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College Tour

In College Tour interviewen studenten onder leiding van presentator  Twan Huys bijzondere gasten die naam hebben gemaakt in hun vakgebied. Wil je bij een van de colleges aanwezig zijn? Blijf ons volgen en wie weet zit jij in het publiek bij het nieuwe seizoen!

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Van Whoopi Goldberg en Bill Gates tot Johan Cruijff en Anouk: kijk hier alle eerdere afleveringen van College Tour terug!

12 February 2015

Suggested College Tour Itineraries

Here are some suggestions for schools to visit, grouped by region, to get you rolling. Each list includes 5-6 schools that offer a range of sizes, settings and selectivity to help imagine the possibilities.  We also suggest others worth considering and why.  

Cities currently covered include Boston, New York City, Syracuse, Washington DC, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

Click on the Continue Reading link below to see our suggestions, or try our College Tour Planner to build your own custom campus tour itinerary.

Suggested starting point

• Boston College
• Northeastern
• Boston University

These popular Boston area schools represent a good mix of size, setting and admissions selectivity.  All are easily accessed via public transportation, and given their relative proximity you can squeeze in two campus visits a day if necessary.  

For a taste of smaller schools in more rural locations, consider driving to western Massachusetts to visit Amherst , Williams , Hampshire College , Smith or UMass Amherst .  If you're interested in engineering, check out Olin , UMass Lowell and WPI , and if you're interested in entrepreneurship visit Babson .  

• Sarah Lawrence

Though we've contained the list to schools in NYC, it's easy to venture out into upstate NY, Connecticut, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania if you're game.  If you're interested in visiting Ivy League schools, both Yale and Princeton are within relatively easy reach by car, bus or train. Cornell is four hours away, but if you head up that way you can also visit Colgate and Hamilton to give you a taste of small, medium and large schools in rural settings.  

• Syracuse University
• Ithaca College
• Hobart and William Smith

The schools on this list offer a great mix of size, setting and selectivity. If environmental science and forestry are your thing, check out SUNY ESF , and if you have time to venture to Rochester, check out the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology .

Washington DC

• American University
• George Washington
• Johns Hopkins
• University of Richmond
• University of Virginia

The schools on this list are medium to large schools in suburban and urban settings. Time permitting, consider also checking out William & Mary , Virginia Tech and Washington and Lee .  

• University of Chicago
• Northwestern
• University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
• University of Wisconsin

These schools are all classic medium-large universities. For a smaller school experience, check out the Colleges that Change Lives in the area, such as Knox , Beloit , Wheaton , Wabash , Kalamazoo and Cornell College .  

• Case Western
• Carnegie Mellon
• University of Michigan

These schools provide a broad mix of sizes and settings. Kenyon and Oberlin exude a small school, small town feel, Ohio state and Michigan a classic Big Ten college town feel, and Case Western and Carnegie Mellon a more urban feel.

San Francisco

• UC Berkeley
• UC Santa Cruz
• University of San Francisco
• Santa Clara University

Most of the San Francisco Bay area schools tend to be larger in size, but offer great variety in terms of locale/setting. Three popular University of California campuses are within two hours: the more rural, bicycle-friendly Davis, the urban, progressive Berkeley, and the earthy-crunchy Santa Cruz.  

Los Angeles

• Claremont Colleges
• UC San Diego

These popular Southern California schools offer a good mix of size, setting and selectivity. You'll need a car to see them all, but in certain situations it's still very possible to squeeze in two campus visits a day.  The Claremont Colleges— Pomona , Claremont McKenna , Pitzer , Harvey Mudd and Scripps —are particularly interesting to visit because of their setup as a consortium with distinct campuses but shared classes.

If you're interested in STEM fields, be sure to check out Caltech and Harvey Mudd. If film or animation are your thing, check out Chapman University , Cal Arts and Loyola Marymount in addition to USC and UCLA.

• Tags: American , Amherst , Babson , Beloit , Boston College , Boston University , CalArts , Carnegie Mellon , Case Western , Chapman , Claremont McKenna , Colgate , Columbia , Cornell , Cornell College , Fordham , George Washington , Georgetown , Hamilton , Hampshire , Harvard , Harvey Mudd , Hobart and William Smith , Ithaca , Johns Hopkins , Kalamazoo , Kenyon , Knox , Loyola Marymount , Michigan , MIT , Northeastern , Northwestern , Notre Dame , NYU , Oberlin , Occidental , Ohio State , Olin , Pepperdine , Pitzer , Pomona , Princeton , Purdue , Rochester , Rochester Institute of Technology , Santa Clara , Sarah Lawrence , Scripps , Smith , Stanford , Syracuse , Tufts , UC Berkeley , UC Davis , UC San Diego , UC Santa Cruz , UCLA , UMass Amherst , UMass Lowell , University of Chicago , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , University of Richmond , University of San Francisco , University of Virginia , USC , Virginia Tech , Wabash , Washington and Lee , Wheaton - IL , William & Mary , Williams , Wisconsin , WPI , Yale , Yeshiva
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25 Virtual College Tours Worth Taking

Virtual college tours are considered one of the easiest, most accessible ways to learn about a school. While a more typical college tour may still be conducted in-person, the reality of that is changing. With the technological advances of the last 10-15 years, virtual tours have become a new, affordable possibility. Indeed, a virtual college tour can be an excellent way to learn about a school’s campus, programs, student life, clubs and activities, and much more.

