Visiting colleges is an integral part of your college journey. But too often, I hear students and families tell me their visits are primarily to a student's "reach" colleges. However, most students attend one of their "target" or "likely" colleges, making focusing your travel efforts on those colleges potentially a better return on your investment. Here are some other reasons you should make sure your college visits include a range of colleges for your student to explore:

• Time and resources: Visiting colleges can be time-consuming and expensive, especially if you have to travel long distances or take time off from work or school. If you only focus on your reach colleges, you may spend all your time and resources on a few schools.
• Limited perspective: Visiting only your reach colleges may mean missing out on experiencing different campus cultures, sizes, and locations that could better fit your personality and interests.
• Missed opportunities: Other colleges may offer you different benefits, such as merit-based scholarships, unique academic programs, or internship opportunities; focusing on your target and likely schools is where most students will find improved scholarship chances.
• Pressure: Only visiting reach colleges can put even more pressure on students during an already-stressful time. It's essential to remember that there isn't just one perfect college out there--you can thrive in lots of places!
• Regret: If you only focus on your reach colleges and don't get accepted, you may regret not visiting other colleges and miss out on opportunities to apply to schools that could have been a better fit for you. Visiting various colleges can help you feel confident in your college application decisions and prevent future regrets.
• Consider Demonstrated Interest: While it can impact admissions decisions at many colleges, not every school cares about Demonstrated Interest (aka, how much love you show the college during this process). Make sure you know which schools care about this to prioritize them on your college visit list. Tip: The majority of the most selective (aka, rejective!) colleges don't track demonstrated interest--they already know everyone loves them!