My College Visits are Canceled. Now What?

In response to the Coronavirus, colleges across the nation are moving to virtual learning, many even sending students home for the duration of the semester. This move impacts not just current students but prospective students as well. High school seniors are making final decisions on which college to attend next fall. High school juniors have flights and hotel rooms booked as well for college visits this spring. While online research and virtual tours can’t replicate in-person experiences, there are abundant resources available for students to compare and evaluate colleges from home.

Virtual Tours: Many colleges offer virtual tours on their websites. Campus Reel offers virtual tours of more than 300 colleges. https://www.campusreel.org/ Other options for virtual tours include: YouVisit, CampusTours and YOUniversity. This is a link to a fantastic resource of colleges with virtual tours.

Social Media: Facebook may not be your platform of choice, but most colleges have Facebook groups for admitted students. Join them to connect with other admitted students and read the discussion. If you “meet” someone you connect with, you can always move the chat to your preferred social media. Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are resources as well. Search for YouTube videos on your colleges of interest and you’ll find plenty of students sharing information and experiences about their colleges.

College Admissions Offices: Look for announcements for organized virtual tours and admitted student days from the colleges. Reach out to your regional admission representative via phone or email to inquire about their plans. Ask for their recommendation on how best to experience the college virtually. See if they can connect you with a student ambassador through Skype or FaceTime. You’ll get brownie points for demonstrating interest if you are a prospective student.

Good Old-Fashioned Pros and Cons: Practice your spreadsheet skills by making a pros and cons list or comparison chart of the colleges’ features and data. How does your financial aid package or merit scholarship award compare? What are the graduation and retention rates? Were you admitted directly into the business or engineering school?  If you took AP tests, compare how the colleges award credit. Were you admitted to an honors or scholars program with special perks?

College Websites: Do a deep dive into the websites. Look at curriculum requirements and co-curricular opportunities for your prospective major. If you’re undecided, investigate advising resources for students with undeclared majors. Head to the section on student life and learn about student organizations and club sports. There is a tremendous amount of information behind the landing page of every college website.

Data Resources: If crunching numbers is your thing, Google “XYZ College Common Data Set” to explore data about admissions, graduation rates, faculty, costs and degrees awarded. Other resources for data include www.collegedata.com and https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ .

Interviews: Turn to older peers, neighbors and family members to ask about their experience if they attended colleges you are considering or ask if they know current students at those institutions with whom you can connect. Arrange a phone call to discuss their first-hand experience.

There is a wealth of information available through virtual experiences so grab your laptop and cellphone and immerse yourself in research and discovery. Maybe you can even cash in that plane ticket for something special for your dorm room.