There are many, many components to the college process. The tests. The essays. The resumes. Letters of recommendation…it might feel as though it’s never going to end. But we like to think of college visits as one of the really fun parts. While demonstrated interest isn’t such a factor in college admissions these days, tours are important. And they are all for you! College tours are essential for you to get to know what you’re looking for in a school. We recommend preparing for your college tour to better streamline the process.
Virtual College Tours for High School Students
The pandemic is still raging, flights and gas are expensive, traveling takes time. There are a lot of reasons to do a virtual college tour. They save time and money and are an alternative for many schools that have not welcomed prospective students back to campus. However, these tours are new…. Like really new. Like 2020 new. Your parents/older sister/cousin probably haven’t done them before. We get questions from students all the time about how to approach virtual college tours so we wanted to answer the most pressing questions you may have before you sign up.
Best Guide to Virtual College Campus Visits
While some people don’t seem to want to acknowledge it, the pandemic isn’t over. This means virtual campus visits are here to stay for another year. While some colleges have reopened on-campus visits and tours, some are still keeping it virtual or offering both. If you are going the virtual route, we have some tips to make sure you are getting the best info you can, virtually.
Ultimate Guide to In-Person College Campus Visits
College campus visits have been slowly coming back. The pandemic might not be over, but schools have been starting to invite prospective students back onto campus mostly for tours. Seeing a college in person can be great, but we have always had a love-hate relationship with college tours. There are some positives to them. You can see the school. You can get a feel for the campus. You can see a fancy library as your dad takes photos on an iPad. We aren’t actually sure if that last one is positive. But college tours aren’t the be-all-end-all that some students think they are.
Should I Tour Every School on my List?
This blog could simply be the word “no,” but that would probably be unhelpful. Most of the students we work with end up compiling a list of around 10 schools to apply to and during that process, many of them think that they need to visit every school they put on that list. We always tell them, it isn’t as necessary or even as helpful as they think it is. We say this for a couple of reasons which are important for students who might be pushing themselves to go on visits to understand.
How Many Colleges Should I Visit?
We get this question all the time: how many schools should I visit? The TL;DR, unfortunately, is there isn’t actually a set number, but it’s probably less than you think. If you held our feet to the fire we would probably say, 5-10, but that isn’t the whole story. Students often think they have to visit every school they are at all interested in before putting it on the final application list, but that really isn’t true and often isn’t even helpful. We try to recontextualize this question. It isn’t “how many schools should I visit?” rather it’s “what schools should I visit?” and “which should I visit first?”
How to Talk to Your College Tour Guide
If you’re a high school junior and you haven’t toured any colleges yet, you’re probably starting to feel a little anxious. If you’re not, we are here to tell you that you need to get moving. The best time to tour schools is during the fall or spring semester, so the window for visiting before you start drafting your applications is quickly narrowing. College tours aren’t all that complicated, but there are a few things that are worth planning in advance.
Touring Colleges in Summer 2021
In the past, we’ve written blog posts about both the positives and negatives of touring colleges during the summer. If you’re too lazy to click the links, here’s a short version: Benefits include a more laid-back time table and opportunities to do non-college activities during the trip, and the deficits are related to the fact that a lot of students won’t be on campus when you’re there.
Virtual vs. In Person College Tours
The pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of normal life. The college admissions process is one of them. Finding the college that’s right for you is a very personal experience. One size most definitely does not fit all and figuring out what exactly you’re looking for in a college requires more than just research—it often requires just feeling things out and seeing what your gut says. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), college tours look a little different these days. In this post, we talk about the differences between seeing a campus in person and taking a virtual tour in the time of Covid.
Should I Tour Colleges During COVID?
College tours are one of our favorite parts of the college admissions process. When we first take on students, we begin by having them learn their likes and dislikes about colleges, from university size to location, and that is usually rooted in a visit to campus. But like just about everything else in our routine lives, the pandemic has upended university campuses. In this post, we talk about how you should get to know different schools in the time of social distancing.
Tips for a Virtual Tour of Colleges During Coronavirus/COVID-19
As we continue to navigate the process of applying to college during the age of Covid-19, many colleges have started offering virtual tours. While it’s true that nothing will replace the experience of seeing a college in person, attending a virtual tour can still be a beneficial experience. This past week, we attended a few tours and have put together our five top tips for virtual touring below.
How to Tour Colleges During Coronavirus/COVID-19
The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is now present in almost every state in the United States, and colleges and universities are having to make tough decisions to protect their students, faculty, and other employees. For many schools, this means sending students home and all but shutting down. Professors are transitioning their courses to online learning, and dorms are emptying out. With all that is going on, hosting students for tours, information sessions, and interviews are out of the question for the foreseeable future.
Sophomore Year--Touring Colleges
Schools track your participation and engagement with the school starting, well, the moment you first engage with them. For example, if Northwestern sees that you visited sophomore year, initiated engagement with your regional admissions representative and tour guide after the visit, and then attended two of their boots at college fairs junior year, that’s going to work in your favor! They know you’re interested and they love consistency over time.
College Tour Itinerary Template
We recently wrote a guide for how to choose a college to tour, and this blog post is about the logistics of planning the tour once you’ve decided where to go.
Guide for how to Choose a College to Tour
Before you get your hopes up about finding the right school on your first try, cozy up to the fact that you’re not going to walk away from your first college tour knowing that you want to attend that college. And you shouldn’t! If you do feel that way, you haven’t done enough research and you haven’t gone on enough tours.
Which Colleges Care About Demonstrated Interest 2019?
The Best Questions To Ask On A College Tour
What To Wear On A College Tour
When Should I Start Touring Colleges?
We get this question a lot, and it’s an important one to ask because oftentimes students come to us the summer before their senior year not having visited one school. To be frank, that is kind of an *almost* worst-case scenario. By that time you should have your school list nearly together and have begun working on your Common App personal statement. For that reason, we encourage our students to begin touring colleges the spring of their sophomore year. But the best time would be to plan a trip during the summer between your sophomore and junior year.