Four words for you: Stress. Free. Travel. Plans.
Have you read our chock-a-block junior year of high school month to month checklist yet? We’ve written about the benefits of starting your college tours early, but most people wait until junior year to get organized with planning.
Touring colleges is a huge part of the application process and it’s something we suggest you start early. We happen to think that touring colleges during the summer can be a great way to jumpstart the process, and here are a few reasons.
Everything about the trip will be more laid-back
You won’t be in a rush to catch a flight, bus, or car immediately after school on Friday, or get home late Sunday night before a Monday morning test. Weekend travel is busy and stressful, and things will be much more enjoyable if you aren’t rushing to and from your destination.
You’ll have more time to get a feel for the areas surrounding campus
If you’re touring Tufts on a Saturday, you probably won’t have much time to hang out in Boston. The same goes for any school: it’s beneficial to get a feel for the areas in close proximity. You’ll be spending time off campus, too, so a summer trip allows for more time to see what the cities surrounding campus have to offer.
You might be able to tack on some non-college related activities
Maybe you’re dying to see UCLA and have a friend from camp who lives in Santa Monica, or you want to check out Dartmouth but also want to mountain bike in New Hampshire. Rack your brain for things you want to do and see if you can stay an extra day and check them off of your list.
While there will be fewer students on campus, they’ll likely have more time to talk to you
College is stressful and students are busy. Summer classes are generally less time consuming, so the students hanging out on campus will probably have more time to answer your questions. But that’s not it: high school is also stressful, and if you start touring during the summer you won’t be worrying about studying for midterms and finals while trying to find your dream school. And study for the SAT. And start writing your common app. You get it.
We help our students figure out where to tour. Email us if want help!