You might be curious, how exactly do virtual college tours work? The answer depends on the school. Some virtual tours are live streams or recordings of in-person campus tours. Others are interactive maps where you can click on buildings and see what happens inside. Some will even include Q&A sessions with students. These are just some of the many ways schools show prospective students what life is like on campus. However, not all virtual college tours are created equal.

In this article, we’ll explore the world of virtual college visits, including:

• Benefits of engaging in college tours
• Similarities and differences between in-person and virtual college tours
• Different formats of virtual tours
• Top 25 virtual tours worth taking
• How to plan and make the most of your college visits
• What comes next after a college tour 

Without a doubt, college visits will play an integral role in your college journey. So, let’s dive into why college visits are so important to the application process. 

Why College Visits?

Before we explore virtual college tours in greater detail, let’s discuss why college visits are important to begin with. First and foremost, college tours are a way to learn about schools before you apply or even attend. Attending college is a big commitment. Therefore, taking the time to learn more about each school will allow you to feel more confident in deciding where to attend. 

Secondly, the college admissions process is a time of self-exploration. By engaging in college tours, you can learn more about yourself just as you do about colleges. Maybe you will notice you like smaller campuses that aren’t in bustling cities. Or perhaps you will realize that having a lot of cultural diversity on campus is important. By learning these facts about yourself, you will contribute to your overall personal development as well as create a holistic college list.

Lastly, college visits for juniors help to put together a strong application. Many colleges request that you write a supplemental essay about why you want to attend their school. Through a visit, you can gain knowledge about the school and be able to speak passionately and specifically about why you wish to attend in your essays. This is more critical than ever since the number of applications has skyrocketed at many schools. As such, you’ll need to make sure your application demonstrates why you are a clear fit.

College visits and the admissions process

As you may have already gathered, there are two times when you might find it most valuable to visit colleges:

Before applying

Virtual college tours and in-person campus tours can help you narrow down your college list. In doing so, you will only spend money and time applying to colleges that you would really love to attend. College visits for juniors can also help them write stronger essays.

After admission to make a final matriculation decision

If you are admitted to multiple schools, a campus visit can help you feel more confident in your final decision. As a senior, you also might have more specific questions about certain activities or campus life. Getting to know the campus more can also help ease the transition into your first year. Since you’ll already know where important buildings and resources are located, your first day may not be as overwhelming!

Now that you understand the importance of college visits, let’s explore what goes into planning a college visit.

Planning your college visit

As we shared, college visits are an important part of the admissions process. However, planning in-person campus tours can be time-consuming and expensive. To begin, you and your family will need to explore what times of year are best to travel. Some common times to visit schools are during school breaks or summer vacations. However, if you hope to see more activity on campus, then try to plan your visit when classes are in session. 

Next, we recommend setting up a visit with the admissions office. While you can, in most cases, visit a campus without an appointment, the appointment helps you gain access to a tour. It may even allow you to speak with an admissions officer. Ideally, you will book this appointment a few months before the visit. If you find yourself running short on time, you can also show up on campus and take a self-guided tour. Occidental College , Haverford College , and Claremont McKenna College all offer self-guided tours, whether using a printed map or a downloadable app. 

The cost of college visits

Regardless of whether you pre-schedule your visit, you will need to pay for your travel including transportation, hotels, and meals. Many students try to see multiple schools in one visit to save money and time.

For some students, setting up in-person visits is difficult. Beyond the expensive nature of travel, parents or guardians may not be able to take off work or find childcare. Some high schools organize college visits for juniors, or even sophomores, where adult chaperones take large groups of students to visit schools. However, this may not be an option at your school.

If the cost and logistics required to attend in-person college tours is prohibitive, don’t worry! In the next sections, we’ll discuss the many similarities, as well as the unique benefits, of virtual college tours.

COVID-19’s Impact on College Visits

While virtual tours existed pre-pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic made them a necessity as college campus tours were canceled. Since then, virtual tours have become more advanced and more widely available. In some cases, college virtual tours can offer as much, or more, than an in-person campus visit.

While many students still prefer in-person visits, virtual tours can be used as a tool to explore colleges earlier in the application journey. Virtual tours can also be useful to prepare for an in-person visit. If a student can spend 15 minutes taking a virtual tour and noting what buildings or parts of campus interest them most, then they can focus their in-person tour on those aspects. 

Overall, virtual tours are an excellent way to visit schools that are completely inaccessible, such as ones that are too far away. Many international students use virtual college tours to explore campuses they wish to attend. Indeed, the fact that virtual tours exploded during the pandemic has raised several questions about accessibility, including the need to make more tours available in multiple languages or geared towards low-income families.

Coming up, we will explore more about the similarities and differences between in-person and virtual college tours. 

In-person vs Virtual College Tours

Luckily, visiting colleges today does not require you to go to a campus. Indeed, the number and quality of virtual campus tours for students have skyrocketed in recent years. Undoubtedly, there are similarities and differences between in-person college campus tours and virtual college tours.

Similarities between In-Person College Campus Tours and Virtual College Tours

• They provide a layout of the campus.
• They allow students to get a sense of the campus architecture, including the inside of academic buildings and dorms. For example, UT San Antonio offers special housing tours for students to see where they might be living.
• Students can learn about specific academic programs. For instance, Harvard offers a specialized in-person tour for engineering and applied sciences students in addition to the Harvard virtual tour.
• They offer insight into student life on campus. Emerson College , for example, offers videos of students talking about their transition to life in Boston and co-curricular activities.
• Tours allow students to explore the available clubs and activities on campus.
• They are opportunities to hear directly from actual students about their experiences. Colgate , Princeton , and Barnard all offer virtual conversations with students.
• Students can get some of their doubts answered. Many tours offer a live Q&A with current students. Pomona ’s live virtual sessions include this offering.

