College visits for high school kids

[BradStevens]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

 

[Marvin the Martian]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

It has been 10 years, but we did the official tours. It gives you a chance to hear the propaganda, get freebies, etc. Did you know South Dakota State has cows on campus and a department devoted to ice cream that created Cookies and Cream? I didn't, but oldest wanted to go to a cheap school at west and learned that on a tour (and got free ice cream with milk fresh from said cows).

Most of our tours were great. None of my kids wanted to stay here, so they looked everywhere they could otherwise afford. Indiana State was far and away the worst. Two just settled for IUPUI to get out of Bloomington.

 

[outside shooter]

Did it 12 years ago with my oldest, 9 years ago with the middle child, and 6 years ago with the youngest

The oldest wanted to stay in Florida, so we visited about 6 schools, both public and private, in weekends over a month or so. Pretty easy-peasy. She went to Florida Gulf Coast and then transferred to UCF when she changed majors to a program that UCF was really good at (computer science -related).

The middle child was all over the place and we had trouble getting her to pare down her list. Big schools, small liberal arts schools, many locations. We kind of caved in and visited Columbia, Brown, Fordham, Cornell, Sara Lawrence, Tufts, Macalester in MN, Earlham in IN, Kenyon and Denison in OH, U. Chicago, Northwestern. Christ, we ended up visiting over 10 places with her. She went to Columbia. It was actually low on her list until we visited.

The youngest was focused on Math / Engineering so the list was smaller but spread out all over the US. Cal-Tech, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Ga. Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, and RPI. No Purdue, LOL. He picked Cornell, graduated, and is in grad school now at Carnegie-Mellon. Cornell was medium on his list until we visited.

The campus visits were helpful and really did make them re-think they priority/wish list. They also had some sense about weighing the acceptance letters and if they would get even a little support, such as work-study.

On a do-over I'd tell my imaginary future kid to pick a top 5, period, and then we'll go visit them. But no more than that.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

if you can do unc and duke do it. i've been to well over a hundred campuses and UNC is my favorite school in the country. it's perfect. hard to get admitted but just quintessential in every way. but NC is great for getting an idea of schools. and your kids are smart so they might want to check out the big schools like unc or even smaller like wake and davidson or even an elon. but for tours if you're willing to go that far from nc through virginia (uva william & mary etc) has some of the most beautiful great schools in the country. i highly recommend

you guys will have a blast. i cannot wait to do this with my daughter in a few years. super excited. AND MY SON in about 15 years in a wheelchair pushed by my nurse

 

[BradStevens]

if you can do unc and duke do it. i've been to well over a hundred campuses and UNC is my favorite school in the country. it's perfect. hard to get admitted but just quintessential in every way. but NC is great for getting an idea of schools. and your kids are smart so they might want to check out the big schools like unc or even smaller like wake and davidson or even an elon. but for tours if you're willing to go that far from nc through virginia (uva william & mary etc) has some of the most beautiful great schools in the country. i highly recommend

you guys will have a blast. i cannot wait to do this with my daughter in a few years. super excited. AND MY SON in about 15 years in a wheelchair pushed by my nurse

I will definitely take my daughter to UNC for a tour, but it's a 5.5 hr drive from Knoxville so I think we'll just fly out sometime. Maybe we'll hit those others you mention, too. I'd like to see UVA.

 

[mcmurtry66]

transferred to UCF when she changed majors to a program that UCF was really good at (computer science -related).

the size of the enrollment at FLa schools is incredible. schools you don't think a lot about like ucf, fau, and fiu are massive

 

[Bloom.]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

Pick a couple of major areas your kid(s) are interested in, and if facilities/equipment are vital, set up tours there. General campus tours aren't of much value if they don't include that. Tour of where freshmen will live -- not just sleep, but exercise, play, library/media center (places to study) and socialize.

The tour should reflect their interests.

If you're digging the area that might be as valuable as a campus tour.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

My son didn't do a ton a visits and when he did, they were informal tours. To be honest, he was never really interested in high school so to get him over the finish line with a GPA above a 3.0 was a big win. That said, since I work for a university and he gets free tuition that was the way to go for us. And luckily it's paying off in spades. He loves his major and made the Dean's list his first semester, is a basketball manager for the men's basketball team and has just really found his groove. Had we looked at many other schools, I don't think we would have found a better fit.

