Poll: Did you tour colleges before you went

[Mom22ns]

You - not your kids.

 

This was mentioned in the tour thread and I was curious. I didn't do any traditional tours, but I did go to the college I ended up attending for a scholarship weekend. The scholarship was based on a test given at the college and invitations were based on ACT scores. I took a bus (charter from the school sent to the large city near me) on Friday evening (4 hour drive), stayed in a dorm, we spent most of Saturday testing, then did some activities together, back to the dorm for the night and they bussed us home Sunday. It was a great introduction to the campus. I remember a friend going to tour the school she attended that was a few states away. I don't think it was common though in my public high school in the 80s.

[Arcadia]

I am not from the states. There were only two national universities when I applied for college in 1991. I attended a school sponsored weeklong camp at one of the universities for junior college (11th and 12th grade) student leaders. For my junior college, it just means any 11th grade student councillor with good academic standing would have the camp fully paid by the school and given priority applying for the limited spots per school.

 

My parents did annual family vacations so we also toured some overseas universities if we were near to one while traveling. My dad is a retired teacher so schools and universities are interesting to him. Some universities have beautiful old buildings.

 

ETA:

When I was in 1st-12th, homeschooling wasn't legal yet in my country and private schools are for expats. Citizens could only go to public and aim for elite public. However my country's public schools do include religious affiliated schools. They teach the national curriculum and religion. For example the convent school I attended is govt. funded and teach basic bible knowledge for free thinkers and catechism for the catholic students.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Arcadia

[SKL]

My parents could not have taken me or arranged for me to go on any college tours.  We were rural and poor and my folks have 6 kids.  Besides that, I didn't get my driver's license until my 2nd semester of college, so I couldn't drive myself.  Not like I really had a choice of where to go anywhere.  We could only afford to commute, and there was only 1 university with campuses close enough.  :)

 

That said, I did spend time on the regional campus before I started college, because my parents were students there at the time.  I was allowed to use the library there to do my high school research papers.

 

I did not tour any other campus I attended (the other regional campus close enough to drive, where I attended 1 year; grad school).

 

I should probably also mention that I only applied to 1 university for undergrad and 1 for grad school.  I'm so boring!

[Library Momma]

I went to public school, graduating in 1987 and I visited about 10 schools in 4 different states.  All were derivable.  Most of the people I knew went on college visits and some flew to their destinations.  

 

This was actually a hot topic of discussion in my area a few years ago.  The high school had someone come in to speak one evening about the college application process.  Basically she was there to answer questions and offer tips and advice.  I am unsure what her credentials were, my own kids were too young for this to be on my radar.  Evidently she started off the talk by telling the parents that things are much different than when they graduated high school.  She said that students these days go on college visits (among other things).  This statement immediately lost her huge credibility points with parents because almost all of the parents there went on college visits themselves.  I heard that some people immediately got up and left thinking that this woman had no idea what she was talking about.  I'm sure I would have stayed to at least hear what she had to say.  

 

I area I live in is fairly middle to upper middle class.  It is definitely not a wealthy area in relation to the state.

[DawnM]

I went to a very good boarding private school overseas and was fully prepared for college (my definition but most of of felt that way).

 

I did not tour colleges because I was overseas.  

[DawnM]

I went to public school, graduating in 1987 and I visited about 10 schools in 4 different states.  All were derivable.  Most of the people I knew went on college visits and some flew to their destinations.  

 

This was actually a hot topic of discussion in my area a few years ago.  The high school had someone come in to speak one evening about the college application process.  Basically she was there to answer questions and offer tips and advice.  I am unsure what her credentials were, my own kids were too young for this to be on my radar.  Evidently she started off the talk by telling the parents that things are much different than when they graduated high school.  She said that students these days go on college visits (among other things).  This statement immediately lost her huge credibility points with parents because almost all of the parents there went on college visits themselves.  I heard that some people immediately got up and left thinking that this woman had no idea what she was talking about.  I'm sure I would have stayed to at least hear what she had to say.  

 

I area I live in is fairly middle to upper middle class.  It is definitely not a wealthy area in relation to the state.

 

I am confused.  It sounds like the parents went on tours and she said to go on tours.  Isn't that the same thing?

[freesia]

I did. I didn't end up applying to any of the colleges that my dad took me to on the "official tour", but I applied to and attended the one I went on a weekend visit where an alumnae drove us up and we spent the weekend with students. I think that that was my senior year.  I went to a "typical public school," which happened to be the best in the city I lived, but wasn't like the schools in the rich suburbs by any stretch of the imagination.

