College visits for idiots + add'l college questions

[mooooom]

I do feel like one, I have no clue what we are doing. Let me preface this by saying I have three (my only) graduating next year. Two of them have some idea of what they want to do. The third doesn't have a clue. I have had them all go on the College Board website and do college searches. We have a list of some places they want to visit. I have had them go online and look for Open House dates. I need my dh to sit down and schedule where we are going to go when (I'm terrible with directions).

 

My main questions - do you just go to the Open House and then go home? Or do you try and make arrangements to visit with someone involved in the specific department your child is interested in, and if so, how do you do that? For the places that are further away, we really can't afford to be hitting places twice, especially with three kids needing to do it. And if we do try to do this, should they have resumes to bring with them, and anything else?

 

And then, I have all these extreme fears about financing. People have told me not to even worry about it at this stage - that any school might offer something good. And that private schools are more likely to do it than state schools (dd is mostly interested in state schools as they have the best Animal Science facilities).

 

And how do you know what schools are reach schools, vs good shots, vs they will take anybody? Is it all dependent on SAT scores (they are signed up to take them in Mar)? PSAT scores were good but not award winning.

 

Thanks for reading this far. I am so overwhelmed.

[TravelingChris]

I don't find open houses to be as useful as going to a college on an average day when in session. Then you can have your student or students sit in on a class or two along with the usual tour and info session.

[ZooRho]

I don't find open houses to be as useful as going to a college on an average day when in session. Then you can have your student or students sit in on a class or two along with the usual tour and info session.

I agree with this.

 

Also are there any college fairs in your area?

You could call a local High school and ask if they know of any.

 

We did a 5 day tour of about 4 colleges that we contacted ahead of time. We ended up stopping at a 5th and they were STILL great about showing us around and talking to us and all just as if we had an appt,(wouldn't suggest doing this as a rule, but we were driving by and knew a bit about it, but it wasn't on the radar, and we were glad we stopped. Honestly the people were really kind, the admin person even found a prof for us to talk to, but it also confirmed that it wasn't right).

 

We also drove around a 6th that was closer to us so we drove to see it too.

 

 

I would say go to a couple of colleges that are closest to you. Especially if they are different sizes, being able to let your children see where they would feel comfortable. I have one child that needed a smaller school. the other will be fine probably no matter the size.

 

And don't worry about if you think you aren't interested in them at all, it will be good to see things and start knowing what they would like and forming questions for things.

 

I know seeing the other campuses helped us to know better questions, and knowing what he really wanted in a school.

[Sonshine]

I got an education at collegeconfidential.com. Whoever told you that about the finances was either wealthy or uninformed. College is expensive and scholarships are hard to come by. With three at once, you don't have much time for a learning curve. I would start researching this more intensely ASAP. You don't want to wait until next spring to realize you can't afford the colleges they got into and it's too late to apply for scholarships at other schools.

[Hannah C.]

Personally, I found the college visits that *weren't* during open house weekends more beneficial than the open house weekends. I felt like I got a better picture of what the school was actually like when there weren't a bunch of other prospective students around, and when the school wasn't trying to look good for them. ;)

 

I visited colleges after I'd been accepted in order to determine whether I would really want to go there. (I didn't visit beforehand mostly due to financial reasons.) I talked to the admissions officer, told them what I was interested in, and they arranged for me to see classes, meet with professors, and stay overnight with students. I never brought a resume, but I also never met with anyone for an interview or for scholarship purposes on these visits. If that was a possibility, I would bring a transcript/resume sort of thing.

 

"Reach" schools vs "good shots" vs "they will take anybody" was something I remember determining mostly by how my SAT scores were based on the average SAT scores of incoming students, plus also things like the acceptance rate of the school. For instance, no matter how good your SAT scores, Yale is going to be a long shot. There's also other things that go into determining that, but I can't remember any other specifics -- I think those two are the major ones.

 

There should also be statistics about colleges' financial aid offerings: for instance, do they cover all of students' needs, the percentage of students who get merit aid, or need based aid, etc. That is all probably info you can find on the College Board website, as well as the various school websites. This can also help you determine "reach" vs "good shot" vs "they will take anybody" -- but it's more of a "good chance you'll be able to afford it" vs "being able to afford it is probably a long shot but you can try anyway."

 

HTH! :grouphug:

[AngieW in Texas]

We just went to the open house days (sometimes called junior visit days or scholar days or prospective student days). My dd loved the college that she ended up choosing from the moment she first stepped on the campus and she never changed her opinion.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the cost at this point. You have no idea what kind of merit aid your kids might end up with. I know that my dd's scholarship was FAR better than what I was expecting or even hoping for. It ended up being for 4x as much as what I was hoping for, 8x as much as what I was sure she would get. This was a for a state school where her test scores put her in the 75th-80th percentile.