My daughter is a junior in high school and she'll be an entirely different story. She has really good grades and is a pretty decent soccer player. She's getting some attention from schools, but schools aren't necessarily tripping over themselves to throw soccer money at her. We were late to the club soccer game, but she's fully in it now, so we're looking at schools to visit this spring. Between her grades and maybe a little soccer money, I'm hopeful that we can find a place for her to go in the fall of 2025. Based on my untrained eye, I think she's a fringe D1 player and could definitely play a lot at the DIII level. Last year we did take some time walking around Vanderbilt's campus, but nothing official. She got a letter from Bellarmine recently, so we may take a visit there. At an ID camp she was in Wright State's coach's group, so we might look there too. The midwest isn't short on good DIII schools, so we're going to visit some of those too.

All that said, if a kid is interested in the process, I think you give them a sample of variety. Big schools, small schools, private schools, public schools, schools close to a big city, schools in the middle of nowhere, etc. They say that the feel of campus and a kid being able to see themselves there is a big factor. All the admission materials and websites make places look like the best place ever.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Pick a couple of major areas your kid(s) are interested in, and if facilities/equipment are vital, set up tours there. General campus tours aren't of much value if they don't include that. Tour of where freshmen will live -- not just sleep, but exercise, play, library/media center (places to study) and socialize.

The tour should reflect their interests.

If you're digging the area that might be as valuable as a campus tour.

This is probably the best advice.

 

[mcmurtry66]

My son didn't do a ton a visits and when he did, they were informal tours. To be honest, he was never really interested in high school so to get him over the finish line with a GPA above a 3.0 was a big win. That said, since I work for a university and he gets free tuition that was the way to go for us. And luckily it's paying off in spades. He loves his major and made the Dean's list his first semester, is a basketball manager for the men's basketball team and has just really found his groove. Had we looked at many other schools, I don't think we would have found a better fit.

My daughter is a junior in high school and she'll be an entirely different story. She has really good grades and is a pretty decent soccer player. She's getting some attention from schools, but schools aren't necessarily tripping over themselves to throw soccer money at her. We were late to the club soccer game, but she's fully in it now, so we're looking at schools to visit this spring. Between her grades and maybe a little soccer money, I'm hopeful that we can find a place for her to go in the fall of 2025. Based on my untrained eye, I think she's a fringe D1 player and could definitely play a lot at the DIII level. Last year we did take some time walking around Vanderbilt's campus, but nothing official. She got a letter from Bellarmine recently, so we may take a visit there. At an ID camp she was in Wright State's coach's group, so we might look there too. The midwest isn't short on good DIII schools, so we're going to visit some of those too.

All that said, if a kid is interested in the process, I think you give them a sample of variety. Big schools, small schools, private schools, public schools, schools close to a big city, schools in the middle of nowhere, etc. They say that the feel of campus and a kid being able to see themselves there is a big factor. All the admission materials and websites make places look like the best place ever.

Do as many ID camps as possible fast

 

[mcmurtry66]

My son didn't do a ton a visits and when he did, they were informal tours. To be honest, he was never really interested in high school so to get him over the finish line with a GPA above a 3.0 was a big win. That said, since I work for a university and he gets free tuition that was the way to go for us. And luckily it's paying off in spades. He loves his major and made the Dean's list his first semester, is a basketball manager for the men's basketball team and has just really found his groove. Had we looked at many other schools, I don't think we would have found a better fit.

My daughter is a junior in high school and she'll be an entirely different story. She has really good grades and is a pretty decent soccer player. She's getting some attention from schools, but schools aren't necessarily tripping over themselves to throw soccer money at her. We were late to the club soccer game, but she's fully in it now, so we're looking at schools to visit this spring. Between her grades and maybe a little soccer money, I'm hopeful that we can find a place for her to go in the fall of 2025. Based on my untrained eye, I think she's a fringe D1 player and could definitely play a lot at the DIII level. Last year we did take some time walking around Vanderbilt's campus, but nothing official. She got a letter from Bellarmine recently, so we may take a visit there. At an ID camp she was in Wright State's coach's group, so we might look there too. The midwest isn't short on good DIII schools, so we're going to visit some of those too.

