OT: College Aged Kids

[djg]

I know that this is not life or death, and for many this is over-shadowed, but I recall a thread from a dad taking kids around to look at Philly-area schools, and I know many parents of kids who've been sent home, and I'm just wondering how these sorts of things are going for people. I have two high school virtual seniors myself. I hope that this is going well, or as well as it could, under the circumstances.

And, of course, I hope that all of you and yours are well, college-aged kids or not.

[echelon_john]

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

[djg]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

Beats me. Obviously, it tells her very little about what it will be like to attend school someplace for four years. But, then, all campus visits are ad hoc snapshots, which doesn't necessarily make them worthless. For some, just looking about and walking around might provide a sense of place of a sort. I she's the kind of kid who might feel more comfortable with her choice having trod the ground, by all means.

One of my twins has made her choice, while her brother -- leaning one way -- mulls it over. At least the boy has seen the candidates.

And if manageable as a safe and non-stressful excursion, it gets one out of the house.

All the best. And be safe.

[happycampyer]

My daughter just got back last week from a truncated semester abroad. It was an ordeal because her home university was not very supportive, and her abroad university even less so (the school was still holding in-person classes through last Friday). She is now dealing with taking virtual classes with a 14-hour time difference. It’s great that she is home and we are really glad she made it home when she did. Now we’re dealing with the fact that we’re paying rent on two empty apartments... still trying to negotiate the break-fee on the abroad apartment.

She is very lucky that she was returning from a Level 1 country (ironically to a place that has a much higher incidence of COVID19). Many of her friends who were studying abroad in Europe have been confirmed to have COVID-19.

I read an opinion piece that this episode will expose how overrated in-person classes are, but imo I think it will demonstrate the opposite—virtual learning is great for what it is and will get better, but is a poor substitute for in-person education and high-quality facilities, especially for things like engineering, etc.

[veloduffer]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

Just a note if this wasn't such an unusual situation - many/most colleges are tracking campus visits and online visits by prospective students. It's a gauge of interest and a consideration in the admittance process. We learned that from several admissions officers and college coaches. If the committee has two candidates with similar qualification, they are more likely to provide admittance to someone who's shown interest in the school.

Also, early admission is a clear advantage. Many colleges look to fill up to 50% of their incoming class from early admission applicants, which usually comprise about 15% of total applications. So that leaves 85% of the applicant pool applying for the remaining 50% of spots. You're also more likely to get merit money (discount) by applying early admission.

Early decision can hurt getting merit money since you're obligated to go if you're child is admitted. The school doesn't need to dangle any financial incentive.

My son's college is only 1.5 hours away, so it wasn't a big deal to move him home; plus he's a bit of a minimalist so not much to pack.

[jeffkoller91]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

I’m a professor at a university and this has been a big topic of conversation and concern. Our department is planning to do a virtual visit day where different people from the department are presenting on topics about the program and showing as many photos as they can. I know this obviously doesn’t substitute for an in person tour or visit, but it may be a good option since likely no where will be doing in person tours. I’m sure many other schools are doing the same. If you’re unsure if a school is going to offer something, reach out via email to someone in the department and see.


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[jeffkoller91]

Deleted...app posted this repeated times sorry

[jeffkoller91]

Deleted...app posted this repeated times sorry

[happycampyer]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

I meant to add that we are in a similar place with my younger daughter, who is a senior in high school. Fortunately, she has visited all of the schools where she has been accepted so far (still waiting to hear from a couple more next week), but several of those visits were last spring (2019). We were hoping to revisit schools for more in-depth “admitted student” days, which are much more informative that regular college visits. Of course, now those options are gone.

One of the schools that she visited last spring that she was lukewarm on has offered her $25k/yr in merit scholarships. Unfortunately, we didn’t take the tour of the engineering school, and now can’t. It will be interesting to see what if anything they put together virtually. We were lucky to attend an admitted student day at a school where she was accepted EA (and has offered even more merit money—$39k/yr). This school was a “safety” school, but she (and we) liked it far more than we expected. Decisions are going to be much more difficult for seniors this year for sure.

[jeffkoller91]

Originally Posted by happycampyer

Unfortunately, we didn’t take the tour of the engineering school, and now can’t.

If she’s going into mechanical engineering and you guys have any questions about how some programs are formatted or things to look for, feel free to PM me. That’s my area.


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[Ken Robb]

You might be able get a little information about the "feel" of a campus by reading their campus newspaper. That assumes the school has a newspaper and than back issues are available on-line.

[jimcav]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

We’re in the situation where my daughter has been accepted to a few schools that she hasn’t visited because we figured we’d visit if/when she was admitted...trying to figure out if it’s worth traveling to the ones within driving distance to walk around an empty campus...

and other sites have vids from current students that can at least provide some alternate "snapshots" or anecdotal experiences. My son is a junior and blissfully apathetic about the choice of college so far. We planned to tour several during spring break, but that is out the window.

[echelon_john]

Thanks-we’re actually joining an online admitted students event in about 20 minutes!

Originally Posted by jimcav

and other sites have vids from current students that can at least provide some alternate "snapshots" or anecdotal experiences. My son is a junior and blissfully apathetic about the choice of college so far. We planned to tour several during spring break, but that is out the window.

[jimcav]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

Thanks-we’re actually joining an online admitted students event in about 20 minutes!

I need to motivate my son to view such things (I know we missed this one, but there will be others, just curious what site it was one)

[djg]

Originally Posted by jimcav

I need to motivate my son to view such things (I know we missed this one, but there will be others, just curious what site it was one)

Some of the ones recently put together for admitted students seem to have links just for those students, but many colleges have links to virtual tours on their admissions office web pages. If your son has a list of schools of interest, it would probably be easy to find a bunch of things. The live ones might provide ways to ask questions in real time, but there are all sorts of ways to ask questions.