[Sonshine]

AngieW - I am glad that things worked out well for you and your dd scholarship wise, but the opposite is a more common experience. Scholarships vary greatly from school to school and state to state for public schools. My state is known for very few decent scholarships in the better state schools. Better to explore the options now and plan accordingly than be sorry when it's too late to do anything but wait another year and apply all over again (which most kids are very resistant to anyway).

[Photo Ninja]

I would skip the open houses because you don't really get a full idea of what the college is like. They have their best foot forward , everything is geared to advertising their school to get your student to go there, and there will be so many visitors that you can't really see what the school is all about.

 

Instead of doing open houses, decide when you want to take your college tour trip and start scheduling tours with each college on your list. Ask the school to arrange a meeting with an adviser in the departments your dc are interested in, and ask them to schedule sitting in on a class in that department. Ask for a housing tour so you can see dorm options (and what living conditions are like in the dorms). You will have a smaller number of people in your tour, and it will be a more realistic view of the college, and you will be able to ask more questions. Make a list of questions you want to ask at each school. Scholarships would certainly be one of those questions.

 

We found this a much better way of checking out colleges, and it fit into our schedules better.

[creekland]

My main questions - do you just go to the Open House and then go home? Or do you try and make arrangements to visit with someone involved in the specific department your child is interested in, and if so, how do you do that? For the places that are further away, we really can't afford to be hitting places twice, especially with three kids needing to do it. And if we do try to do this, should they have resumes to bring with them, and anything else?

 

And then, I have all these extreme fears about financing. People have told me not to even worry about it at this stage - that any school might offer something good. And that private schools are more likely to do it than state schools (dd is mostly interested in state schools as they have the best Animal Science facilities).

 

And how do you know what schools are reach schools, vs good shots, vs they will take anybody? Is it all dependent on SAT scores (they are signed up to take them in Mar)? PSAT scores were good but not award winning.

 

Thanks for reading this far. I am so overwhelmed.

 

Whether or not you should go to an Open House sort of depends on what you want to see. I'm a fan of going on "regular" days and that worked well for my oldest. However, middle son wants to do research. Most research labs are only open (somewhat) on special days when they have special groups they want to show off to, so we're adjusting to fit the college/student.

 

I've also found out that some schools will only let senior high school students spend the night and sit in on classes. :tongue_smilie: My oldest was able to do this as a junior. It's a little frustrating that middle son can't do the same at some of his choice schools, but again, we're adjusting. Otherwise, I'm a fan of visiting colleges in the spring of junior year if possible - to get an idea whether one even wants to apply to school X or not. Applications all cost money and time... no sense wasting either on a school that isn't right for the student. That said, mine had SAT or ACT scores prior to visiting so any admissions counselor could see where they "stood." (It helped!)

 

To check out reaches vs good shots, check out SAT/ACT stats for each college on collegeboard (search the college, then click on "SAT/ACT"). (Add a 0 to the end of their PSAT scores for a rough estimate to check for now.) If your student's scores are in the lower 50% the school is generally considered a reach (but remember, half their actual students have scores in that range). If your student's scores are in the top 50% you have a decent chance (NOT guaranteed). If they are in the top 25% you have a better chance (and a good chance for merit aid IF the school offers it - not all do). If your student is so far into the top 25% to make the tippy top they are likely to be bored at the school. In general, the higher the scores are, the better the school is considered to be. This doesn't hold true across all majors though. Certain schools specialize in certain majors and are considered "top" in that field even if the rest of the school isn't quite as highly regarded. Those majors can be difficult to get in to (require higher stats than the rest of the school).

 

There are exceptions to everything, but the above are all "basic" rules.

 

As to financing... I'm one that does not restrict my boys in where they apply based on them and I'm glad I didn't. My oldest is at his first choice school due to good offers from the school (both merit and need-based) and a couple of outside scholarships. He is in the top 25% of their students via standardized tests, but he's not tippy top. However, I've had "the TALK" with all of my boys. (When it comes to colleges, "the talk" is financial, not morals, etc.) They know they can apply anywhere, but where they can actually go will depend on finances. Period. They know not to get their heart set on any one school. "I" went to my second choice school due to finances and I don't regret it a bit. I met hubby there too. :D You can look under the financial section of each college on collegeboard to get an idea of how much aid there is, but whether that aid is offered to YOUR students won't be known until you apply, get accepted, submit the FAFSA (and many times, Profile), then wait and see.

[memphispeg]

We found that going to visit the schools on a normal average weekday to be the best. We did the info sessions and tours. Sometimes we needed an appt., sometimes we didn't. We ate lunch in a big eating place and checked out the students. We wandered around alot with a campus map. My dd sat in on a class. It was easy to disqualify a place this way. She applied to the ones that stayed on the list.

Re: getting lost. The more u-turns you make to get to a college, the more you'll like the school (superstition that worked for us.)