Differences between In-Person College Campus Tours and Virtual College Tours

Note that depending on the school, you may or may not receive information about that school’s admissions process during a tour, whether in-person or virtual. Several schools, like Spelman , encourage students to schedule separate webinars to learn more about the admissions process, as this is not a topic covered in their campus tours. 

Now that we have explored the similarities and differences between in-person college campus tours and virtual college visits, let’s look more deeply into when and how to use virtual college tours.

Understanding Virtual College Tours

When first hearing about virtual college visits, many students and families are skeptical about how useful they can be. However, college virtual tours have advanced so much in recent years that many offer a similar, if not enhanced, experience to an in-person visit. 

As we discussed, there are several obvious reasons why college virtual tours are easier than in-person, including the fact that they are free and require little to no planning. In the following sections, we will discover more of the benefits and uses of virtual college tours. We will also discuss how they work and explore some of the best virtual college tours that exist today.

Are Virtual College Tours Worth It?

Yes—college virtual tours are absolutely worth your time! Indeed, virtual college tours can be a very good investment of time depending on where you are in your college admissions process. Let’s explore some ways that you can use virtual college visits to aid you in your college decision-making process:

Initial exploration of schools

As a freshman or sophomore in high school, you might not know how to prepare for the college process. Using virtual college tours, you can begin to explore schools and learn about what you like and don’t like in a college. This process can help you stay motivated to work hard as you will visualize your goals with greater clarity. You will also begin to learn what types of schools you are drawn to, which can help you build a college list faster in your junior year.

Exploring more and different schools

In the past, many students were limited to only visiting schools they could travel to. In some cases, leaving their state or country was impossible. Virtual college tours offer much more accessibility for students who cannot travel large distances. Also, since they can be completed in much less time than in-person college campus tours, virtual college visits may allow you to explore schools you had never considered. Perhaps you were only considering applying to big public schools. With virtual college visits, you can branch out and easily explore small, liberal arts colleges as well.

Narrowing down the list of schools you might want to visit in person

You might have a long college list. Ideally, you’ll want to cut it down when considering which schools to visit. This is where virtual college visits offer a unique opportunity to make the most of your time and resources. Before you get on the road, you can do a virtual tour to see if you like the campus enough to visit. Or perhaps the virtual tour helps you see which parts of campus you want to explore further, or which buildings you want to enter.

Alternatively, maybe your virtual college visits give you the confidence to know you like the school enough that you don’t need to spend lots of money on a flight in your junior year. Perhaps you will wait and see if you are admitted and visit the school afterward to decide if you want to attend.

Certainly, we can agree there are many benefits to virtual college visits. However, some virtual college tours are more interactive, engaging, and informative than others. Later, we will explore some of the virtual college tours that are worth taking.

While the quality of the tour may depend on the schools you’re interested in, how much you get out of them ultimately depends on you. We will explore how to make the most of your college virtual tours later. 

What Are Virtual College Tours Like?

Now that we have convinced you that college virtual tours are beneficial, let’s look at what you can expect from them. Most virtual college tours for students have some combination of the following offerings:

Guided tour of campus

This can include a combination of interactive maps and pictures, embedded videos, informational text, and voiceovers describing what you are seeing. Some college virtual tours offer 360-degree views that allow you to click around and move through campus as if you were there, such as the University of Tampa ’s tour. Even more advanced tours offer immersive virtual reality (VR) technology which allows you to put on a headset and bring the campus to life in front of your eyes. However, VR campus tours typically require you to have your own equipment at home.

Campus highlights

Most virtual college tours for students will highlight important buildings or landmarks. These can include academic buildings, monuments, libraries, dining halls, residence halls, and the student union. By showing you these buildings, schools hope to give you a sense of what your day-to-day life may look like as a student there.

Student testimonials

Another helpful part of college virtual tours is student testimonials. Sometimes, this looks like students leading a campus tour while sharing their own experiences. Other times, schools will offer webinars for prospective students to ask questions of others. More common these days is the use of social media to share student experiences. Some schools will allow students to “take over” their social media accounts and post about their day so that prospective students can see what a day on campus is like. Consider following schools of interest on social media so you can get an insider’s perspective.

Now that you know what you can generally expect from college virtual tours, let’s explore the differences between college campus tours across schools.

How Do Virtual College Tours Work?

As the name suggests, virtual tours happen via a computer, phone, or other piece of technology. However, that can look very different depending on the school you are investigating. As we shared above, many virtual college tours for students include some kind of guided tour of campus, a list of highlights, and student testimonials. However, these items can come in very different formats.

Here are some of the formats you can expect:

Pre-recorded videos.

These can look like videos of a student giving a tour or a video of activities happening around campus. Since these are the simplest version of virtual college tours for students, they are the most common. Schools like Dartmouth , CalPoly , and Vassar all offer pre-recorded tours. 

Interactive videos

Some videos let you click on buildings or landmarks as you watch to learn more. In some cases, you can even enter buildings. For example, the Harvard virtual tour lets you click through photos of the athletic center, dorms, libraries, labs, and quads. The Harvard virtual tour also includes a voiceover that provides additional information as you scroll through images. 

Interactive map s

Here you’ll have a map of campus, whether flat or 360 degrees, that lets you click on landmarks to gather more information. Cornell , Bucknell , Wesleyan , and Pace all have online maps you can explore.

