Fight for what you want!

My first piece of advice is that you should try to do as many overnights as possible to the schools that you are considering. This is a chance to see if a school really lives up to what you've heard because at this point no one is "selling" the school to you anymore. HONESTLY, I almost wrote off Dartmouth because it was in the middle of nowhere, but the visit is what made me reconsider.

With that said, I know it is expensive to travel to some of these schools and it can also be a logistical nightmare. That brings me to my main point: FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT! If you can't afford to travel to a school, or can't make it to their admitted students weekend call up their Admissions Office and let them know the situation. You have some leverage now, so use it! If a school is really invested in you then they will try to make something work under your circumstances. For instance, I had already signed up for another admitted students weekend during the weekend of Dartmouth's Dimensions. When I told the Admissions Office how much I wanted to visit, they found me a host, got me all the Dimensions materials, and let me come up a few days early to experience the school.

The same goes for financial aid. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. The reason I'm at Dartmouth is because they were one of the schools who renegotiated my aid package. I had to prove my financial need by going through my parents' financial documents, and finding aid letters that demonstrated need from other schools in order to compare packages. You'll find that a lot of these schools have resources to tap into, but you have to be the one to ask first.

Good luck to all the 14s!