[creekland]

I toured four of the six I applied to and one I didn't apply to.  The two I applied to but didn't tour I really had no intention of going to.  One was my parent's Alma mater - I just applied there to make them happy.  The other was a small Christian college suggested by my youth group leader.

 

Tours were very common from my excellent public high school in rural NY.  Those of us who were likely to be college bound were tracked that way starting about 3rd grade with the track getting narrower each year.  Those in my classes my senior year went to some pretty top schools and I can look quite a few up on the internet to see what they are doing (not FB - larger sites like teaching at med schools or senior positions in firms or companies).  I'm afraid I let my school down when it comes to "what graduates have done."   :lol:   (No regrets though.  I've loved my life.)

[Carrie12345]

Not really.  (Class of '95.)

 

Technically, I visited Vanderbilt, but I was for a different reason.  It never even made my wish list due to admission likelihood and price.  So I guess it's good that it was a bit too urban for my style, lol.

[Library Momma]

I am confused.  It sounds like the parents went on tours and she said to go on tours.  Isn't that the same thing?

 

 

No, She was saying that unlike their parents kids today go on tours.  In this case most of the parents themselves went on tours and didn't see it as a "new thing,"  but rather how it has always been done.

[MinivanMom]

I didn't visit any colleges. I stepped onto campus for the first time when I arrived with suitcase in hand to move into the dorms for honors orientation. My scholarship was based on grades and SAT scores, so I never had to visit for an interview or scholarship weekend or anything like that (and I would have had no way to do so if it was required since it was an out-of-state school). I attended an urban public high school and was a first-generation college student. 

 

I think this is a class divide more than a generational divide. Visiting colleges is for the privileged kids who grow up middle class and/or have supportive parents. I had never even heard of anyone visiting or touring colleges, and I went to high school in the mid-90's. But there were only about 20 kids in my graduating class (out of 350) who went on to 4-year colleges. Most of those 20 kids lived at home and went to the local state university. There were 4 of us that went somewhere better than the local state university: 1 had parents taking out loans to pay for an out-of-state dream school, 2 were sports recruits, and I was offered an academic scholarship. I guess the sports recruits must have visited those colleges at some point, but I don't think I understood that at the time. I just thought those 5-year football scholarship came from college scouts visiting our football games or something. I didn't understand the process at all beyond what I had researched for myself, and I was completely focused on academic scholarships.

[RootAnn]

I claimed other because while I didn't tour, I'd been on several campuses because of camps or activities (math day, science camp, Girls State, etc).

 

But no real tour or visit like people plan today. (My kids have walked around with DH and I at our alma mater, but I don't think they would call it a tour. Two kids did a week long day camp at another campus, but they were only in one building.)

[Guest]

I voted "other" because I myself didn't tour the college I ended up attending, but I sent my older sister to tour it for me and give me a report.  (I lived in PA and the college was in TX. She lived nearby.)

[Mbelle]

I did not tour any college campuses.  I lived fairly close to the biggest state U so we drove past it occasionally.  My Dad went there, his cousins went there and so we just all went there too.  (my brother and I and cousins).  Cousins lived so close they lived at home, but I lived on campus as it was a little too far away.  

 

I will take my kids on a few campus tours.  

[historically accurate]

I went to an excellent public (public boarding school for gifted). All of us went on some college tours. I visited 3 out of the 4 schools I applied to. One I went to with 3 other students from my school; we stayed overnight in the dorm and attended 2 classes each. The other 2 were close together, and my parents made an RV vacation of the colleges.

[lllll]

nm

Edited May 7, 2017 by _ -_-

[luuknam]

Yes, I did in NL... however, I did not in the US. I attended a publicly funded private school. 

[MerryAtHope]

By "tour" do you mean a tour in order to decide where to go, or a tour of the campus like what you might do for Freshman orientation?

[Farrar]

Yes. But no one took me on the traditional college road trip. I got set on a couple of places and I toured them on my own, basically, including talking my dad into giving me a plane ticket to fly solo to Massachusetts. And then, after I got into one of my backups (Agnes Scott, which was my mother's alma mater) and got a good scholarship, my mother insisted I go to this weekend for admitted students. I had decided I didn't want to go and then I got there and made friends... and it turned out all the people I had made friends with were also waiting to hear from their first choice schools! So that cinched that.

 

I think I would have benefitted from doing a more broad college road trip. Or, honestly, getting any kind of college advice from any adults whatsoever. I picked my choices from an article in Sassy about thinking outside the box for college. That was pretty much the extent of my college guidance.

