# How many colleges did you visit before deciding on one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589 "2018-08-14T13:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/21 "2018-08-14T15:01:25Z")
We took our daughter to two. She fell in love with American University and went there as pretty much her only choice. Second choice was where I worked. For me, my mother loved to visit college campuses, so we went to a lot of them. I think I’d been on campus for three of those I applied to. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/22 "2018-08-14T15:06:47Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > At that point Pitt was the only place I could get into within the next 3 weeks that would also accept the scholarship money I had on the table. Thus began my slow descent into despair. WVU alumnus, here. If I had to go to Pitt, I would be in a state of despair as well. Feast upon excrement, my friend. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/23 "2018-08-14T15:15:22Z")
Probably six or eight, but I had my heart set on the University of Florida, and I ended up going there. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/24 "2018-08-14T15:19:24Z")
None. Didn’t apply to UW or WSU because they were too big. Applied to 1 small liberal arts college in Washington(state) and another in California. The brochures looked nice and the student/professor ratios were really good (like 8:1). Ended up going to the one in Washington, never regretted it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/25 "2018-08-14T15:31:11Z")
I visited every college to which I applied - a grand total of 1. I guess it’s a good thing I was accepted. Contingency planning wasn’t my strong suit at age 18… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/26 "2018-08-14T15:37:02Z")
I looked at 4. I already knew where I wanted to go, but applied to 3 (by grades, I was automatically admitted to the state university, but had to apply to the honors program). I was accepted at my first choice. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/27 "2018-08-14T16:03:56Z")
Probably visited eight or ten, applied to five (including one that I had never visited). I think the campus visits were useful for screening out a few places where my immediate reaction to the vibe and culture was “JUST NO” (particularly, UVA on football-game day), but I’m not sure they’re necessary; they also make rejection a lot more painful, since I’d had a chance to fall in love with a couple of long-shot schools. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/28 "2018-08-14T16:35:06Z")
About 40, starting in 10th grade. Applied to…10? Only went to one “accepted students weekend” sort of visit and went to a different school from that. If I’d lived somewhere with lots of drivable good schools I probably would have visited fewer, but Western Texas isn’t exactly full of colleges, let alone good ones. So that pretty much opened up the entire country. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/29 "2018-08-14T16:43:11Z")
Me personally only one. I was not so strong with the academics and grades in HS so attended the local JC, and as expected transferred to the local State U. My daughter is about to start her sophomore year at college. She visited 5 schools before deciding, but there were some guard-rails in that she had a specific major in mind and was gunning for an athletic scholarship in a sport that is not widespread. Only a few schools on the west coast met that minimum criteria. My son is a junior in HS and has visited 3 universities so far (all as part of a family college road trip with my daughter a couple years ago). None so far for himself, but we are looking to change that shortly. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/30 "2018-08-14T17:01:37Z")
0 I had one option. No need for a visit. I did do one visit to my future school for my PhD. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/31 "2018-08-14T17:36:09Z")
I applied to three, and visited one (though the one I ended up going to was the one my two brothers had also attended, so I’d been on the campus plenty of times - just not during “college visit season”). ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/32 "2018-08-14T17:43:32Z")
None. The state college was in the same city as me, was quite affordable, and I could attend from home. I signed up for it sight unseen. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/33 "2018-08-14T18:04:46Z")
I think it was four, would have been more except the one I really wanted to go to accepted me early and that was it. I didn’t even finish applying anywhere else. I now do admissions interviews for them as a local volunteer. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/34 "2018-08-14T18:19:42Z")
None. I knew where I wanted to go, and knew I would get accepted. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/35 "2018-08-14T18:36:43Z")
None. My parents decided I would go to the local state university, and that’s where I went. It was cheap and I could commute from home. I didn’t really have any say. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/36 "2018-08-14T18:47:10Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > When you were looking for colleges did you actually go and visit the campuses? > > Just asking because I’m working with some high school students. Zero for me. I went to the school offering me the most money for my undergrad. Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/37 "2018-08-14T18:47:49Z")
Technically, I applied to eight - in my day, if you applied to one of the (then eight) undergraduate Universities of California, you applied to all of them. However, the closest I came to visiting any of them were the times my brothers dragged me to the one they attended there because they needed help with some computer programming problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/38 "2018-08-14T18:59:39Z")
Three. The first was on the way home from my brother’s wedding, so my folks figured we might as well stop by. The second was the state university and my entire class was taken there one day. Attendance was not optional, even though I knew I wasn’t going there. The third was the school I actually wanted to attend, and that’s where I ended up going. The tour guide almost fell into a fountain, then almost fell downstairs, and finally did collide with a buffet table in the cafeteria, knocking it a few feet over. (She kept talking to us while walking backwards.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/39 "2018-08-14T19:01:04Z")
The walking backwards thing is common during college tours. (Except at Wesleyan, where the tour guide says they don’t do so, because they look forward.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589/40 "2018-08-14T20:32:13Z")
None, but that was over 60 years ago. More to the point, my kids didn’t visit any in the 80s and early 90s. But it seems my grandchildren are visiting 8 or 10 currently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-colleges-did-you-visit-before-deciding-on-one/819589.md?page=3)