Hoggirl Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Ds will be attending a Duke TIP Summer program on Duke's campus this summer. He attended one last year at Trinity after 7th grade, and dh drove him down and we both picked him up. This year we are considering driving him over and flying him back. He entered charter school in January of this year. He was grade accelerated from 8th to 9th grade, so overnight I had a high schooler. If we drive him over to Duke, would it be advisable to stop and visit a couple of other college campuses along the way? Even though he has just finished his freshman year? Not sure if we will travel this way again (though ds will probably want to go back to Duke TIP next summer, but who knows if that will happen). Now that ds is enrolled in school, we will not have the time/flexibility to visit campuses during the school year as we would have had we carried on with home schooling. I believe the seniors are only allowed three or four days for this. He took the ACT in February and did very well, so we aren't going to visit with nothing, kwim? Would it be silly/wrong/over eager to do some college visits this summer? I realize that summer is not the ideal time, but it might be an efficient way to work some in. If you think this is a good idea, how does one arrange these? I have "heard" admissions counselors don't care for live interviews very much. Is this true? Would anyone even be around to give us a campus tour? I wouldn't want to be aimlessly wandering around a campus not knowing at what we were looking. Wisdom and advice? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 It depends on what you want to accomplish during a campus visit. Summer is not the best time to experience a working campus, because typically summer sessions have far fewer students and class offerings. The "feeling" of the campus will be different from what it normally is. You can certainly find people to talk to (the administrators are probably all there). Many professors, however, use the summer to work on their research, attend conferences and workshops and may be gone from campus, so if you plan on visiting specific departments, there will be fewer people around to talk to. I do not think at this point anybody is going to care about his ACT score. I would see the main goal of a campus visit this early for your SON to find out whether this is a place he wants to apply - not for the college to give you a heads up whether they'll take him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 I do not think at this point anybody is going to care about his ACT score. I would see the main goal of a campus visit this early for your SON to find out whether this is a place he wants to apply - not for the college to give you a heads up whether they'll take him. Why do you say this? I was thinking they might take us more seriously even though he is young. I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time by visiting a campus that wasn't within range. But maybe I am not thinking about this the right way?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Why do you say this? I was thinking they might take us more seriously even though he is young. I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time by visiting a campus that wasn't within range. But maybe I am not thinking about this the right way?? I am not an admissions person - but what could they possibly tell a freshman who is waving an ACT score? The ACT minimum score requirements are available online, and the statistics about score distributions as well. So, you already know whether you make the cut or not. You have one year of transcript. Maybe somebody else can chime in - I just can't imagine what they could possibly want with the score at this point. If I took my freshman to a college visit, I would want to see how the campus feels and talk to the people in the academic departments my kid is interested in so HE could decide whether he likes the place. I would be having lots of questions that *I* would want to ask - and the school better answer them without looking at my kids' scores. When we have students tour our department, we try to get them interested and answer their questions - I don't think anybody looks at the scores. At this point, it is not about selecting applicants, at this point the college is trying to get a student interested in attending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Yes, I think summer would be a good time to visit a few campuses. And, yes, there are tours available in the summer. I would see this as an opportunity for your son to get an impression of what different colleges are like though I do agree with regentrude that a summer campus visit will only give an impression of what the campus would ordinarily be like. Still, it's a good opportunity to see a campus, some classrooms and labs, and a dorm room. Try also to stop by the library, eat a meal on campus, and browse in the bookstore as well as pick up a copy of the school newspaper and see what is posted on the bulletin boards around campus. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'd stop for a visit or two along the way simply to see what more campuses are like, but as others have said, these visits are more for you (all of you) than they are for the college. It's not that a college wouldn't like your son's scores. It's just that he's young and they have a few years of students to recruit first. Many top colleges are used to top scores, so they aren't a novelty. You'll hear the basics of what they want on a high school transcript, etc, and can ask any questions you have, but mainly, it's your chance to see what a few places look like to better firm up which kinds of places (small, medium, large, city, suburban, rural, religious, secular, etc) you'll want to look at in the future. Remember that you aren't seeing them exactly as you would during the school year, but there's still a bit you can glean. Take the tours. Incidentally, there will likely be a place or two who will ask if he's planning on graduating early or would think about it (been there, done that), so you might want to firm up in your mind how you feel about that first. I know people have mixed feelings about it on here. I'm in the camp that kept my youngster home and we're both happy about it. Others have gone to school early and are happy with their choice. To each our own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggirl Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 I guess I felt like we needed to prove we were "worthy" of their time. I didn't know if they would just show around/spend time with anyone who asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 For the tours we've taken--they don't require anything. You possibly could just be wanting to kill a few hours & go on the tour. I agree that these tours will mainly help you & ds consider what type of school he'd be interested in (urban/rural, large/small, etc) He's a few years from having to fill out applications & a lot can change between here & there, but he'll have some info to go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 It's what they do, recruit, recruit, recruit. You won't be wasting their time. If he's visiting now they know you know something about the scores. And it's not just his scores but the whole package they get when you apply. Enjoy. It's your chance to ask anything you want and them not to think the student should be doing all the talking. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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