All that said, if a kid is interested in the process, I think you give them a sample of variety. Big schools, small schools, private schools, public schools, schools close to a big city, schools in the middle of nowhere, etc. They say that the feel of campus and a kid being able to see themselves there is a big factor. All the admission materials and websites make places look like the best place ever.

Complete listing of Soccer ID Camps at All Colleges. DI, DII, DIII, NAIA

Soccer ID Camps for men's and women's programs at all colleges. Complete listings on one website.

www.collegeidcamps.net

click the tab for womens' camps and it will list by state if you weren't already aware

 

[DANC]

if you can do unc and duke do it. i've been to well over a hundred campuses and UNC is my favorite school in the country. it's perfect. hard to get admitted but just quintessential in every way. but NC is great for getting an idea of schools. and your kids are smart so they might want to check out the big schools like unc or even smaller like wake and davidson or even an elon. but for tours if you're willing to go that far from nc through virginia (uva william & mary etc) has some of the most beautiful great schools in the country. i highly recommend

you guys will have a blast. i cannot wait to do this with my daughter in a few years. super excited. AND MY SON in about 15 years in a wheelchair pushed by my nurse

@BradStevens if you get to Elon or Wake or Davidson, let me know. I'd love to meet up for lunch or something.

Wake is a really nice campus. A lot of brick, which reminds one of Purdue, but it has some great facilities. UNC, as Mcmurtry says, is a great campus, but a little too crowded for my taste, with the Medical School right there and the Dean Dome close to the center of campus. If you do go there, go to Mama Dips Fried Chicken on Franklin (I think).

Appalachian State is also a beautiful campus.

There are so many colleges down here, you could spend a month visiting them.

 

[DANC]

the size of the enrollment at FLa schools is incredible. schools you don't think a lot about like ucf, fau, and fiu are massive

FIU is HUGE. Went down there for a couple football games vs IU and it has a huge enrollment. Didn't care for the campus, but it's large.

 

[mcmurtry66]

@BradStevens if you get to Elon or Wake or Davidson, let me know. I'd love to meet up for lunch or something.

Wake is a really nice campus. A lot of brick, which reminds one of Purdue, but it has some great facilities. UNC, as Mcmurtry says, is a great campus, but a little too crowded for my taste, with the Medical School right there and the Dean Dome close to the center of campus. If you do go there, go to Mama Dips Fried Chicken on Franklin (I think).

Appalachian State is also a beautiful campus.

There are so many colleges down here, you could spend a month visiting them.

It really is incredible how many idyllic schools there between North Carolina and va.

Brad’s a snob. He ain’t sending his kids to app st in Boone freakin co

Not a bad dream team spot tho

 

[DANC]

It really is incredible how many idyllic schools there between North Carolina and va.

Brad’s a snob. He ain’t sending his kids to app st in Boone freakin co

Not a bad dream team spot tho

I would have never known about App. State before moving down here. Hey, it's not far from Hickory, where you can catch a Hickory Crawdads Single A Baseball game! Seems like every burg down here has a Single A baseball team.

 

[BradStevens]

I would have never known about App. State before moving down here. Hey, it's not far from Hickory, where you can catch a Hickory Crawdads Single A Baseball game! Seems like every burg down here has a Single A baseball team.

It really is incredible how many idyllic schools there between North Carolina and va.

Brad’s a snob. He ain’t sending his kids to app st in Boone freakin co

Not a bad dream team spot tho

I'm an educational snob, for sure.

My tastes don't matter much, though.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Do as many ID camps as possible fast

We did one in the fall and have one coming up in a couple weeks.

She's on a club team, but since we got a late start she's not on the "top" team. We were told that there are already the max of 18 players on that team, so she's the best player on a team just below that. Supposedly she's first on the list to be a sub on that 'top' team, but we haven't been asked to sub in yet. That said, the spring season hasn't really started yet.

 

[mcmurtry66]

I'm an educational snob, for sure.