Live streams

This is a video that is being filmed at the same time you are watching it. Live streams sometimes offer a chance for Q&A with the student hosting. To take advantage of this, you will need to be present at the exact time the live stream is being shared. In some cases, you may need to register ahead of time to receive the link. An example of a live tour is at the University of Pennsylvania , where students register ahead of time for a one-hour, live, student-led virtual campus tour.

Live Virtual Tour vs. Pre-Recorded Tour

Take special note of the distinction between live virtual tours and pre-recorded virtual tours. Live virtual tours are being streamed as you watch them, which means you will get a better sense of what is happening right then and there on campus. Sometimes, live virtual tours include a Q&A section where you can ask questions. Meanwhile, pre-recorded virtual tours are less interactive but offer the flexibility of watching them whenever you can.

A common platform for many of these virtual college tours is YouVisit . YouVisit specializes in making virtual experiences as interactive as possible. For that reason, you may notice that many of the online virtual college tours you discover are similar in format. YouVisit’s tours tend to include interactive 360-degree maps, voiceovers, videos, and photos.

As you can tell, there are many formats and options for virtual tours. Indeed, the menu of options has exploded in recent years, in part due to the necessity created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, we will look more closely at when to take a virtual tour and explore some of the most helpful virtual tours worth taking.

When is the right time to take a Virtual Tour?

Virtual college tours can be useful at any stage, whether you’re already working on applications or just starting to build your college list.  No matter where you are in the college admissions process, remember: it’s never too early to take a virtual tour! However, before you start exploring virtually, it’s useful to know how virtual college tours can benefit you.

Tours for sophomores, juniors, and seniors

Virtual college tours will look different for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. As a sophomore, a virtual tour might be a way to dip your toes into the world of college admissions. Since you can take virtual college tours from the comfort of your own home, this is a low-stakes way to get a feel for which colleges you’re interested in applying to. 

College visits for juniors are a bit more meaningful. You may be starting to create a college list, so you’ll want to pay close attention to the different parts of the virtual tour. Consider taking notes as you go, so that when you start applying to schools you have observations from your virtual tour to look back on. 

If you’re a senior, there’s another important aspect of virtual college tours to keep in mind: demonstrated interest. When colleges read your application, they often look for “demonstrated interest,” which is a way that you demonstrate that you care about the school. Colleges want to admit students who will ultimately choose that college, and one way to show that you care about a school is to attend a tour. 

What Colleges Offer Virtual Tours?

In general, virtual college tours make tours accessible for people who can’t travel to the school for whatever reason. Most schools understand that not all students can visit in person and will offer some type of virtual tour—whether it’s a recorded tour, a video of the campus, or another interactive option. 

So, how do you decide which ones to take? Up next, you’ll find our list of the best virtual college tours that we think are worth your time.

25 Virtual College Tours Worth Taking!

As we’ve discussed, virtual tours are a great way to get a feel for a school’s campus without having to make the trip to visit. You can take a virtual tour at almost any time—you can even take one more than once!

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 25 great virtual college tours that you can embark on in lieu of a traditional college visit. 

Top 25 Virtual College Tours

1. princeton university.

First on our list of virtual college tours worth taking is Princeton University. Located in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton is ranked #1 in National Universities. Princeton’s virtual tour consists of a live-streamed Zoom webinar, where one of their tour guides will take you along with them on their campus tour. You can even ask your guide questions in the Zoom chat!

2. Harvard University

Next on our list of best virtual college tours is Harvard University, located in Cambridge, MA. The Harvard virtual tour is self-guided, meaning that you can click around the Harvard virtual tour to see panoramic views of Harvard’s classic New England campus at your own pace. Plus, if you’re interested in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, there’s a separate Harvard virtual tour that goes into even more detail on that school’s offerings.

3. University of Pennsylvania

If you’re interested in UPenn but can’t make it out to Philadelphia, you can explore UPenn’s campus with virtual college visits. You have to sign up online to take one of Upenn’s virtual college tours since they’re led live by Penn’s student tour guides. With these live tours, every tour is different. Since different students give them each time, if you decide to take the tour more than once, you’ll likely learn something new! 

4. Cornell University

The virtual college tours at Cornell are self-guided. This means that you can take yourself around Cornell’s beautiful campus in Ithaca, NY, at your own pace. At each location, Cornell supplies fun facts and details about the campus that can help you get to know the school better. 

5. Dartmouth College

With Dartmouth’s virtual college tours, you can get the best of both worlds: a live-streamed campus tour and a self-guided tour. If you’re just beginning to think about Dartmouth as an option, watch their video of a pre-recorded tour to get a feel. If Dartmouth is your dream school, get to know their campus in bucolic Hanover, NH, by taking a live virtual tour led by a student—that way, you can ask all of your questions and feel more like you’re really there!

6. California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) – San Luis Obispo

If you want to know more about Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, they provide a wealth of virtual college tours that you can take. Not only does Cal Poly offer the classic student-led virtual tours and prerecorded tours. They also have virtual tours of their housing and of each academic college. Even if you can’t make it out to this coastal California city, you’ll have a great feel for the Cal Poly campus. 

7. Barnard College

Curious about college in the Big Apple? Take one of Barnard’s virtual college tours. Once you register for Barnard’s virtual tour, you gain access to spaces in Barnard that aren’t even available on the in-person tour. Barnard also offers an audio tour, where you can listen along to a live tour guide.

8. Pomona College

At Pomona, a college located in Pomona, California, you can explore in a multitude of ways. Pomona offers a pre-recorded virtual tour, as well as info sessions and webinars that you can attend from home. 

