we didn't visit and won't unless she gets in and she'd consider them strong contenders. She visited her top choice but only after she applied.

Older child is a sophomore so we are starting to think about this.

My kids have been to our alma maters which unfortunately are reaches. As others noted, having them fall in love with reaches is not ideal, though we have also used it as motivation to work harder.

A grandparent lives near what is likely a good choice as a safety so kids have seen that a lot and like it so that has worked out very well.

Older child has seen some of the top SLACs and we will be near some this summer so we will likely stop by. Summer visits to small schools when no one is there are not super valuable but might as well go since we will be there.

One thing to keep in mind, depending on when schools release their RD decisions, there may not be much time to visit all of the places they get into before May 1. That was ok for my DD, because she had clear preferences among her acceptances so didn't need to visit everywhere on the list. But, it's something to keep in mind, especially if your DC is applying to places in different parts of the country.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t attempt to visit “all these” schools. Try to find 4-5 that represent different types/sizes of schools—urban, large public flagship, SLAC, etc. When they get a sense of what type of experience feels right, than you can plan a little more efficiently.

We visited enough - I think 5 for my child to get an idea of what they liked or didn't like. Tried to hit ones they were considering applying to. Once they get in, if they are having a hard time deciding - we will visit those schools over spring break to make a final decision. Had to do this with our first child because it was post-COVID and tours still weren't happening. Liked it so much, it became our model.

I’m guessing this is your first, as young’s sibs usually get dragged along and will have a different approach.

These two PP encapsulate where we mostly were.

Anonymous wrote:Junior year. Start with safeties. The first schools you visit will always seem more interesting so you never want to start with the best schools out there.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t attempt to visit “all these” schools. Try to find 4-5 that represent different types/sizes of schools—urban, large public flagship, SLAC, etc. When they get a sense of what type of experience feels right, than you can plan a little more efficiently.

I’d also consider “clumping” them, visiting 2-3 on the same trip. And we chose to not visit what we knew we couldn’t afford (dream school or not).

We were also pleasantly surprised that “early” visits yielded a few “no, thank yous”. We were also fortunate DC1 fell in love with a safety and never waivered.

Bottom line, you do not need to visit them all before applying.

No and my kid attends one that we didn’t visit until after he was admitted.

Save the visits to reaches for senior year spring decision time- unless it’s an ED possibility. Visit the likelies/targets so your kid can find a couple realistic options where they’d be happy. Visit a potential EA/rolling admissions school if your kid wants to have an option they’re excited about early on.

Visited all safety schools and some targets.

The only reaches visited are those accessible to us easily. None of our reaches cares about DI.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t attempt to visit “all these” schools. Try to find 4-5 that represent different types/sizes of schools—urban, large public flagship, SLAC, etc. When they get a sense of what type of experience feels right, than you can plan a little more efficiently.

We started with this. Also stopped by any nearby colleges during travels.

Then, during the summer between junior/senior years, we made focused trips to schools of interest. The college tours really helped a lot to get the vibe of a school and really shifted some priorities.

There are a couple that we did not visit in person, but have done extensive research and virtual/local events.

Depending on how things play out, kid may visit a school or two again for final decision.

Summer before junior year. She was studying for SAT so focused on college anyway. Long weekend to St Louis for a big Wash U summer thing. Still among her top schools her senior year.

For kid one, we only visited his ED choice. For kid two, we visited 4 of 7 (didn't visit both safeties and one reach).

Kid one had no interest in doing college visits until after acceptances.