 

I attended an excellent public magnet school that was large, diverse, and had an ultra-competitive atmosphere. My parents were divorced and my mom was in grad school and beyond checked out of my life at the point at which I applied to college.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Farrar

[LisaKinVA]

My high school was other...as I attended 2 public high schools, and was homeschooled through Christian Liberty Academy for 2 years as well (private school, distance learning)

 

I toured one college, although I poured over catalogues for a few others.  

[J-rap]

I attended a typical, very big, California high school.  That was in the late 70's.  I don't think colleges in those days had their special tour days, etc.  The most my peers and I did was take a drive through of a campus with our parents if we happened to be visiting the city the school was in.  So yes, it used to be a thing to drive through college campuses for my family when we were traveling, more just out of curiosity and fun, but not with the specific intention of trying to decide if I might like it there myself someday.

 

We did drive through one college campus in Southern California that in the end I decided to attend, but at the last minute, my parents moved across the country and I decided I wanted to, too.  We (my parents and I) chose another college in the new state and that was that.  I had never been there, although my brother had been there before and liked the campus.

[MarkT]

I said "no" on tour - I went to a very small public HS in upstate NY.  I applied to 5 colleges all in NY state. I had played ice hockey at several of the colleges I applied to so I had seen their campus but did no official tours.  Looked through college catalog to help make my decision. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

Sort of.  I knew that I was limited by finances to a state university (back when I could earn tuition and half of room/board over the summer with a minimum wage job.)  I had seen several of them already due to either a sibling going there or having done a camp there.  I hadn't seen our state flagship university yet, but I knew I wanted to go there.  I knew several people who went there and loved it.  So, I applied, sight unseen and got in and accepted without having seen it.  I did go for a visit when I had to find private housing since I didn't know I had to send in the housing deposit earlier than the deadline in order to get into university housing.  I knew the second I was on campus that I was going to love this place.  And I did.  It may not have been the best fit for me in the long run (huge campus, didn't have much quality interaction with professors and I was not a very assertive person.)  but I did love it there. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

Tricky answer for me, I toured two colleges but then didn't go.  I don't know what possessed me to do this.  I was from a very low end public school with no support and no one telling me to do such a thing.

[Mom22ns]

By "tour" do you mean a tour in order to decide where to go, or a tour of the campus like what you might do for Freshman orientation?

 

I mean tour to decide where to go.

[Mom22ns]

Tricky answer for me, I toured two colleges but then didn't go.  I don't know what possessed me to do this.  I was from a very low end public school with no support and no one telling me to do such a thing.

 

Dislike. I hate that this experience existed and still exists. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Momto2Ns

[...................]

Just a few...

 

ir definitely helped, I should have listened to my gut and figurd out how to get into the school I loved or toured more safety schools. One can always bloom where one is planted but I really really think kids also know when an atmosphere just depresses them, as well.

 

My safety school(where I got a full ride) was in a cement jungle in an outskirts of a major city. I have always valued either green grass or ocean ...I absolutely hated my school.

 

I should have picked a safety school in the country with rolling green hills, and change of seasons and hay rides.

 

(The school I wanted had rolling hills and old stone structures and tons of history, and was in the middle of Philadelphia. But I only got 50% there and with 6 kids my parents couldn't make it work)

 

You have to really know your kid and yourself. My dd needs Ocean or hills, my ds need air conditioned dorms, large quiet spaces and a good gym and some bike trails. Neither would do well in a city at all. One would be depressed and the other overwhelmed.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Calming Tea

[Hilltopmom]

I graduated from an American school overseas, so private, but also attended public high school in the states in younger grades.

 

I did visit colleges with my dad the summer before senior year when home visiting.

 

I think we went to see 4 around NY, a mix of sizes & regions and I wound up attending a small women's college, that we had toured :)

 

-best decision for me educationally, but not my pocketbook.

[MerryAtHope]

I voted other--I'm really not sure if I toured before deciding or not! It may have been that I went and said, "okay sure, I'll go here," or it may have been that I had already decided when I first visited--I'm not really sure! I decided in the spring of my junior year to graduate a year early and everything that spring is a blur after that. I know that I went to the campus several times before starting, but I don't really remember why.

 

However, my dh toured a bunch of schools before deciding where he would go. He went by himself and just showed up at campuses (I don't think he "scheduled tours"). 