9. University of Texas – San Antonio

Located in San Antonio, TX, the University of Texas campus at San Antonio offers a self-guided virtual tour. At each location on the virtual tour, UT offers a video accompanied by written information to help you get to know the campus better.

10. Wesleyan University

If you’re looking for an idyllic New England campus, you’ll find one with Wesleyan’s virtual college tours. Wesleyan is a small liberal arts school located in Middletown, Connecticut, and you can follow along with a current student as they “walk” you through different locations on campus. 

11. Colgate University

Located in Hamilton, ME, Colgate’s beautiful campus is just a few clicks away. Colgate’s college virtual tours let students make their way through the campus on their own time, and you can supplement your virtual college visit with webinars and online info sessions. 

12. Washington State University

Though Pullman, Washington would be beautiful to see in person, WSU’s college virtual tours will make you feel like you’re right there without ever leaving your house. WSU offers a personal tour, where you can direct yourself around the Washington State campus. 

13. Bucknell University

At Bucknell University, you can take college virtual tours by navigating through their virtual campus map. Though you might not get a feel of Bucknell’s location in Lewisburg, PA, you’ll come away with a great understanding of their campus—they even have a specialized map for prospective engineering students. 

14. Vassar College

Next on the list of college virtual tours worth doing is Vassar. Vassar is located in scenic upstate New York, but if you don’t want to make the trip, you can easily get a feeling for the campus with their many options for college virtual tours. Vassar offers an interactive campus tour, a 30-minute preview video of the campus, and even sample classes and recordings of past events. 

15. Claremont McKenna College

The second of the Claremont Colleges after Pomona, Claremont McKenna offers recorded video tours and self-guided college virtual tours. Claremont McKenna is also located in Pomona, CA. So, if you’re virtually touring Pomona, you might as well give Claremont McKenna a look as well!

16. Haverford College

If you’re interested in living in Pennsylvania, you can give this lovely campus located just outside of Philly a look. Haverford offers live virtual tours where two students will take you on a “stroll” across campus, giving you advice and answering questions along the way. 

17. Harvey Mudd College

If you love Pomona, CA, but Claremont McKenna and Pomona weren’t your vibe, give Harvey Mudd a try. Harvey Mudd’s college virtual tours consist of separate videos for each stop along the tour that take you through all of the most important buildings on Harvey Mudd’s campus. 

18. Middlebury College

For your Middlebury College virtual tours, you get all the benefits of variety. Middlebury College, located in Middlebury, VT, has a wealth of options for students who don’t choose to do college campus tours in person. This includes virtual tours in English and Spanish, self-guided interactive maps, recorded information sessions, and more. 

19. Pace University

If you want to get to know Pace University, the college offers interactive maps for both of its campuses—one in NYC and one in Westchester, NY. Using Pace’s maps, you can make the most of New York City college campus tours without ever having to navigate the subway. 

20. Occidental College

Next on our list of virtual college campus tours worth taking is Occidental College. Located in sunny Los Angeles, CA, Occidental offers a self-guided virtual tour, where you can click through 360 views of the campus and hear from Occidental’s student tour guides along the way. 

21. Furman University

Located in Greenville, South Carolina, Furman University also offers stellar options for their virtual college campus tours. Furman gives you the option to explore individual campus buildings with interactive and immersive technology, which includes videos from their tour guides to give you insider knowledge about each location. 

22. Spelman College

If you want to tour Spelman, you don’t have to go all the way to Atlanta, Georgia. You can take one of their virtual college campus tours, where you can take your time looking at each of their buildings. Spelman’s virtual map lets you see inside and outside of many different campus locations, and get a better feel for the vibe of the campus as a whole.

23. Emerson College

Located in Boston, MA, Emerson offers lots of options for students who want to take college virtual tours. Using an interactive map , prospective students can make their way around Emerson’s campus to explore different buildings and facilities. The Emerson campus map also includes some city landmarks, like Boston Common, that are close to campus and part of the Emerson experience.

24. University of Tampa

At the University of Tampa, students can take college virtual tours to get a feel for the beautiful Tampa, FL campus. The University of Tampa offers tour videos, 360 interactive campus tours, as well as virtual visits. If you register for a virtual visit, you’ll also be able to attend a 30-minute info session hosted by an admissions counselor. 

25. Texas State University

For the last school on our list of college virtual tours worth taking, we visit (or more accurately, don’t visit) Texas State. Texas State offers a virtual interactive map, a video tour led by student tour guides, and also provides a presentation where you can learn more about the academics and admissions policies at the school. You can tour both of Texas State’s locations, one in San Marcos and one just north of Austin.

As you can see, not all virtual college visits follow the exact same format. However, there are certainly many opportunities to “visit” a school without ever stepping foot on campus. Next, let’s talk about scheduling and making the most of your college visits.

How To Schedule Virtual College Visits

Now that we’ve gone over some of the best virtual college tours that you can take, let’s talk about some logistics. 

For most virtual college tours, you can take them whenever you want—that’s part of why they’re so great! Whatever your schedule is, you can slide in a college visit on your own time. You could even do a bit of a virtual college visit, take a break, and come back and finish later. It’s totally up to you. 

Schools may ask you for your name and email when you click on their virtual college visits. This is totally fine, and also can work to your advantage. Remember demonstrated interest? You want the college to know that you’ve taken their college campus tours, whether it’s a virtual college visit or in-person. This is especially meaningful in college visits for juniors or seniors.

Even though many virtual college visits can be done on your own schedule, some schools offer live virtual tours. If you want to take one of these college campus tours, you’ll need to sign up in advance. Even though these virtual college tours for students require a little bit more planning, it can be helpful to be in a Zoom with other prospective students and tour guides so that you can ask questions in real time. 

