Our autumn primer on navigating school and college visitations, plus open house dates!
For parents and students, researching and visiting schools or colleges can be life-changing experiences. Gaining first-person perspective, on-site optics, and meeting the administrations of potential schools are instrumental steps toward making one of life’s most important decisions—choosing the right school. This guide provides tips for navigating your school search, as well as a comprehensive list of regional schools, colleges, and learning centers offering open houses, campus tours, virtual seminars, and programs for all ages.
If you’re considering school visitations this fall, or in the near future, here are several tips and considerations when planning.
1. Make a list and map the schools out. Before the application process begins, curate a list of all potential schools, research them, and narrow them down. Once you have reduced your list to the top contenders, it’s time to start planning your campus visits. Ideally, you’ll want to visit every school you are strongly considering, so map out each school and plan accordingly.
2. Order matters. Try to visit your top school(s) last. As you visit more campuses, you’ll start to get a better idea of your likes and dislikes. Throughout the process, you will gain a better sense of questions to ask and places on campus you want to see, and you will know what to look for by then.
3. Timing is crucial. Plan your visit while school is, hopefully, in session. Observing student life will give you an authentic view of the school and will (hopefully) help you envision yourself as a student there.
4. Explore on your own. The official campus tour will highlight the school’s best features, so make sure to spend extra time exploring parts of campus that weren’t shown on your tour. This will be the best time to observe students, check out any departments you’re interested in, or sit in on a class or lecture.
5. Talk to current students. It’s your tour guide’s job to give the best impression possible of their school, making them a biased source. While the information your guide gives you is crucial, you may want to secure a more candid impression by talking to current students. Ask students anything that wasn’t covered on the tour: What is student life like? Is it easy to meet and make friends? Is there a lot of diversity on campus? Is it difficult to adjust?
6. Document every visit. If you plan to visit several schools, make sure to document each visit. Take pictures, jot down some notes, or record a voice memo to highlight your favorite—or least favorite—aspects of each school. Going on several tours within a short period of time can be chaotic, so this will help you separate and compare each visit.
7. Keep an open mind. Your priorities during your initial school search may completely shift once you start touring, so remain open minded. Walk onto every campus with a positive attitude and save your judgments until the end of the tour.
The following list of regional schools, colleges, and learning centers advertise within the What’s Up? Media family of publications. Please consider calling them directly to confirm open house dates, visitation guidance, and program availability. Schools are listed alphabetically.
Annapolis Area Christian School
Lower School Annapolis Campus – 710 Ridgely Avenue, Annapolis; 410-846-3504; aacsonline.org; September 25th, October 30th, November 22nd – 9 to 10:30 a.m. Lower School Severn Campus – 61 Gambrills Road, Severn; 410-846-3505; aacsonline.org; October 1st, October 24th, November 14th – 9 to 10:30 a.m. Middle School – 716 Bestgate Road, Annapolis; 410-846-3506; aacsonline.org; October 19th, December 12th – 9 a.m. to Noon Upper School – 109 Burns Crossing Road, Severn; 410-846-3507; aacsonline.org; October 28th, November 25th – 9 a.m. to Noon
Anne Arundel Community College
101 College Parkway, Arnold; 410-777-2222; aacc.edu; October 9th, 5 to 7 p.m.
Archbishop Spalding High School
8080 New Cut Road, Severn; 410-969-9105; archbishopspalding.org; October 27th – Noon to 2 p.m.
Benedictine School
14299 Benedictine Lane, Ridgely; 410-634-2112; benschool.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Boys’ Latin School of Maryland
822 West Lake Avenue, Baltimore; 410-377-5192; boyslatinmd.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Calvert Hall College High School
8102 La Salle Road, Baltimore; 410-825-4266; calverthall.com; November 9th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Divine Mercy Academy
