Are summer college visits worth it?

[TwoEdgedSword]

Oldest daughter has "narrowed" her college list to about 10 colleges. She has only visited two and she will be a senior this year.

 

I hesitate to visit any colleges in the summer because it seems like you can't glean much without the students and professors there and ongoing classes to observe.

 

However with a list this long, maybe we should visit a couple more before school starts so her senior year isn't so jammed with first time visits...

 

What can you really learn on a summer visit?

Furthest one away is only just over four hours.

 

Thanks for any input.

[Angie in VA]

How far away from you is the school? (Asked rhetorically, btw.)

 

DD visited a grad school in early June b/c it was out of state and she was going through the city. She got a tour of the facility, met w/ 2 profs and got a feel for the campus parking, surrounding town, etc. Of course, the town will look different during fall and spring semesters, but it was a good idea for her to make that stop on her business trip. 

 

She would not have visited during the summer if she weren't already in the area. She has to audition in person, so she'll return when things are in full swing. 

[creekland]

Many colleges have students there over the summer.  Check and see which ones do on her list - and yes - I'd be doing some visits now.  You can always revisit any that you aren't sure about due to a summer visit.

 

What can you learn?  You can learn all about the layout and "feel" of a place (and it's nearby environment) physically.  You can talk with students about the school year.  You can learn any/all stuff talked about in any information sessions - what a college requires, dorms, etc.

 

Mostly, it fills in the mind with real images and facts, not just those learned on computer or from hearsay.

[TwoEdgedSword]

They range from two to four hours away. Seeing the dorm would be helpful for sure and the surrounding community, safety issues. etc. Also if there are any students on campus. Good stuff I hadn't thought of.

[bettyandbob]

Depends on when you end summer. For us summer ends in Labor Day. Universities often starts a couple weeks before Labor. Since you an easy drive check the tour schedules if schools on the list and see if any have tours in late August. We did a couple late August tours and one early September. Keep in mind some places it can still be uncomfortably hot and humid at that time. A couple hours walking around in high heat can leave a negative impression.

 

If you have so many close, you might want to stack them. I know that's not popular, but if you want to get them all in that can help. We did 3 over two days all three were along the same interstate. I drove the furthest away and spent the night. We did a morning tour, then hopped in the car and hit another school in the afternoon then drive to the town of the third school and toured that the next day. We actually saw many of the same families at each tour. Each school was so different that dd could clearly contrast them and pick out what she liked. Generally I'd usually stick with two. In our case I had a feeling that dd would see the first school and realize she had to rule it out immediately (I was right, but didn't say anything until she did).

 

Are you trying to get a general feel or looking closely at departments? The latter will be trickier on timing.

[katilac]

I do think it would be worth it, particularly because it's unlikely that you will be able to visit all 10 plus return to the top choices over the school year. 

 

You can get a feel for the campus, test its walkability, and possibly check out the cafeteria. You can look at dorm rooms. 

 

Are the buildings well kept? Are the bathrooms clean and stocked? 

 

Does she like the general look of the campus? One school got knocked off my kids' list without even a proper tour - they hated the chaotic layout and couldn't imagine living in the midst of it. It might sound petty, but it really would drive them nuts. 

 

Look over the library, check out the rec center, and so on. I would definitely return to a school I only visited in summer before committing to it, but that initial visit can give you a lot of information. 

[G5052]

Definitely, given that you don't want that many during the school year.

 

Mine are in a 2+2 program, but we did three visits in July so that my oldest could pick the school for his last two years. My next one in 12th, so it was productive for her too.

 

Of the three campuses, two of them were still actively "in business" with professors available in the departments we are interested in. The third is much smaller and really doesn't offer much at all academically at the college level in the summer. It was pretty much overrun with high school students.