Making the Most of a Virtual College Visit

Even though you might be taking your virtual college tours from your bed, it’s important to still make the most of it. While a virtual tour might not feel the same as in-person college campus tours, there are some things you can do to make the most of the experience. 

Block out dedicated time

At first, virtual college tours for students might not seem very outwardly engaging. However, you should try and make the most of your experience. Don’t multitask, or do college campus tours while you’re watching TV. This is still a college visit, and you want to treat it as such. Immerse yourself in your virtual college visit—you want to get as close as you can to experiencing it in person! 

Consider your priorities

Virtual college visits can serve different purposes for different students. Some students have no idea what they’re looking for from their college campus, and others are already set on what they want their college experience to look like. On the virtual tour, make sure to look at the school’s housing, academic facilities, recreational facilities, and transportation. If there’s a must on your list—for example, if you want a school with a main quad, or a school that’s integrated into a city—see if the school has it! 

Ask questions

If you’re taking a tour on your own, think about the questions you’d have for a tour guide if there was one present. What can you learn from virtual college tours for students, and what do you still have questions about? These are the kinds of things you could ask in an information session or research after your tour.

Next Steps after your Virtual Tour

Once you’ve finished your virtual tour, there are some next steps you can take to make the most of it. 

If you’re just starting to build out your college list, think about what stood out most from your campus tours. Write down some big takeaways from the school, or a list of pros and cons, so you can start comparing schools that you want to put on your college list. These can be informal—something like “huge library,” or “weird vibe” is totally fine—just make sure you write down enough to remember how you felt about the school so you don’t have to take the virtual tour a second time.

If you’re ready to apply, reach out to admissions with any questions you have after the virtual college tours. Explore the application requirements at the schools you’re most excited about. See if the school has any supplemental essays that ask you why you’re interested in the school—these virtual tours can give you great talking points about the school that you might want to include in an essay.

Sometimes after a virtual tour, you might still not know how you feel about a school—that’s okay! Virtual tours are just one way to get to know a college. You can keep doing research, and take advantage of other virtual resources offered by the school. 

Even More Virtual Opportunities

So what are the other ways to learn more about a school from the comfort of your own home?

Along with the virtual campus tour, many schools also offer virtual information sessions. These are Zoom calls with admissions officers who are there to provide information on the school and answer applicants’ questions. Attending information sessions can also be a way to show demonstrated interest to a school that you want to attend. 

Some schools also have student testimonials, or other videos with students who can answer questions about the school. These are a great way to see what actual students think about attending the school. Many colleges also provide a way to reach students at the school with questions—email the admissions office and ask if there are students you can talk to about their experience. 

Virtual College Tours – Final Takeaway

College visits for juniors, seniors, and sophomores are an important part of the college admissions process. Since the pandemic, you can go on amazing virtual college visits from the comfort of your own home. On a virtual college tour, you can get to know the campus, and see what kinds of resources the school has to offer.

There are a few different types of virtual college tours for students. Some are interactive maps, where you can click on different buildings and explore. Others provide a 360 view of various parts of campus. Some are live Zoom meetings led by student tour guides, and some schools provide pre-recorded videos that you can watch. All of these virtual tours are great options to learn more about the school, and if a school provides more than one, they’re all worth doing!

When you’re taking a virtual college tour, make sure to make the most of it. Set aside some time to really focus on the tour, keep your priorities in mind, and take notes on things that stick out to you and questions you have during the tour. 

If at the end of your virtual tour, you’re sure that you’ve found your dream school, don’t hesitate to reach out to CollegeAdvisor for application guidance. Our team of experts is always here to support students in navigating the admissions process. Happy (virtual) exploring!

This article was written by senior advisor Courtney Ng and advisor Rachel Kahn . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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Juniors, Now’s the Time to Schedule Your College Visits

Juniors, it’s time for you to get started on college visits.

Whether you’re thinking about knocking out one or two or hitting a series of colleges, here is your go-to guide for setting up a college visit. 

We’ll walk you through a steps to take before, during and after visits to help you find your perfect fit.

And if COVID-19 protocols are still underway, don’t miss our article about what to do when you can’t tour colleges in person .

What Can Juniors Do Right Now? 

Juniors can do a lot right now, including developing a checklist and other things you can put on the family calendar.

Step 1: Start talking.

That’s right. Sit down and have a conversation with your family.

What are you thinking you want to do for college? Do you think you want to go to a large school? A small school? What fits your personality and preferences?

Start talking with adults you trust about schools that make sense for your needs.

Step 2: Brainstorm.

Have no idea where to start? Start a brainstorming session where you write down your visions about what you think your college experience might be like.

Rather than throwing a dart at a map and jumping in the car, it’s a good idea to ask yourself a few questions: 

• Do you see yourself going to a large or small school?
• Do you want a lot of personalized attention? 
• Are you looking for a more selective institution? 
• How far away from home do you want to live?
• When you envision college, what do you think of?

In other words, think broadly about your college visit choices, then think more narrowly about the colleges you’d like to visit. 

Put a premium on relationships when you make this list.

What kind of people do you want to meet? What type of individuals do you want to learn from?

Remember, college is about way more than pretty residence halls, beautiful buildings and other aesthetic things. It’s about the people who influence you along the way.

Step 3: Research at least one college.

