What to Do When You Can’t Visit a Prospective College or University
So, you’re interested in a school, but you can’t visit. What to do now?
Application fees are expensive, and those essays take forever to write. Rather than spending your time and money filling out applications for schools that may or may not be a fit for you, it’s helpful to conduct research on schools before moving ahead and applying on a whim — After all, it will be where you’ll be spending the next four years of your life!
Here are some suggestions that will enable you to learn more about schools and to determine your college fit, especially if you aren’t able to step on campus.
- Look at a College’s Website
Doing your own research about the programs and environment at a school is especially easy when there is one place to learn everything about a college: their website! The websites provide prospective students with descriptions about courses, programs, and activities offered there, and most schools have a virtual tour on their sites, allowing you to really see the campus! (If you’re interested in virtual tours, check out www.youvisit.com! They offer both a regular virtual tour and a VR experience.)
2. Apply for Fly-ins
Right before the next application round begins, there are opportunities for students to apply for programs called fly-ins. These fly-ins are sponsored by schools, and allow students to visit their campuses before applying for admission, often by paying for students’ transportation and lodging! Just make sure to keep track of those deadlines, because many of the applications also require essays and recommendations. (Click here for a list of programs.)
3. College Visits in Your Area
Many schools send ambassadors around the world to share information about the school with prospective students. Oftentimes, college representatives will host college visits at your own school, at a local library, at a hotel, or elsewhere in your area. Ask your guidance counselor about attending these sessions, because they will provide you with an opportunity to speak directly with someone at the university, enabling you to ask questions that are relevant to your own college experience.
4. Watch YouTube Videos
This might seem counter-intuitive, but hear me out — I’m not talking about watching cat videos. Searching for videos about a certain college can be especially helpful for learning about student life! With the rise of college vloggers, YouTube can be an amazing way to get a glimpse into what life at a certain college is really like, especially because nowadays, colleges tend to all use the same buzzwords like “diversity,” “small class sizes,” and “unique.” Remember to take the videos with a grain of salt though; even if you end up attending the same college, your experience will not be the same.
5. Ask Your Friends
Reach out to the people that you know and see if they know anyone that has a connection to a certain university! Their first-hand accounts will allow you to learn about subjects that might not be presented on brochures and videos. Most importantly, if you know the person well, they might be able to point out things about a school that you would have never considered, such as the social scene.
With the plethora of resources available to you, why not use them? If you might not be able to visit, taking advantage of these tools to learn about schools will definitely help quell some of your concerns about where you might be spending the next couple years of your life.
