By The Numbers: A College Visit Road Trip

By Andrea Rizzi, Associate Director of College Counseling

Summer is the perfect season for college visiting. Even if school is not in session, students can still get a feel for the campus, meet a handful of current students, attend an information session lead by an admissions officer, and interview (if they are a senior and the school offers them). While students might by enticed by beautiful brochures, a campus visit is the best way to determine whether or not a school is a good fit. I recently returned from a college road trip my daughter, Olivia Kato ’19. After ten years working in the college counseling office at Episcopal, I finally got to experience first-hand what it was like to be a parent taking the type of college trip I have talked about so many times with other families. Below is a summary of our trip.

10 – the number of days spent on a college road trip

2,804 – the number of miles driven

2.5 – the number of hours Olivia was allowed to drive

8 – the number of colleges visited

7 – the information sessions attended

4 – the number of interviews Olivia had

3 – the number of visits to campus bookstores for souvenirs (totaling $111.46)

80 – gallons of gas used

5 – the number of nights in a hotel

4 – the number of nights spent with family and friends

13 – the number of meals eaten out

3 – the number of local ice cream shops visited

6 – the number of colleges that will remain on Olivia’s short list

Priceless – the amount of time spent with my college-bound daughter

Embrace and enjoy the college search process. Pack a bag, jump in the car, and hit the road. Your rising senior will thank you for it when they return to campus in August, ready to meet with their college counselor and ready to tackle those applications with confidence!