Choose at least one college and do as much research as you can. Learn more about that particular school’s:

• Admission criteria
• Results — how many students go to graduate school, get a job after graduation, etc.
• School profile 
• Academics and selectivity: Are you looking for a serious academic environment? Would you rather go to a school that focuses on undergraduate teaching — or research? 
• Potential majors
• Housing information
• Extracurricular activities
• Athletics opportunities

After you narrow down some of the “big” things, like distance from home and general experience, then you can start thinking about things like major, requirements and more.

Does this college college or university you’ve researched fit the bill? If not, look for another one. If that one makes sense, move toward school as your first visit.

Step 4: Check the calendar.

Once you’ve honed in on your first college to visit, figure out what visit day fits into your schedule. Check your calendar and your family members’ calendars too. Remember, mom and dad likely have to drive you to your visit or coordinate flights. You need to plan the visit with your parents, and you might need to make sure your brothers’ and sisters’ schedules are open too. 

How to Set Up a College Visits

First of all, make sure you (the student!) call the schools where you’re interested in setting up a visit.

Your mom or dad should not make the call. It’s time to put some of those adulting skills into practice.

Step 1: Think through what you want to do on your visit. 

Who are the must-see people on your radar—the soccer coach, tutoring center, a financial aid advisor? It’s OK if you’re not sure. You can work through some of these questions when you make your phone call to the admissions office.

Step 2: Call the college or university’s admissions office. 

Don’t set up a visit online. Talk to an actual person.

Or, if you do set up a visit online, call and make sure the admissions office received your scheduled visit—and that it didn’t get lost in cyberspace.

Have a detailed conversation about what you’d like to do when you’re on the visit.

Step 3: Ask for a personal campus visit. 

Try to steer clear of group visit days. 

Naturally, you’re an individual and have specific interests and needs.

When you’re stuck on a group visit, no one student will have the same interests as you. You could get stuck touring the gym for 25 minutes of your hour-long tour (even if you’re not an athlete or hate the thought of a treadmill). Who wants that?

A personal campus visit ensures your visit is all about you and nobody else.

Step 5: Get ready! 

You don’t want to start a college visit without doing some preparation. You want to know as much as possible about the college you’re visiting before you visit. 

Simple. You don’t want to waste time learning stuff you already know. If you already know the basics, like the size of the college, majors available and costs, why spend time relearning stuff you already know? 

Plus, it brings camaraderie with the admission staff or chemistry professors when you say, “Yeah! And that biochemistry secondary major—that sounds cool.”

You’ll never believe how much people’s eyes light up when you know something about the college or university already.

What to Do During/After Visits

When you arrive at the admissions office, go to the campus visit coordinator’s desk and introduce yourself. That individual will help you get your day started in the right direction. 

While you’re on your visit, do your best to ask great questions. You want to think of questions before you visit and ask everyone questions. Get each person talking about the college or university you’re visiting. It’s best to get candid thoughts from each individual you talk to.

This may sound like a pain, but it’s a good idea to get all your thoughts together and take a minute or two to jot down all your initial reactions to the college you’ve just visited. Grab your phone and type in some notes on the card or plane ride home.

Believe it or not, it’s difficult to remember each individual school after your 10th college visit.

Now’s the Time!

Juniors, we’ve offered everything you need to know about how to schedule a college visit .

It’s a matter of sitting down with your family members or other trusted adults, pouring over Niche’s 2021 college rankings and making lists of what matters to you.  

It’s going to be a great time, so have fun with the process. 

Ready to Find Your Niche? Create an Account

Author: Melissa Brock

Melissa Brock is the founder of College Money Tips and Money editor at Benzinga. She loves helping families navigate their finances and the college search process. Check out her essential timeline and checklist for the college search!

More Articles By Niche

While many current college students tout the importance of being able to actually step foot onto the campus you might go to, sometimes the circumstances just do not work out.

At Niche, we know a college is more than its stats or buildings. We also know it can be hard to figure out a college’s vibe or how students feel about it from its website alone. Using our comprehensive college profiles and social media accounts, you can get a sense of what life at a college is really like. Here are three simple ways to do that.

In case you haven’t heard yet, Niche has an amazing new opportunity for high school seniors. Niche Direct Admissions is a program that allows participating colleges to accept students and offer scholarships based on their Niche Profile. That’s right — no application needed.

Visit Harvard

Whether you have a few hours or a few days, many discoveries await.

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The Harvard University Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Harvard University Visitor Center

Harvard University established the Visitor Center in 1962 as the front door to the University, where students greet visitors from all over the world, answer questions about campus, and provide official tours of Harvard.

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Mysterious facts, hidden gems, iconic figures, famous traditions, world-changing ideas, and everyday quirks—explore these and more on the official Harvard tours. Our tours are led by students and are offered both in-person, on campus and virtually. In addition, self-guided tours are offered on the Visit Harvard mobile app, available to download on iOS and Android devices.

Explore all of our tours

Historical Tour of Harvard

The free, student-led public walking tour through Harvard Yard provides a history of the University, general information, and a unique view on the student experience.

Visit Harvard mobile app

This free mobile app features a self-guided walking tour through Harvard Yard that highlights the history behind iconic buildings, traditions, alumni and more.

Explore on your own

Turn virtually any corner at Harvard and you’ll find something that leaves you feeling inspired. Explore the places, ideas, artifacts, and moments that make us who we are.

Find more at our museums

Harvard Libraries virtual exhibits

Virtual tour of the harvard museum of natural history, harvard and the legacy of slavery walking tour, places we love.

Harvard community members share their favorite places on campus.

William “Ned” Friedman, Director of the Arboretum

Arnold Arboretum

“There is a magnificent horticultural “sport” (genetic mutant) of the standard European beech tree ( Fagus sylvatica ) that came to the Arboretum in 1888 from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (and was probably collected in the wild in France). Instead of growing straight up to the sky, the shoots twist and turn into gyres, and the net effect is a tree that is essentially a small hemisphere.”

