When did your son/daughter start looking at colleges?

[Arkansan]

We had lots of luck with dedicated “Junior Open Houses” during the Fall or Spring of Junior year. Also agree with a PP regarding visiting the farthest away schools after acceptances have gone out. Most schools have some sort of “Accepted Students Day(s)” for those kids during the Spring of Senior year prior to the May 1 decision deadline. We also enjoyed a few Senior Open Houses during the Fall of Senior year, even though the applications were already in at that point. For our oldest, she decided to apply to the school she went to after driving through the campus during Christmas vacation of her Senior year! We were visiting family near the school and, on a whim, DH asked if anyone wanted to see the campus (even though it was closed for the Holidays). Our DDs both went with him and, when we got home, oldest said she wanted to apply. It was Dec. 29 and the application deadline was Jan. 15, but she got it in and was accepted. We did go back for Accepted Students Day in April and she was able to see the campus with students prior to committing. Next DD (graduated last week) just changed her major/career aspirations last summer so that also changed some of her college choices. She went to a cheer clinic at an out of state flagship the Spring of her Junior year and loved the campus, but did not take an official tour until a Fall Open House. She is actually going to a different school that she toured during a Junior Open House and then again during Accepted Students Day. She actually applied Early Action and was Accepted in January, but didn’t make the final decision until late April. DS (a rising Junior) is fine-tuning his choices via online research. We will likely visit a few schools the Fall during school long weekends. Sadly, we don’t get a Spring Break here, although College visits are excused absences with a letter from the College/University. We have found that Admissions Offices are well prepared to give a letter when asked.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I am 3 years younger than my sister and I tagged along on her college tours. I wasn’t thinking about it that young but I did end up ruling out one school based on my sister’s visit (University of Texas at Austin). It was way too big for me so I never applied. I definitely made the right choice. Whether or not to bring along a sibling depends on whether that kid will be a distraction. The kid may get more out of it than you expect.

My son is only in 6th. While we don’t tour schools yet we will sometimes walk around a campus if we’re in town so he can get a feel for what different types of campuses and college towns/cities are like. We will start discussing what type of college experience he wants his sophomore year.

I totally agree with this. As I said earlier in this thread, we took DD, who was a freshman at the time, on DS's college visits during his junior year. She fell absolutely in love with the first school we visited on that trip. Over the next 3 years, she toured a lot more schools. In comparison to that first school she toured with her brother, all the other schools fell short. She visited her first choice one more time during her junior year just to be sure it was as great as she remembered. It was! She applied, got accepted and had a terrific first year at the school of her dreams!

 

[yeahdisney]

We took DS along with us for DD touring. We did a road trip for colleges spring break.
Around December I asked on this board when to start looking for tours and peeps replied I might of already missed the sign ups for some schools and we had. we had to go a different time, I kinda think, to the one she is actually going to.

 

[pooh2001]

Junior year of HS

DS wanted a car - so commuted to a great 4 year college in our area (30 minute commute) DH was an adjunct professor there, so DS got a nice discount

DD first looked at colleges 4 hours away - then decided on one 1 1/2 hours away because she wanted to stay closer to home (for visits) and got a great merit scholarship too

 

[officerjudyhopps]

I started looking beginning of sophomore year and applied end of junior year. I really wanted to research my college and what it had to offer so I started my search early. (I’m not a legacy but 75% of my family went to my college so it was a very easy choice for my to go here.)

I was accepted as early admissions so I paid my deposit before my senior began (or very soon after. I forget. I graduated college in 2014 so my deposit was paid in 2009 lol).

I think everyone is different. My friends had no interest in college until after doing community college. After their second year then they really started focusing their search on 4 year colleges.

 

[dosekies]

I started looking into schools online during soph/jr year. Summer going into jr year I took a bunch of road trips (midwest to northeast and midwest to south/southeast) to actually look at the schools.

 

[disykat]

Our kids started looking seriously in their junior year. We told them Spring break junior year would be dedicated to taking them to see places (in state or nearby states) they were interested in. If they had wanted to go far away our deal was a trip to see them Senior year between an actual offer we could afford and when they would need to make their decision.

That said, I picked my college when I was in second grade. My dad had a conference there and the whole family went with him. I thought it was the coolest place ever - though I probably saw the campus for a total of a few minutes since we were staying with friends an hour away! When it came time to choose I kept going back to that school. All I had was a catalog to go by in the days before internet but I chose it and saw it again when I moved into the dorm that Fall. I LOVED my school, perfect fit.

It cracks me up that we go so far out of way to show the kids the school (Not judging, I did it too!) when there is so much info available now. MOST of my friends came to college sight unseen unless they lived nearby or had gone to an older sibling's graduation there!

 

[scrapquitler]

My daughter is finishing her sophomore year of high school. I'm wondering when we should start visiting colleges? Do most start looking the summer before their junior year? She is my oldest and this is all new to me...

