How to Make the Most of Virtual College Tours
For hundreds of thousands of high school students, some combination of weekends and holidays are taken over by a multi-day whirlwind tour of college campuses. College visits are a rite of passage for many college-bound students, and they often drive some serious decision-making as students consider best fit and culture at their prospective schools.
But 2020 has forced many families to turn to the internet for virtual college tours, while also forcing schools to get creative about how they bring campuses to life in this digital medium. Fortunately, with more online engagement than ever before, there are also an increasing number of tour options.
Most school websites offer an official virtual college tour, one that covers a combination of campus buildings, classrooms and labs, and student living spaces (i.e. dorms and eateries). These tours are typically pre-recorded, with some version of a textual or spoken component for explanation. Some institutions like Duke University also offer live virtual tours. Additionally, companies like CampusTours and YouVisit offer virtual college tours of thousands of schools in the U.S. (and CampusTours also offers a peek at schools in Canada, China, and the UK).
If you plan to use virtual college tours to narrow down your school choices this fall, here are three tips for maximizing this resource:
Avoid overscheduling yourself
This sounds simple, but it deserves to be said: treat virtual college tours just like in-person visits. You wouldn’t want to physically visit 10 schools in one day, so don’t string together more than two or three virtual college tours at a time. More than that number, and you might find that all the tours start to run together.
Choose a “visit day” for each college or university on your short list, just like you would if you were actually traveling to campus. Look up the school’s event calendar, and find an online information session to accompany your tour. If possible, attend a virtual class and meet with an academic advisor. Reach out to students and ask questions.
Chances are you may hear a lot of information you already know, but any opportunity to engage with a school representative is a good one. And if there’s a question you may not have wanted to ask in person, perhaps a digital wall will give you that needed boost of confidence.
Remember: you wouldn’t visit Duke University and attend a Notre Dame sporting event on the same day. Take the time to immerse yourself in the school to get a more authentic—and complete—experience.
Look for the blue check mark—and then don’t
It’s important to go directly to the college or university as an official source for important details like application dates and supplements, fees, and policies. However, when it comes to lifestyle and culture, remember that you’re getting a slightly filtered version of the truth. The school is going to show you their best side (as they should!), so it’s up to you to do your own research and piece together your own truth. So what should you do after a virtual college tour?
Websites like College Confidential have forums where prospective students can engage with actual students on campus to get a better glimpse of student life, but don’t discount the power of social media. Facebook and Instagram are great channels to get an even deeper and unfiltered student-produced look at campus life. You can observe how students spend their time on campus, what they love, and what could be improved. The extra effort takes time, but it will give you a much more complete picture of a school and its student body. If you find yourself starting to experience a little FOMO seeing students on campus, then you may have found a strong fit.
Don’t forget to research the area
One of the most important parts of an in-person college visit is exploring the surrounding town or city. While no virtual college tour can replicate this aspect, you can do your own due diligence. Find out what percentage of students live on vs. off campus and how accessible public transportation is. Or better yet, what percentage of students have cars or bikes. Hop on Google Maps and Yelp and check out local restaurants and places of interest. Are there theaters and concert venues? Parks or other green spaces? Does the neighborhood look like a place you’d enjoy spending time?
Finally, take some time to look at what schools are doing this year. 2020 has certainly been an exercise in adaptation and innovation, and while the world is hopeful that COVID-19 won’t be an issue next fall, it’s important to look at how colleges and universities are keeping students safe while still providing a quality experience. This is the place you’ll be calling home for the next four years, so make sure to test drive every aspect you can.
Originally a Missouri native, Joanna Graham relocated to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown University and never looked back. She has been helping students prepare for standardized tests for more than 17 years and truly believes in the transformative power of education. When not living and breathing the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and GRE, she supports military families and women in sport. She serves on the Board of Directors for Team Red, White, and Blue, a veterans service organization that integrates veterans into their communities through physical and social activities, and works with the Pat Tillman Foundation and Dog Tag Bakery. She also serves on the IRONMAN Women for Tri Board, which is focused on increasing the number of women in triathlon, and serves on the Board of Governors at her alma mater. She is a military veteran spouse, an accomplished ultrarunner and Ironman triathlete, and proud mom of one fur-kid and one non-furry kid.