College trips now often replace summer vacations

Bill Schackner, Amy McConnell Schaarsmith in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:

For legions of families preoccupied with their children’s college choice, summer vacation has been supplanted by what might be described as a triathlon of academic sales pitches, family stress and fast food.

It’s true that one need not tour a college to get admitted, and it’s hardly a pivotal factor in most admission decisions. But many colleges do at least consider who bothers to show up – as many as 44 percent of them do, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which recently surveyed almost 600 campuses.

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