My daughter did her first college visit in September of her senior year. I had to drag her kicking and screaming thru the entire process, the stress was almost too much for her. I was SO happy once we finished the process of applications, interviews, and decision making. I was even more happy when she graduated a few weeks ago.

 

[tink1970]

DD will be a senior in August. We started touring colleges the Spring Break of her sophomore year, and continued last summer (between soph/junior), and Spring Break this year (junior). She has 3 more this summer and hopefully she's done but we'll see. I attended college sight unseen and did fine, but we're definitely different people and she has to have a better "feel" for things (thankfully I understand that about her) which is why we started so soon. That, and of course she wants to get "as far away from Florida as possible." Sigh...I've used up quite a number of airline miles helping her decide.

 

[loves to dive]

We didn't visit any, we live in Athens, GA, home of the University of Georgia. My Daddy went there, my Mama went there, my ex-husband went there, one of my brother's went, my honey went. There was never a thought given to anywhere else for my son, his school counselors did have him fill out applications at other colleges and he was accepted but UGA was the only place he wanted to go. He didn't tour the campus because if you live here, you spend a lot of time on campus so he already knew it. I worked there when he was small and his student advisor turned out to be a woman who was a TA in the department I worked in so he even had that.

 

[tink1970]

We didn't visit any, we live in Athens, GA, home of the University of Georgia. My Daddy went there, my Mama went there, my ex-husband went there, one of my brother's went, my honey went. There was never a thought given to anywhere else for my son, his school counselors did have him fill out applications at other colleges and he was accepted but UGA was the only place he wanted to go. He didn't tour the campus because if you live here, you spend a lot of time on campus so he already knew it. I worked there when he was small and his student advisor turned out to be a woman who was a TA in the department I worked in so he even had that.

Athens is a great college town! I don't blame him at all My brother is UGA class of '98 and he was married in Athens; still tries to get back for a visit every year. Of course, I have a soft spot for anything with bulldogs...

 

[aprilgail]

We didn't visit any, we live in Athens, GA, home of the University of Georgia. My Daddy went there, my Mama went there, my ex-husband went there, one of my brother's went, my honey went. There was never a thought given to anywhere else for my son, his school counselors did have him fill out applications at other colleges and he was accepted but UGA was the only place he wanted to go. He didn't tour the campus because if you live here, you spend a lot of time on campus so he already knew it. I worked there when he was small and his student advisor turned out to be a woman who was a TA in the department I worked in so he even had that.

We have a college about 10 minutes from my house- my daughter would not even consider that one- she grew up here so she wanted to spread her wings and experience new places and not be stuck at home for college too.

 

[aprilgail]

It cracks me up that we go so far out of way to show the kids the school (Not judging, I did it too!) when there is so much info available now. MOST of my friends came to college sight unseen unless they lived nearby or had gone to an older sibling's graduation there!

My daughter applied to somewhere near 16 schools- we visited some of them- others we were waiting until she got accepted and got the financial aid package details from them to see if we should even bother touring- once she got accepted to a 4 in Boston we went there and toured them all at once. We toured one in California (we are from NY) that she was interested in but it was while we were on a road trip around the US so we were there anyway otherwise we would not have flown all that was to tour it. We were very glad we toured one in Boston that was on the top of the list because we started the tour and I am looking around thinking "wow this place is really weird" and that my kid liked this place so she must be weird too LOL- halfway through the tour she whispers to me "mom, I can't go here-it's so weird'- whew! We ducked out on the tour at that point LOL.

 

[Hikergirl]

For my oldest 2 we didn't visit any while they were in HS, both decided to go to the CC here. My dd knew exactly what school she wanted to transfer too so we did visit that last fall. We will be there again this coming weekend for her orientation and are bringing my youngest ds along.
He is the only one who has expressed interest in going away for school, he will be a sophomore this year so I guess he needs to pick a few and we will visit the ones we can this (coming) school year and do the rest when he's a Junior.

 

[loves to dive]

Athens is a great college town! I don't blame him at all My brother is UGA class of '98 and he was married in Athens; still tries to get back for a visit every year. Of course, I have a soft spot for anything with bulldogs...

I tell my honey and my son it is like a cult, once people come here for UGA they never leave. We actually ended up living in Athens because my parents lived overseas but needed a home in the States. Since they met at UGA they thought Athens was as good a place as any. My honey came here from south Ga. to go to UGA and just never left and never will. Personally, I dislike living here, we actually moved to a little outlying county because I dislike it so much but I do still work in Athens.

 

[loves to dive]

We have a college about 10 minutes from my house- my daughter would not even consider that one- she grew up here so she wanted to spread her wings and experience new places and not be stuck at home for college too.

I could see that but my son knew he wanted to go to UGA practically from birth. It's a legacy sort of thing. He didn't live at home though, we told him we would pay for his college if he lived at home but he wanted to live on his own so moved out and worked full time while he went to school.