If you’re planning college visits this spring, here’s a tip—don’t visit your dream schools.
A lot of students make collegiate pilgrimages to visit their dream schools, which all too often are those schools most likely to reject them. Then they come away even more in love than they were before. If you’ve loved Duke since you were twelve and you simply cannot envision a universe where you wouldn’t apply, what’s the point of spending time and money to visit Duke? You don’t need to fall any deeper in love with Duke. Spend this time visiting other colleges, preferably some more likely to love you back.
There’s nothing wrong with having dream schools. But when you limit your visits to your top choices, you’re just renewing your vows instead of playing the field.
You can always visit a dream school later if you’re actually accepted (imagine how much more fun it would be visiting when you know you could actually be there in the fall). But as you plan your college visits, be honest with yourself about whether or not you really need to visit a dream school. If you’re already deep in love, there’s no need to renew your vows. Play the field and see some colleges where your chances of admission are more certain.