My tastes don't matter much, though.

so here will be my "rules." my daughter has been to both IU and Mizzou and loved them both. she's obviously been to wash u and slu a thousand times. i play soccer at slu a lot. already i think she prefers a big school. however. he's my rule. i don't care whether she goes to a big school or a tiny school but i want her in a college town. i don't want her in a big city and i don't want her jumping in cars going to bars etc.

 

[mcmurtry66]

We did one in the fall and have one coming up in a couple weeks.

She's on a club team, but since we got a late start she's not on the "top" team. We were told that there are already the max of 18 players on that team, so she's the best player on a team just below that. Supposedly she's first on the list to be a sub on that 'top' team, but we haven't been asked to sub in yet. That said, the spring season hasn't really started yet.

the politics in clubs is exhausting. try to do a few more id camps if you can. and write to the coaches you know are coming in advance

 

[BradStevens]

so here will be my "rules." my daughter has been to both IU and Mizzou and loved them both. she's obviously been to wash u and slu a thousand times. i play soccer at slu a lot. already i think she prefers a big school. however. he's my rule. i don't care whether she goes to a big school or a tiny school but i want her in a college town. i don't want her in a big city and i don't want her jumping in cars going to bars etc.

Good rule. My daughter talks about NYC as a location for college. Ugh. Gotta make sure she doesn't watch Felicity or I'm toast.

 

[BradStevens]

the politics in clubs is exhausting. try to do a few more id camps if you can. and write to the coaches you know are coming in advance

I'd suggest rewatching MadMen and see how those ad execs schmoozed potential clients. Lots of booze, bring them women, etc. Couldn't hurt.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Good rule. My daughter talks about NYC as a location for college. Ugh. Gotta make sure she doesn't watch Felicity or I'm toast.

i swear to god that's where my daughter talks about most too! ugh is right!

 

[mcmurtry66]

I'd suggest rewatching MadMen and see how those ad execs schmoozed potential clients. Lots of booze, bring them women, etc. Couldn't hurt.

my son's trainer slept with one of the mom's and the daughter a few years back. was a big scandal.

 

[BradStevens]

my son's trainer slept with one of the mom's and the daughter a few years back. was a big scandal.

Pics?

 

[mcmurtry66]

Pics?

my son is truly a minion. he probably sensed that hte trainer was trouble and naturally gravitated to him. he loves the guy.

neither the mom or daughter were hot. okay.

 

[DANC]

Pics?

Soccer moms......mmmm..........

 

[Bloom.]

This is probably the best advice.

I've been on a lot of college visits with players, and most of them we extend beyond what the coaching staff sets up. On a few of them we went to campus in July, when they can't even meet with coaches.

You have to figure out what matters, which is different for each kid.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Soccer moms......mmmm..........

yeah i was just thinking that in another couple years i'm going to have to stand on the sidelines with my ex stoker and her husband watching my minion play. Fing miserable. The guy is like the quintessential "soccer fanboy" who has season tickets to the mls team and played D3 at some nowhere school and isn't worth a shit but obsessed with the sport. i was thinking about marv's post the other day when he was arguing with someone about money and how he's content. i'm so freaking lucky and blessed. i work with my friends who have my back. i work as little or as much as i want. my kids are fantastic. perfect really. i do anything i want whenever i want. i have so many great friends and can travel at any time to hang in great places. i'm truly blessed but this one chick and this one fing circumstance is like an endless dark cloud. so even shit like my minion's games, which will only be EVERYTHING to me, i have to endure that crap along with it. anyway.

 

[mcmurtry66]

Pics?

oh and here's the other rule. have to go away to college. can't go in town. i don't believe in it. too many distractions. end up getting a bf and moving in there. getting a job and deciding while only take two classes this semester blah blah blah. have to go away

 

[DANC]

yeah i was just thinking that in another couple years i'm going to have to stand on the sidelines with my ex stoker and her husband watching my minion play. Fing miserable. The guy is like the quintessential "soccer fanboy" who has season tickets to the mls team and played D3 at some nowhere school and isn't worth a shit but obsessed with the sport. i was thinking about marv's post the other day when he was arguing with someone about money and how he's content. i'm so freaking lucky and blessed. i work with my friends who have my back. i work as little or as much as i want. my kids are fantastic. perfect really. i do anything i want whenever i want. i have so many great friends and can travel at any time to hang in great places. i'm truly blessed but this one chick and this one fing circumstance is like an endless dark cloud. so even shit like my minion's games, which will only be EVERYTHING to me, i have to endure that crap along with it. anyway.