[Bootsie]

I graduated from high school in 1981; I toured the college campus that I attended (a regional state university).  I visited several other campuses (four that I can think of) for other reasons (academic competitions, to take ACT exam, athletic events, etc.) but did not tour any other schools.  At the time, the campus I attended was one of the few I was aware of in my area that even did organized campus tours.  Few of my friends (most who attended college) toured any campuses at all.  

[KarenNC]

I went to a weekend overnight for accepted students but didn't tour any before applying.

[lisabees]

First time I stepped foot on any campus was the day I moved in.  And it was the ONLY time any of my parents stepped foot on that campus.

 

But...it was a different time.  I would love for you to add the question of age or date.

 

I entered college in 1986.  

 

On the other hand, my father visited campuses with my brothers.  One is three years younger and the other is six years younger.  They were recruited athletes and went to private schools out of state.  

[regentrude]

I am not from the US. Just for some perspective: 

We were allowed to apply for one major at one university. A central government agency looked at the grades and political background and determined whether you would get a seat of that fixed number of x majors at y university or not. If not, you might get offered one alternative for major and/or school.

I applied to major in physics at my hometown uni. Since my grades were top and physics was not sought after, the lack of my parents' communist affiliation which would have prevented me from getting into more popular majors did not matter. So I went there and succeeded. At no point was "fit" even a question.

 

[creekland]

I am not from the US. Just for some perspective: 

We were allowed to apply for one major at one university. A central government agency looked at the grades and political background and determined whether you would get a seat of that fixed number of x majors at y university or not. If not, you might get offered one alternative for major and/or school.

I applied to major in physics at my hometown uni. Since my grades were top and physics was not sought after, the lack of my parents' communist affiliation which would have prevented me from getting into more popular majors did not matter. So I went there and succeeded. At no point was "fit" even a question.

 

I'm going to go ahead and say I like our system better.  ;)  It might not be perfect, but... give me choices with or without tours!

[regentrude]

I'm going to go ahead and say I like our system better.   ;)  It might not be perfect, but... give me choices with or without tours!

 

Oh, I completely agree :)

 

Just wanted to give perspective that these abundant choices are a huge luxury, and that success is also possible by taking the one option you have and running with it.

[Corraleno]

No college tours, and zero help or support in choosing which colleges to even apply to. I ended up at Eckerd, sight unseen, because they offered me a full ride (NMS).

 

No help in getting there either, even though I was barely 17. My mother gave me the cost of a bus ticket (from NJ to FL) and then my sweet little grandpa came up with enough crumpled $1s and $5s to get a cheap flight instead (way back when the difference was only ~$20). But I still had to figure out how to get from Tampa airport to the campus in St Pete by public bus by myself (dragging all my luggage).

 

I'd never even been south of Maryland before then, and I remember being disappointed by how many pine trees there were on campus — I thought Florida would be all palm trees and exotic flowers.  :laugh:

 

 

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[HTRMom]

I went to one organized weekend and one weekend visit to someone at the school. High school 2008.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[creekland]

No college tours, and zero help or support in choosing which colleges to even apply to. I ended up at Eckerd, sight unseen, because they offered me a full ride (NMS).

 

No help in getting there either, even though I was barely 17. My mother gave me the cost of a bus ticket (from NJ to FL) and then my sweet little grandpa came up with enough crumpled $1s and $5s to get a cheap flight instead (way back when the difference was only ~$20). But I still had to figure out how to get from Tampa airport to the campus in St Pete by public bus by myself (dragging all my luggage).

 

I'd never even been south of Maryland before then, and I remember being disappointed by how many pine trees there were on campus — I thought Florida would be all palm trees and exotic flowers.  :laugh:

 

At least you ended up somewhere really neat! ;)  I'm surprised you had the chance to find out about Eckerd.  At our school, they do no advertising.  My guy absolutely loves the school... as do we (parents).

 

Did they have Ibises as their clean up crew when you were there?

[Corraleno]

At least you ended up somewhere really neat! ;)  I'm surprised you had the chance to find out about Eckerd.  At our school, they do no advertising.  My guy absolutely loves the school... as do we (parents).

 

Did they have Ibises as their clean up crew when you were there?

 

I only knew about it because a friend from HS went there the year before me — I have no idea how he heard about it! It was the only college I could afford to attend, thanks to the NM Scholarship and generous grants, and it most definitely lived up to its reputation as a "college that changes lives."  :thumbup1: 

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[SparklyUnicorn]

Nope.  I started off at one college and transferred to another both sight unseen.  They were state schools though and that was what I could afford and get to.  So I didn't really have options per se.