Anonymous wrote:I think the overnight shadow visits and give a student great insights, but I guess I'm just not sure what can be learned from a 1 hour walking tour/admissions presentation that can't be found online.

How does the tour guide describe the school, the work load? What student does it seem like the school is trying to recruit? My DC has told me this is the reason for tours. Admin presentations are all the same and unnecessary after you have heard one.

Anonymous wrote:In the last 4 years either DH or I have taken DC to visit Amherst, Cal, Columbia, Caltech, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, UCLA, UPenn, UVA, and Yale. Often DC has been at these campuses for some other reason, but has made sure to undertake a formal college visit.

These were pre-application visits done in order to narrow down the field to only seven or eight schools.

In the last 4 years either DH or I have taken DC to visit Amherst, Cal, Columbia, Caltech, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, UCLA, UPenn, UVA, and Yale. Often DC has been at these campuses for some other reason, but has made sure to undertake a formal college visit.

OP here-thank you for all the thoughts about this. I shoukd have been clearer that these are all schools he's been accepted to and is considering- not schools he is still thinking of applying to. I've decided to send him in his own to the 2where he knows people that he could stay with and see the school that way. One he doesn't have an obvious connection to and so probably one of us will go there with him.
I just was feeling weird about not having seen the school he may decide upon, but I feel completely comfortable with the :schools in contention now, and after talking to friends with older kids, they said there's opportunities to visit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

Only if you are in the military or Peace Corps.

Huh? The yes was in response to OP's question. Yes, I have visited every school my kid is applying to.

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

Only if you are in the military or Peace Corps.

Yes.

Would you commit to moving (and staying for 4 years) to a place that you had never visited?

We took WaPo's Jay Mathews' advice for a change: apply to the schools best in DC's desired field and will tour after he got in EA. That worked well. So well in fact that we will probably only have to visit a few of the eight applied to. The schools are all over the place so expensive to tour but Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. in a particular field. so March and April will be busy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?

Not the PP... You can have opinions but they are less actionable because you don't have the money to act on them. Wealthy families are more likely to feel strongly because they are not bound by considering schools that will give them aid. Don't go looking for stupid reasons to be defensive.

And you shouldn't be a jerk because someone has different opinions than yours.

PP again. Not the poster who you tried to disparage but just someone who resents you telling someone their reasoning is stupid. You lost me with that unnecessary, purposely demeaning last line.

Different poster here. I also get tired of people putting someone down because they do things differently or have different opinions. The final comment reminded me of a current presidential candidate who finds it necessary to call people stupid if they don't agree with him but his best friend when they do agree.

NP here: the PP indicated that getting defensive for no reason was stupid, not the person was stupid. Sheesh...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?

Not the PP... You can have opinions but they are less actionable because you don't have the money to act on them. Wealthy families are more likely to feel strongly because they are not bound by considering schools that will give them aid. Don't go looking for stupid reasons to be defensive.

And you shouldn't be a jerk because someone has different opinions than yours.

PP again. Not the poster who you tried to disparage but just someone who resents you telling someone their reasoning is stupid. You lost me with that unnecessary, purposely demeaning last line.

Different poster here. I also get tired of people putting someone down because they do things differently or have different opinions. The final comment reminded me of a current presidential candidate who finds it necessary to call people stupid if they don't agree with him but his best friend when they do agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?

Not the PP... You can have opinions but they are less actionable because you don't have the money to act on them. Wealthy families are more likely to feel strongly because they are not bound by considering schools that will give them aid. Don't go looking for stupid reasons to be defensive.

And you shouldn't be a jerk because someone has different opinions than yours.

PP again. Not the poster who you tried to disparage but just someone who resents you telling someone their reasoning is stupid. You lost me with that unnecessary, purposely demeaning last line.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?

Not the PP... You can have opinions but they are less actionable because you don't have the money to act on them. Wealthy families are more likely to feel strongly because they are not bound by considering schools that will give them aid. Don't go looking for stupid reasons to be defensive.

And you shouldn't be a jerk because someone has different opinions than yours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?

Not the PP... You can have opinions but they are less actionable because you don't have the money to act on them. Wealthy families are more likely to feel strongly because they are not bound by considering schools that will give them aid. Don't go looking for stupid reasons to be defensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who actually does this. Most people can't afford to take time off of work and travel around visiting potential schools. This is very much an affluent person thing.

Do you think that some colleges are really sneaky traps just pretending to be colleges? And by the time you enroll, it's too late, and there is no escape until you get to Shanghai?

You're right that many may not be able to afford lots of college visits. There's a reason why college reputations and brand names are so important. But, students/families pay different amounts. Parents paying the full sticker price of more than $250,000+ are going to spend the time and money to make sure it's a good fit. And, they're also more likely to have strong opinions different schools and what's best for their DCs.

Because those of us who are on tighter budgets don't opinions about what's best for our kids, or don't deserve to have them?