You got a monkey on your back.

You ex-stoker's husband sounds like my nerdy brother-in-law who doesn't know shit about sports (he's from California, so.....), but he acts like a big NBA and NFL fan because his son is into sports. He'll go insane over a normal play. Drives me crazy.

You have a good life - anyone who has a computer and time to post here has it better than 99% of the world's population. I think it will get better for you over time. She's still prego, right? Wait until she can't lose that baby fat.

 

[DANC]

oh and here's the other rule. have to go away to college. can't go in town. i don't believe in it. too many distractions. end up getting a bf and moving in there. getting a job and deciding while only take two classes this semester blah blah blah. have to go away

What's the distance rule? 4 hours? 500 miles?

 

[mcmurtry66]

Wait until she can't lose that baby fat.

 

[mcmurtry66]

What's the distance rule? 4 hours? 500 miles?

shit even mizzou is fine. two hours

 

[BradStevens]

yeah i was just thinking that in another couple years i'm going to have to stand on the sidelines with my ex stoker and her husband watching my minion play. Fing miserable. The guy is like the quintessential "soccer fanboy" who has season tickets to the mls team and played D3 at some nowhere school and isn't worth a shit but obsessed with the sport. i was thinking about marv's post the other day when he was arguing with someone about money and how he's content. i'm so freaking lucky and blessed. i work with my friends who have my back. i work as little or as much as i want. my kids are fantastic. perfect really. i do anything i want whenever i want. i have so many great friends and can travel at any time to hang in great places. i'm truly blessed but this one chick and this one fing circumstance is like an endless dark cloud. so even shit like my minion's games, which will only be EVERYTHING to me, i have to endure that crap along with it. anyway.

You better train up so you can kick the new hubby's ass in soccer on the field one day so your minion doesn't grow up thinking he's better than you.

Weird soccer fetish your ex-stoker has, by the way.

 

[mcmurtry66]

You better train up so you can kick the new hubby's ass in soccer on the field one day so your minion doesn't grow up thinking he's better than you.

Weird soccer fetish your ex-stoker has, by the way.

would take a lot more than 20 years to eclipse the difference in class son. theses feet don' t lie

 

[mcmurtry66]

You better train up so you can kick the new hubby's ass in soccer on the field one day so your minion doesn't grow up thinking he's better than you.

Weird soccer fetish your ex-stoker has, by the way.

I was going to meet a buddy for pizza beers tonight and now I’m getting dressed to go play outdoor tonight which I don’t feel like doing at all because your god damn post bothered me

 

[Spartans9312]

Looking for advice on college visits for high school kids.

We're taking my kids down to the Smoky Mountains for Spring Break to see my wife's family (not from there, they just want to go there). Thought we'd stop in and see Vanderbilt and maybe some others on the way down from Chicago. (Wanted to hit UNC and Duke, but those are too far out of the way).

But it got me thinking about what types to see, what to do when you go (always sign up for official tour?), other things to ensure the kid gets a fair shot at seeing the campus and helping to make an informed decision.

Anyone been through this process recently? Thoughts?

We’ve been to Vandy, Earlham, Rose Hulman, and of course IU and Purdue. May end up visiting Notre Dame next month.

I think the key is to know what they want to major in. My son really liked Earlham but he didn’t think it was the best place financially for what he wanted to take.

Of course ….old dad is not footing the entire bill so he’s having to weigh some of the financial end. I think that’s been good for him as well.

Good luck

 

[larsIU]

my son's trainer slept with one of the mom's and the daughter a few years back. was a big scandal.

Aren’t you his trainer?

 

[mcmurtry66]

Aren’t you his trainer?

nah one of the guys at gallagher. he already doesn't listen to me

 

[Spartans9312]

nah one of the guys at gallagher. he already doesn't listen to me

Story tracked?