Visiting small colleges during summer?

[Janeway]

We have time this week to visit colleges, but it seems like with a very small college, it might be pointless to visit during the summer? I am thinking along the lines of Hendrix and Rhodes. We were supposed to go in March and it got cancelled.

[chiguirre]

Colleges can feel like ghost towns in summer. I dropped dd off at the University of Dallas (about 1500 undergrads) for a summer program and the only people on campus were the high school students and parents that were there for drop off. I don't think you'd get a good feel for campus life from visiting in the summer.

[Kassia]

We just did a college visit at the end of May and the campus was practically empty.  It's 1200 miles away so the only time dd will see the school and I wish she could have experienced it when school was in session to get a feel for what it's like with students on campus.  She's an introvert and the empty campus was appealing to her.  

[teachermom2834]

We have done a couple visits this summer because we know how hard it will be once dual enrollment and extracurriculars start. For us it is with the intention that they are close enough to go back again before the final decision (two hours away). So they are just kind of preliminary visits for first impressions. We can go back in session easily if they are among final choices. 

I would try not to do it that way if it was a bigger trip and going to be a one shot deal. That said, if it is the only time to visit, go for it unless your dc is super particular about crowds or large groups of people. Most kids will be just fine most places. You know your kid and if he is more particular.

I actually feel like it is more important to see the huge universities in session. But I hate crowds. I want my kids to see just how many people are in line at the food court, trying to find a table in the cafeteria, etc. 

[J-rap]

Well, seeing it in the summer is better than nothing.  We didn't always do college visits, but we did visit a few in the late spring when some colleges were already out of session.  I guess we weren't looking for student "atmosphere" as much as just wanting to look over the campus, see what the location was like, the neighborhood, feeling of small town vs. big city, etc.  Then we did lots of research online to learn more about what we couldn't see.  In hind site, I do think it would have been nice to be there when school was in session, but it was still helpful to visit even when school was not in session.

[Guest]

I’m not sure if this would be the best time to see Rhodes or the worst-Memphis weather in August is about as bad as it gets-like living in a sauna. You’re also getting close to Elvis week, which will push hotel prices through the roof. 

[mom1720]

Here's the thing -- all schools, big, medium, or small will have a different feel in the summer. Small schools may feel dead and isolated, but the bigger schools tend to be overrun with high school age and sometimes even younger campers. That's not the school's regular vibe either. If summer is the only time you can go -- it was for us -- then that's what you go with if you think it's necessary.

[kokotg]

Just echoing the "not ideal, but better than nothing" sentiment. We did a ton of colleges in the northeast summer before senior year. It was helpful mostly for eliminating schools he liked on paper but not so much in person. He ended up being accepted to and seriously considering one of the ones he'd seen over the summer, and he made a return trip in the spring to see it again (and found he wasn't as crazy about it once he met a lot of actual students/sat in on classes/etc).