Campus visits are a big topic in my book, Hopeless to Harvard. It’s an inside guide to Ivy League college admissions.
My biggest secret here is this:
Campus visits are CRITICAL if you want to get into the best schools
There are many reasons why. Here are a few:
1. It shows a clear, demonstrated interest – very important if you’re a weak or borderline candidate
2. It provides you an experience that you can talk about in your college admissions essays
3. It gives you the opportunity to live and breathe campus life, to see if you’d truly be happy as a student at Princeton
The first point is very important. UPenn’s admissions committee is always nervous about accepting students who later turn them down for, as an example, Yale. By planning a campus visit, staying overnight in the dorms, and attending classes, you show a demonstrated interest in UPenn that will look favorably on your Common Application.
As for point two – the best college essays always demonstrate a clear reason why you want to go to that school. It’s hard to write a good story when you’ve never set foot on their campus, much less made friends with current freshmen.
So plan a campus visit now! The best time to go is junior year, as you’re gearing up for the college application cycle. Focus on your extracurricular activities, your high school GPA and SAT score, and you’ll have a great chance of breaking into the best colleges.
Good luck!
Want to attend Ivy League schools? Check out my insider’s course and guide to getting into Harvard, even with a 1360 SAT from a public high school.
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