Blog & News
Why In-Person College Visits are Still Important in 2022
It is important before even talking about how to prepare for college visits to take some time to understand why these visits are so important. When your teens go through the college search process, they should think of the college that they ultimately choose as their...
What’s in The Box? Campus Curiosity
When we first set out to visit colleges with our daughter fifteen years ago, I’ll admit that some of those first visits were unorganized, rushed, and unproductive. That changed eleven years ago. That’s when we started Custom College Visits and built a process that has been proven over and over to ensure families that their investment in their teen’s college experience will be based on a solid foundation.
Helping Your Teen Find The Right College Fit
So much of what parents and students seem to be focused on during the college search these days is the reputation of the school. That might not be right!
NACAC Fall College Fairs
The National Association of College Admissions Counselor (NACAC) offers free virtual college fairs for students and their parents.
Campus Safety: Will Your Teen Be Safe on Campus?
Campus Safety 2021 Colleges have implemented Emergency Notification Systems In the fifteen years since the Virginia Tech shootings, most colleges and universities have implemented notification solutions to alert and inform students and the campus community regarding...
College bound | Read those emails the college sent you!
Not every email needs to be critiqued, and not every email, text or marketing piece gives hints of what a college admissions officer is looking for, but if you don’t read them you’ll never know.
Simple Student Visa Application Process & New Policies
In order for a foreign-national to come to the United States a visa is required. This may be an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa for a temporary stay. Although the children of certain non-immigrant visa holders (E-1/2, L-1, H-1 etc.) may attend school or college in the United States, they are generally only permitted to remain in the U.S. as dependents until they reach the age of 21.
Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus
17 Tips for Creating a Great First Impression and Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus
There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel
Planning College Visits As We Return To “Normal”. See how to plan before colleges start welcoming visitors back to campus. Great bonus tips available for both patents and teenagers!
What’s in The Box? Campus Curiosity
When we first set out to visit colleges with our daughter fifteen years ago, I’ll admit that some of those first visits were unorganized, rushed, and unproductive. That changed eleven years ago. That’s when we started Custom College Visits and built a process that has been proven over and over to ensure families that their investment in their teen’s college experience will be based on a solid foundation.
Helping Your Teen Find The Right College Fit
So much of what parents and students seem to be focused on during the college search these days is the reputation of the school. That might not be right!
Campus Safety: Will Your Teen Be Safe on Campus?
Campus Safety 2021 Colleges have implemented Emergency Notification Systems In the fifteen years since the Virginia Tech shootings, most colleges and universities have implemented notification solutions to alert and inform students and the campus community regarding...
College bound | Read those emails the college sent you!
Not every email needs to be critiqued, and not every email, text or marketing piece gives hints of what a college admissions officer is looking for, but if you don’t read them you’ll never know.
Simple Student Visa Application Process & New Policies
In order for a foreign-national to come to the United States a visa is required. This may be an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa for a temporary stay. Although the children of certain non-immigrant visa holders (E-1/2, L-1, H-1 etc.) may attend school or college in the United States, they are generally only permitted to remain in the U.S. as dependents until they reach the age of 21.
Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus
17 Tips for Creating a Great First Impression and Making New Friends Your First Week on Campus
There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel
Planning College Visits As We Return To “Normal”. See how to plan before colleges start welcoming visitors back to campus. Great bonus tips available for both patents and teenagers!
Top Tips for Effective College Visit Planning
College visit planning expert Janice Caine was interviewed by Betty Frohlking – 10 tips for effective college visits
Parents and College Tours with Teens
Experience from Over 150 US College Tours
Janice and I have probably been on 150 plus US college tours over the past 10 years. Some with our children when they were doing the college visit circuit, others as a college counselor checking out schools we think our clients would be interested in attending. Other than the campus visits that were specifically for college counselors, there were always teens and parents around for us to observe.
NACAC Fall College Fairs
The National Association of College Admissions Counselor (NACAC) offers free virtual college fairs for students and their parents.
Virtual College Visits as a Service: Announcement Update
Over the past 15 months Custom Colleges Visits has created virtual visit itineraries for a number of families both domestic and from overseas.
If you and your teen are undecided about visiting campuses in person, a virtual visit with one-on-one appointments (professors, students, etc) is a good alternative with the proper guidance.
Planning College Visits – A Helpful Website
Parents of college-bound students overwhelmed with the process of planning multi-day, multi-campus college visits will be pleased to learn about Custom College Visits’ website. Chock full of information on planning college tours for your teen, the site also provides information on the company’s four core services:
Itinerary and logistics planning
Development of prospective college lists
Travel arrangements
And on-campus arrangements
Turning a College Tour Trip into a Vacation
Janice Caine interviewed in College Covered article
Check out this article in College Covered about turning a College Tour Trip into a vacation. Janice has some suggestions for planning your college tour trip.
Custom College Visits mentioned in US News Article
Experts say visiting colleges during the application process or after being admitted enables prospective students to more closely understand what it’s like to be a student, giving them insight beyond the information on school websites.
NY Times Article – Turning College Visits into Vacations
“You have to gauge a little by your own child,” said Janice Caine, the owner of Custom College Visits, an agency that organizes campus tours for families. “You don’t necessarily want to pressure them, but I think it’s a good time if you have a school that is local to go see them and get an idea of what it’s like to be on a college campus and what kinds of questions people are asking.”
Campus Visits Help Students
As you make your way through the college search process, think of the school you will ultimately choose as your home away from home — a place that will be comfortable for you.