 

In each case we got an impression of the layout, looked at the gyms/parking/food service, talked to students, and generally saw what they were like. DS has picked the one he'll attend in 2017-2018. He'll have to go back in the fall for a department interview and one-on-one review of his transcript, but it's nice to only have one to do that with. They suggested that he plan to spend the day and sit in on a class or two. Then he has to have his application in by the end of January, and that's that. He should be in line for guaranteed admission, so no reason to apply elsewhere.

[Pawz4me]

We've done almost all our college visits (both boys) during the summer. It's really hard to work out scheduling at other times. We have no regrets. I don't think they would have learned any more about a campus during the regular school year than they did in the summer.

[TwoEdgedSword]

Great points. As mentioned, the food and athletic facilities would be super important to her.

She'd like to meet a prof. or dept. head.

She really wants to sit In on a class. But unless they have summer classes, that would have to wait until fall.

[Starr]

Random thoughts:

 

Dd emailed dept heads or professors and made appts in the summer. Someone from the dept was able to meet with her. You should be able to get a good tour of all the facilities. If they don't show you something ask. Often they gave us coupons for meals or you can buy lunch. At least one cafeteria will be open. I've never pushed sitting in on a class unless it's a professor one is specifically interested in. A student has many professors. But other people think it's important. The feel of a school is important but really it's the friends you make once you start that makes it. All the applications, all the tours, all the headaches and then they go to an overnight and don't like their host or do like their host and that decides it. Or they are tired and don't like lunch and that decides it. My favorite, which sounds so academic but really, "I don't like the library." As if they necessarily study in the library anyway. Other people wait and see where they are accepted and then go visit those schools. You don't get very many points in the admission process by visiting beforehand. 

 

I'm sure it will work out well. You just need the energy. haha

Edited July 29, 2016 by Starr

[TwoEdgedSword]

Good points! Funny how the host of the tour can really be a turnoff. I've noticed this before and it's hard not to color one's opinion of the school if it's not favorable.

[GoodGrief]

As someone else noted, if she can talk to department heads/professors, this could be really worthwhile.

 

We didn't do much in the way of visiting until after acceptances were in. None of the colleges were near us. It did make for some challenging scheduling, for sure. I don't think I would change anything given our particular circumstances. But with colleges 2-4 hours away, I would almost certainly make an effort to see some of them this summer.

[GinaPagnato]

Imo, it's better to visit in the summers. With students all over the place on campus, it makes it a bit distracting to focus on the tours and admissions information sessions. Also, if you're one of the only prospective students signed up that day, the tour guides and admissions people can really give you lots more attention.

[creekland]

 You don't get very many points in the admission process by visiting beforehand. 

 

At some schools you do - those that place high value on demonstrated interest.  Visiting won't make a poor application suddenly get tons of bonus points, but if rarely hurts - unless - as you said, the student has a bad experience with "whatever."  In those cases, if there are other schools equally as good, it doesn't really matter if "whatever" cuts one or two from the list.  Something has to.

 

We've never regretted visiting a school, good, bad, or ugly.  There are some we've just driven by and gotten a "no" from.  Looks (of school or town/city) might not mean a hoot in actual education, but we want our kids to be happy where they go and there are thousands of schools to choose from.  If they don't like a handful, it's honestly no big deal.  There are others. A good fit matters a ton (to us).

[Paper In Fire]

I don't see there being a bad time of year to visit a college. You're not there to see other students anyway, you're there to see the operation of the school.

[G5052]

You're not there to see other students anyway, you're there to see the operation of the school.

 

Sometimes this isn't the case. We visited one school, and DS said, "I don't fit here." He could tell from how they dressed and talked that he wouldn't like it. A similar thing happened to a friend of ours. It looked great until they got there and were around other students. It was a no-go.

[Julie of KY]

We've visited in both schoolyear and summer. I haven't found a big difference between the two - admissions presentations and campus tours are similar. Dorms can be interesting to wander through on your own during the schoolyear, but most you don't have access to. We've been able to talk to departments both in schoolyear and summer.

 

If you want to see the daily hustle of the campus, visit during schooltime, but otherwise it doesn't make much difference.