Anonymous
03/12/2026 07:51
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:Id also considered looking at Drexel and St Joes
These could be visited with Penn
But college tours usually take up the morning or the afternoon, I can’t imagine doing more than two a day.
Anonymous
03/12/2026 07:45
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Bucknell is the only college you should be visiting in Pennsylvania.
Anonymous
03/11/2026 20:47
Subject: Re:Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:OP, if you see this hope your son has some good choices this spring. Can I ask what your final PA tour schedule looked like and if you'd recommend how you constructed it? We are thinking about Villanova, Haverford, Lafayette and Dickinson as an initial swing to get a good view of a few different types of small to medium schools in a 2-3 day trip. This thread came up when I searched which is why I'm reviving it.
Hi - yes, we got to see F&M when we there for another reason, so we went overnighted in Carlisle and did Dickinson in the morning, then drove to Villanova and the next day did Villanova and Haverford. We did not actually do Lehigh/Lafayette. We will go see Lehigh independently this fall.
Anonymous
03/11/2026 16:10
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:Is your child interested in finance? If so, they should find time to visit Bucknell. Great outcomes on Wall Street and a great college experience.
+1. Make sure you ask to see the famous "PIPELINE TO THE STREET".
Anonymous
03/11/2026 14:03
Subject: Re:Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
I would see them all but not do official visits at all of them. I agree two tours per day was for us exhausting enough. But even a drive thru can give your student a sense. Several of the schools on your list were ones where our students had a strong reaction based on a drive through. For instance at one, on the most beautiful spring afternoon, we didn’t see a living soul. Spooky. Odd. Thought it must be a school holiday. It wasn’t. Went to the next one and it was like right out of central casting - kids playing frisbee etc. of course they read up about them - didn’t judge purely from a drive through. But that one? It was telling. For them.
Anonymous
03/11/2026 13:57
Subject: Re:Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
OP, if you see this hope your son has some good choices this spring. Can I ask what your final PA tour schedule looked like and if you'd recommend how you constructed it? We are thinking about Villanova, Haverford, Lafayette and Dickinson as an initial swing to get a good view of a few different types of small to medium schools in a 2-3 day trip. This thread came up when I searched which is why I'm reviving it.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 18:41
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
- Pick 3-4 very different schools so kid can get a feel of the different vibe they offer as well as academics. Example Drexel vs Penn. Same area but very different feel.
- Be sure you have schedule a tour (group or individual) as ability to go inside buildings on many campus will be limited otherwise.
- Get information/flyers on majors kid is interest in. You’d be surprise how many scholarships/programs/interesting info you can find out.
-Spend some time in the actual area of the school. Think walking about, hitting up restaurants/food trucks, sites.
- Be sure you have schedule a tour (group or individual) as ability to go inside buildings on many campus will be limited otherwise.
- Get information/flyers on majors kid is interest in. You’d be surprise how many scholarships/programs/interesting info you can find out.
-Spend some time in the actual area of the school. Think walking about, hitting up restaurants/food trucks, sites.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 18:32
Subject: Re:Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
If Dickinson is a possibility for sports, wait until an id clinic. I would skip there and Gettysburg in that case.
Lehigh, Lafayette in 1 day, the other day do philly burbs.
I also personally don't mind a self guided tour. they have info available. I get bored VERY quickly on those awful tours
Lehigh, Lafayette in 1 day, the other day do philly burbs.
I also personally don't mind a self guided tour. they have info available. I get bored VERY quickly on those awful tours
Anonymous
05/15/2025 16:50
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Add in another day and visit Bucknell - check out the newer engineering, business and athletic buildings - those are not always covered in the tour and worth going into. Also drive through Lewisburg - cute town.
Add in St. Joes or Gettysburg for safeties - can do that tour on your own.
Add in St. Joes or Gettysburg for safeties - can do that tour on your own.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 12:41
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If you are visiting Villanova…Swarthmore and Haverford are very close…Penn is also close.
If you visit Lafayette, then visit Lehigh and Muhlenberg which are all close.
Franklin & Marshall is not really on the way unless you start at Dickinson and then drive to the Villanova-area schools.
If these schools are representative of the students' list, respectfully, they are likely not looking at Swat and Haverford which are more competitive and progressive.
Haverford is only 4 miles from Villanova…this is just a “why not” visit since you are basically there already.
Same advice if visiting Pitt though even closer…go see CMU as well, because “why not” if it is remotely in the mix.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 12:28
Subject: Re:Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
St. Joe's is not MAGA. Not at all.
OP, Lehigh and Lafayette are very typically toured on the same day. Aside from that, I'd do an official tour at Dickinson (since you are considering for sports) and then start driving home, maybe stopping at F&M if you're not too drained.
Two in a day is good.
You could take a different Friday off and knock off a couple of Philly schools -- whatever appeals the most.
OP, Lehigh and Lafayette are very typically toured on the same day. Aside from that, I'd do an official tour at Dickinson (since you are considering for sports) and then start driving home, maybe stopping at F&M if you're not too drained.
Two in a day is good.
You could take a different Friday off and knock off a couple of Philly schools -- whatever appeals the most.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 12:05
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:This will be our first college tour trip. We have a Thursday and Friday in October - could definitely drive up on Wednesday night so we can start Thursday morning.
My son doesn't know what he wants yet. We are visiting a big university later in the fall, so I want him to see medium size and smaller size schools.
Villanova, Lehigh, Lafayette, Franklin & Marshall, and Dickinson are on the list. Definitely want to do Dickinson because there is a sports possibility there. And it's hard to imagine not doing Franklin & Marshall if we drive right by it. Likewise, doing just Lafayette or Lehigh is hard to imagine because they're so close.
What do you recommend if I'm trying to show him options, see what he's drawn to, and then can go see more of those types of schools. thanks!
I have no idea if other posters mentioned this, but I did tours on my own, and I don't understand why you'd want to do this
Anonymous
05/15/2025 11:58
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If you are visiting Villanova…Swarthmore and Haverford are very close…Penn is also close.
If you visit Lafayette, then visit Lehigh and Muhlenberg which are all close.
Franklin & Marshall is not really on the way unless you start at Dickinson and then drive to the Villanova-area schools.
If these schools are representative of the students' list, respectfully, they are likely not looking at Swat and Haverford which are more competitive and progressive.
Agree, cut our Swat and definitely Penn!
We did a Haverford tour to feel out DC's interest (or really, lack of interest) in a tiny SLAC. Might be worth it from that perspective.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 11:04
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Anonymous wrote:If you are visiting Villanova…Swarthmore and Haverford are very close…Penn is also close.
If you visit Lafayette, then visit Lehigh and Muhlenberg which are all close.
Franklin & Marshall is not really on the way unless you start at Dickinson and then drive to the Villanova-area schools.
If these schools are representative of the students' list, respectfully, they are likely not looking at Swat and Haverford which are more competitive and progressive.
Anonymous
05/15/2025 09:41
Subject: Help me figure out this Pennsylvania college tour!
Is your child interested in finance? If so, they should find time to visit Bucknell. Great outcomes on Wall Street and a great college experience.