Winter break, spring break, and summer break are the perfect times for high school students and their families to visit potential colleges. Visiting colleges that you are interested in attending is a good way to help you narrow things down. During a college visit you will get to tour the campus, check out the town, talk to current students and even meet with an admissions counselor. A college visit is so important in the admissions process because being on campus and experiencing what it is like there is totally different from looking at pictures of the library online.
If you know you want to attend a southern school, you can plan your road trip accordingly. You can hit the University of Alabama and the University of Memphis, along with many other great southern universities. Spend your break hitting all the cool spots along the way and also checking out campuses. You should throw in a few schools that you aren’t really interested in too because it could surprise you and you may end up loving the campus. This includes smaller schools or liberal arts schools or even vocational schools. You never know what might catch your interest.
A beautiful area to plan your road trip is in the pacific northwest. Washington and Oregon both have some big name schools as well as some smaller and lesser known colleges. With this trip you would be getting much more than just a few campus tours, you would be experiencing the beauty that the area has to offer.
Some of the bigger schools in that area include the University of Washington, Washington State University, the University of Oregon and Portland State University. Some of the smaller schools include Western Washington University and Oregon State University, just to name a few. There are also communty colleges in the area if that is the right choice for you. In one road trip you could hit all six of these amazing colleges as well as experience the pacific northwest.
In this area you can venture out to the coast and see the beaches. You can also dive north and explore the lush rainforests. You can also do some whale watching or hike around to find a waterfall. You will also be staying in some awesome cities including Seattle, Eugene and Portland. The possibilities are endless.
Taking the ferry in Seattle over to the one of the islands and doing some whale watching should definitely be on your list for this trip. Walk around the public market and try some sea food, pickles and cheese! For your next stop, drive down from Seattle to the Portland area and walk around town and along the river. Don’t miss the opportunity to try some of the best sweets in the area at Voodoo Doughnut. You can also take a quick drive into the park where you can see Multnomah falls, along with other waterfalls, the Columbia River and the Bonneville Dam. Continue your drive south and you will be in the funky little town of Eugene where the school spirit is present all through the town.
The college admissions process can be tough on students and parents. Planning a fun family road trip to visit colleges is just one way to make the process more fun and less stressful.
To learn more about the college admissions process and campus visits, check out the links below.
How Parents Can Help Their College Bound Student
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