8513 St. Jane Drive, Pasadena; 410-705-0778; divinemercy.md; November 6th, 6:30 p.m.
Chesapeake College / Eastern Shore Higher Education Center
1000 College Circle, Wye Mills; 410-822-5400; chesapeake.edu; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Elizabeth Seton High School
5715 Emerson Street, Bladensburg; 301-864 4532; www.setonhs.org; November 3rd, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Holy Trinity: An Episcopal School
Primary – 13106 Annapolis Road, Bowie; 301-262-5355; The Daisy Lane School & High School Prep – 11902 Daisy Lane, Glenn Dale; 301-464-3215; htrinity.org; October 17th, November 11th, January 10th, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Indian Creek School
1130 Anne Chambers Way, Crownsville; 410-923-3660; indiancreekschool.org; Upper School – November 7th, December 5th, 6 to 7:30 p.m.; Middle School – November 14th, 9 to 10:30 a.m.; Lower School – November 21st, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Johns Hopkins Peabody Preparatory
1 East Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore; 667-208-6500; peabody.jhu.edu; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Kent School
6788 Wilkins Lane, Chestertown; 410-778-4100; kentschool.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Key School
534 Hillsmere Drive; 410-263-9231; keyschool.org; Grades 1–4: October 8th; Grades 5–8: October 22nd; Grades 9–12: October 24th; 2.5 years to Kindergarten: November 9th
Lighthouse Christian Academy
931 Love Point Rd Stevensville; 410-643-3034; lcacademy.org; November 6th
McDonogh School
8600 McDonogh Road, Owings Mills; 410-363-0600; mcdonogh.org; Upper School – September 12th, 20th, and 23rd, October 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 22nd, November 8th, 13th, 20th, and 25th, December 5th; Middle School – September 13th, 19th, 26th, and 30th, October 10th, 17th, and 24th, November 7th, 14th, and 21st, December 4th
Monsignor Slade Catholic School
120 Dorsey Road, Glen Burnie; 410-766-7130; msladeschool.com; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Montessori International Children’s House
1641 N. Winchester Road, Annapolis; 410-757-7789; montessoriinternational.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Naval Academy Primary School
74 Greenbury Point Road, Annapolis; 410-757-3090; napschool.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Oldfields School
1500 Glencoe Road, Sparks; 410-472-4800; oldfieldsschool.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Radcliffe Creek School
201 Talbot Boulevard, Chestertown; 410-778-8150; radcliffecreekschool.org; Call school to schedule a tour
Rockbridge Academy
680 Evergreen Road, Crownsville; 410-923-1171; rockbridge.org; Open House – October 7th and February 3rd, 9–11 a.m. Exploring Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten Open House – October 18th, 9–11 a.m. Preview Night – November 8th, 7–9 p.m.
Saint Andrews Day School
4 B Wallace Manor Road, Edgewater; 410-266-0952; school.standrewsum.org; November 7th, 9–11 a.m.
St. Anne’s School of Annapolis
3112 Arundel on the Bay Road, Annapolis; 410-263-8650; stannesschool.org; October 16th, 7 p.m. (Virtual). Lower/Middle School – November 8th, 9 a.m. Program for Young Children (ages 2–4) – December 5th, 10 a.m.
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
669 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park; 410-647-2283; stjohnspschool.org; October 8th, Advance registration is required. Please contact lfish@stjohnsp.org for more information.
St. Margaret’s Day School
1605 Pleasant Plains Road, Annapolis; 410-757-2333; stmargaretsdayschool.org; October 16th, January 15th – 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
St. Martin’s in the Field Episcopal School
375 A Benfield Road, Severna Park; 410-647-7055; stmartinsmd.org; October 16th, January 15th, 10 a.m. to noon
St. Martin’s Lutheran School
1120 Spa Road, Annapolis; 410-263-4723; stmartinsonline.org; January 24th and March 14th – 9 to 11 a.m.
St. Mary’s Annapolis
High School – 113 Duke of Gloucester Street; 410-263-3294; stmarysannapolis.org; October 26th, 2 p.m., October 29th, 6–8 p.m. (Athletic Open House at Pascal Field)
Elementary (Pre-K through Grade 8) – 109 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis; 410-263-2869; stmarysannapolis.org; November 8th, 9 a.m.
Sts. Peter & Paul Elementary and High School
High School – 1212 S. Washington Street, Easton; 410-822-2275; hs.ssppeaston.org; October 27th, 1 to 4 p.m.
Elementary School – 900 High Street, Easton; 410-822-2251; hs.ssppeaaston.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
St. Vincent Pallotti High School
113 St. Mary’s Place, Laurel; 301-725-3288; pallottihs.org; November 3rd – 2 to 5 p.m., April 24th – 6 to 8 p.m.
Severn School
Lower School – Chesapeake Campus: 1185 Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard, Arnold; 410-862-3684; severnschool.com; October 2nd, 9 a.m.
Middle and Upper School – Teel Campus: 201 Water Street, Severna Park; 410-862-3684; severnschool.org; October 17th, 7 p.m.
The Country School
716 Goldsborough Street, Easton; 410-822-1935; countryschool.org; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
The Gunston School
911 Gunston Road, Centreville; 410-758-0620; gunston.org; October 20th, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., November 17th, 11 a.m., January 12th, 11 a.m., April 27th, 11 a.m.
The Summit School
664 E. Central Avenue, Davidsonville; 410-798-0005; thesummitschool.org; October 10th, November 12th, January 23rd, February 26th, March 18th, April 29th, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
30665 Student Services Center, Princess Anne; 410-651-7747; wwwcp.umes.edu; Contact school directly for guidance on visitations, tours, etc.
Washington College
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown; 410-778-2800; washcoll.edu; November 9th
Wye River Upper School
316 S. Commerce Street, Centreville; 410-758-2922; wyeriverupperschool.org; October 24th – 10:30 a.m. to Noon, January 23rd, March 6th
