This blog could simply be the word “no,” but that would probably be unhelpful. Most of the students we work with end up compiling a list of around 10 schools to apply to and during that process, many of them think that they need to visit every school they put on that list. We always tell them, it isn’t as necessary or even as helpful as they think it is. We say this for a couple of reasons which are important for students who might be pushing themselves to go on visits to understand.
Colleges aren’t as different as you might think they are.
We think it’s important to get the basics of what you want from a college before you finalize your list. The biggest metric is size. We aren’t saying the vibe on campus for all small schools is exactly the same, but if you tour one liberal arts school and absolutely hate how small it feels, you probably don’t need to look at more small schools. Conversely, if you love a small school feeling, you probably don’t need to tour multiple to cement that. Plus, you can probably cross huge schools off your list.
Once you get an idea about size constraints, it is more important to see what schools have the academic programs you want. We aren’t saying you can’t study English at MIT (they do have that major) but if you know you want to study English before you apply, you should look for schools with robust English programs.
However, once you know the kind of school you are looking for, i.e. midsized school with a great English program, you can research that online. You don’t need to see each of them in person. By the time they make it onto your list, you probably already know that you are interested in them without having to tour.
But it won’t hurt seeing them in person, right?
Well… it can. Seeing a bunch of places in person can sometimes muddle our student's views on their list. You form an emotional connection to places you have visited and usually, that connection isn’t based on that much. Seeing a beautiful building can convince a student that this is the school for them. It can make them overlook or discount other schools for no reason.
It takes a lot of time and money to visit every school on your list and we have found that it doesn’t help students. You can always wait and tour the schools that you are deciding between once you get in. Touring a bunch of schools that you don’t end up getting into really won't help you.
Take each visit as a grain of salt
While we don’t advise visiting every school on your list before you apply, you most likely will visit some. When you do, try to keep an open mind. Most visits center around a college tour. If we are being honest, we hate that about visits. One of our staff was almost a tour guide at an Ivy League school. She made it to the last round of interviews which was a mock tour with questions. She told the truth when a hard question was asked and refused to lie… she didn’t get the job.
That’s the thing about tour guides, they have a very strict and sanitized script when it comes to the school. While tours can give you some insight into the college, they rarely show the whole picture. Since they are so sanitized, many tours will feel very similar across colleges. We feel that these tours often don’t help students actually decide on schools. We think an hour of creeping on the Instagram geo-tags will probably give you more info than 60 minutes of walking around with a 19-year-old paid to tell you about historic street names.
Visits can be a double edge sword. Strategically choosing which schools you want to visit can be much more helpful than seeing a bunch of schools willy nilly. Hopefully, our rationale is more helpful than a simple “no,” but we hope you truly do not feel like you have to visit every school on your list.
Making a list got you stumped? We can help with that; reach out here!