the college tour rite of passage

I spent the past few days on the road with my daughter, Elizabeth, visiting universities she might attend in the Fall of 2010. Lizzy has spent the past year at Sierra College, where I work, and has to decide which university she will attend after one more year at Sierra. We left our home in Folsom on Saturday morning, and spent the evening with family in Los Angeles. On Sunday, we toured UC Irvine and CSU Long Beach. On Monday, we drove up to San Luis Obispo and visited Cal Poly. On Tuesday, we drove further north and visited CSU Monterey Bay.
Lizzy liked UC Irvine and CSU Monterey Bay, but didn't care for Cal Poly or CSU Long Beach. I'm not sure that she could tell you exactly what she didn't like about Cal Poly or CSULB, but her reactions are, in my opinion, fairly typical of how students select the colleges they attend. While we parents fret over the reputation of their academic programs, tuition and living costs, availability of financial aid, distance from home, and a variety of other criteria, most students, it seems to me, ultimately make their decisions based on the overall "feel" of the campus---which may depend on such fortuitous elements as the weather on the day of the visit, whether students and staff seemd friendly, the student's own mood on the day of the visit, etc.
In Lizzy's case, she has made it clear that her first choice is none of the colleges we visited. She wants to go to school in San Diego, so she will apply to UCSD and CSUSD. Her fall-backs will be UCI and CSUMB. I still consider our trip a success, because knowing where you DON'T want to go is as important as knowing where you want to go. Moreover, I had a great four days in the car with my daughter, and I know that those occasions will become increasingly rare.
I am saddened, however, by the knowledge that many kids her age will never have the opportunity to visit several colleges, or even the encouragement to attend college. Some of these kids may have parents who simply lack the means or the knowledge to guide their children through the intricacies of college choice, applications, and financing. I'd love to help organize and lead an annual college tour for such kids through Sierra College.