While colleges and universities have developed a lot of great virtual opportunities to engage with them, in-person campus tours are absolutely crucial in deciding where to apply and, eventually, where to enroll.
If you don’t yet know what type of schools you like, it’s extremely helpful to sign up for tours and info sessions at any/all of your local colleges, even if you know you want to live somewhere else; no matter where you live, visit a variety of schools in the area (urban and rural, public and private, liberal arts and pre-professional, safety and reach schools, big and small schools) to get a sense of your priorities. What is a requirement, and what is simply a preference? Is Greek life or college sports important to you? Do you want a dedicated campus? Do the students you come across on your tour match your vibe, and does the tour guide give you information that makes you excited about the possibility of attending?
Another reason to visit colleges is that some consider demonstrated interest when assessing your application. They want to know that you understand what it will be like to live in a rural part of New Hampshire after spending 18 years in a sprawling city like Los Angeles or Houston, for example. A lot can be learned from a website, but actually stepping foot in a place can offer a different experience entirely and provide a lot of important information to consider.
Planning the college visits themselves can be extremely overwhelming, and there are many things to keep in mind:
- How many schools should you visit in a single day?
- Should you fly or drive between cities?
- Do you need to sign up in advance for campus tours, or can you just show up—and are tours even offered on weekends or during the summer?
- Do the schools offer on-campus interviews, and if so, how do you schedule them?
- How do you go about sitting in on classes or attending sporting events?
- Where are good places to eat and stay to give you a sense of the communities you’re visiting?
- Once when you’re there, how do you know if you’re asking the right questions or exploring the parts of a university that matter most?
- How do you get a sense of what four years at a school would really look and feel like?
Meeting with current students and spending as much time on and around the campuses instead of rushing between them to fit in as many as your schedule will allow is advisable, as it will allow you to get a fuller sense of campus life. Take some time to understand what four years at the school would look like…consider whether you would get bored by the limited options for restaurants near a rural campus or overwhelmed by the constant hustle and bustle of an urban campus. Simply put, could you call this campus home?
Another tip? While on tours, take notes. Many schools ask on their applications why you want to attend, and if you visited a campus sophomore year, for example, it will be hard to retrieve the smaller details from your memory when you sit down to write your answer to that question as a senior.
So, take full advantage of long holiday weekends, winter and spring breaks, and summer travels to check out colleges whenever you can! If your family happens to plan a trip to visit family or on a vacation, if there’s a college nearby, see if you can swing by for a tour. The more exposure you gain to the differences between college campuses, the more empowered you’ll feel as you develop the list of schools that fits you best.
