7 in total. DS applied to 5 of the 7 visited, and got into 3 out of the 5 applied to. 2 of those schools he did visit did consider "demonstrated interest" and he got into both (a safety and a reach).

DS also got into 9 other colleges he never visited. Of those 9, 2 did consider demonstrated interest, which he satisfied by virtual events and attending the school rep meeting.

S23 visited 13, D26 visited 12. Several trips were built into family vacations- we took an extra day to do tours. Also did weeklong visits where we did 1-2 schools per day and drove all over. There were some schools that looked perfect on paper, and that gave us fantastic merit aid, but in person just weren’t a good fit. If you have the time and money to visit, highly recommended it.

Anonymous wrote:As many was possible when out and about including a few vacation time ones

+1

It was really helpful in building the final list.

Only one. Then I realized we should only visit the ones that accepted my kid, offered a big scholarship. That saved a lot of wasted trips.

As many was possible when out and about including a few vacation time ones

OP, I bet we visited 6. Two she applied to, then added eight she had never seen. Got into seven. Her favorite, which she attended and liked very much was one she had not seen until she was admitted. It is, btw, sooo nice to take campus tours once you know you're already admitted, the experience is far superior.

OP, the journey, is very different for every family. Do what feels right for *your* family.

DD had one particular college on her list that was way more expensive, a real outliner re: cost. She actually said to us that she did not want to see any college that we couldn't afford. So, we didn't. She got in, she got a big merit aid award but we all knew it was still out of reach. So, she never saw it and declined that admission. Another kid might have wanted to handle the decision in another way. Another family might have wanted to handle the decision in another way.

Taking my sophomore to see two in a few weeks then another in June when we will be traveling near what could be a top choice. More for size than specific targets, though they could work. He has seen a few for our reunions, etc.

I'm expecting we will end up doing 15 or so, though spread out and some as parts of other travel. He is excited about it.

We visited 8, and she ruled out 2 of them.

We visited 9 before she applied SCEA

None! But he did visit some two-3 years ago with his sister. He wanted to apply 1st and then visit?

I'd guess somewhere around 30 -- nearly all in connection with a prospect day -- starting in freshman year of HS.

We did eight formal tours before November 1 of the year my kid applied. Three in one driving trip and four in another. The last was a quick plane flight. Two reaches, four targets, and two likelies. Plus, early junior year we did an informal swing through three schools near one set of grandparents that represented a large rural state flagship, a less-prestigious state school, and a small liberal arts college so they could get a feel for what size, location, amenities, price point, etc. they were comfortable with. They went to school for 13 years in the same neighborhood as an urban flagship and a highly-selective private, so they had those bases already covered.

We did 10, starting summer after freshman year. She applied to 9 of the 10.

Kid applied to four colleges in-state and we visited three. The fourth tour kept getting canceled due to weather conditions, but an older sibling went to school there so kid has visited the campus a number of times and knows it well.

I think somewhere between 10-12. A couple were summer programs where my student stayed on campus, and others were formal admissions tours and visits.