Rhea Bennett, Class of ’20

Radcliffe’s sunken garden

“One of my favorite places on campus when the weather is warm is the sunken garden in Radcliffe Yard. It is a beautiful, little green spot on campus where the gurgle of the fountain creates a quiet, calm atmosphere. Doing work there on a sunny day makes me feel like I’m in an oasis in the middle of the city.”

CURTIS KEITH, Chief scientific officer, Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator

Smith Campus Center

“I especially like having coffee in the second-floor seating area at the front of the Smith Campus Center, looking out onto the plaza in front of the center, the whole diversity of Harvard Square passing in front. For me, it also brings back memories of arriving at Harvard for the first time in 1993 as a student and seeing the chess players there.”

Find an event

Harvard offers many virtual and on-campus events open to visitors and neighbors.

Browse our upcoming events

European Energy Security in Light of the War in Ukraine

The Inaugural Professor Rob Lue Memorial Lecture w/Drew Faust

When does social media satisfy the need to belong? Loneliness and Digital Thriving

Maps and Directions

There are a number of ways to get to Harvard. Find your best option.

Explore our campus

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College Campus Tours

Travel time and considerable costs have traditionally kept prospective students to only a few choice college tours . But your institution could make itself accessible to an unlimited number of qualified international applicants by removing those factors. YouVisit's unmatched virtual tour software allows us to create, customized virtual college campus tours , which can be accessed from school Websites, Facebook, mobile apps and college selection Websites. In addition, YouVisit offers an assortment of social media and mobile applications. Prospective students, faculty members and their families can explore your grounds from the comfort of their computers or smartphones.

College Campus Tours Services:

• Customized Program: Based on a thorough assessment of your institution's needs, YouVisit experts outline their recommendations for a personalized program.
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• No Guesswork: YouVisit's interactive online solutions are tracked and measured. Past successes created as much as an 80% increase in inquiries, 30% increase in physical campus visits, increased diversity with visitors spanning more than 100 countries and higher conversion rates for applications and enrollment.

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Contact YouVisit if you are interested in a complimentary Web evaluation and consultation, or to learn more about our online virtual tours. For more information on ensuring that your college, school and/or university is always accessible to viable candidates, please call YouVisit at 866.585.7158, or click here to contact one of our representatives.

WE ARRANGE CAMPUS VISIT TOURS FOR HIGH ACHIEVING COLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS

We arrange tours that enable schools (and other student-based programs) to give their students in-person experiences with colleges and universities. While each tour is customized to meet the needs of your group, we book all travel accommodations, activities, admissions workshops, and coordinate visits of the campuses that you want to see. Your school/program benefits by you providing this convenient, all-inclusive experience for your students and families. Likewise, your students benefit not only from the first-hand experience with the schools but return more confident and motivated about tackling the admissions and applications process.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 118 great questions to ask on a college tour.

College Admissions

Touring your prospective colleges is a great opportunity to learn from the people who study, work, and teach on campus. By keeping your eyes and ears open, you can gain a strong sense of a school and its culture, far beyond the facts and figures on its website.

To make the most of your visits, you should prepare thoughtful questions to ask on a college tour. This guide will provide you with a comprehensive college visit checklist of questions for your tour guide, current students, admissions officers, financial aid officers, and professors. Plus, we'll offer some advice on what not to ask.

Before breaking out the list of college tour questions, let's review the point of campus visits in the first place.

Why Are College Tours Important?

If you have the means and time to do so, you should definitely take advantage of campus tours. They're an invaluable opportunity to explore your prospective college campuses , as well as their surrounding areas, in person.

You can check out the school's facilities, like the library, dorms, dining halls, gym, and science labs, as well as branch out to see its surrounding city or, if you're aiming for rural , dairy farms. Gathering your impressions of your college's campus and beyond will help you gain a much stronger sense of whether or not it's a place you'd like to live and learn for four years.

If you have an amazing visit, then you might feel that much more empowered to put together a stellar application . If not, then you might save an application fee and cross that school off your list.

Besides sampling the dining food or hanging out on the quad, you can also learn a lot about the student experience from your tour guide, usually a current student, and other students that you meet. You might arrange to stay overnight in a dorm or set up meetings to speak with admissions officers, financial aid officers, and/or professors.

All of these people can offer their unique perspectives and experiences, especially if you ask meaningful college tour questions that lead to broader conversations. As everyone reading this will have different goals, keep in mind that you should pick and choose based on your specific interests. If a question asks about popular classes in general, for instance, you can adapt it to ask specifically about popular classes in, say, the Biology Department.

Besides customizing to your interests, you also would be well served to prepare different questions for different people. This first group of good questions to ask on a college tour would be best suited to your tour guide or other current students of the college.

Find out what students have to say about their college experience.

Questions to Ask Your Tour Guide or Other Current Students

Most college tour guides are big fans of their colleges and are enthusiastic to share why. They tend to know lots of history and fun facts about the school, but you shouldn't necessarily expect them to rattle off specific data and statistics about graduation rates and financial aid packages (save those kinds of questions for administrative officers).

Apart from knowing a lot about the college, tour guides are usually current students, so they can also speak to their personal experience. Remember, they were in your shoes just a few years before!

Let's consider what questions would be appropriate for tour guides, divided up by academics, support resources, internships , study abroad programs, extracurriculars, residential life, and general culture. Finally, we'll suggest some personal questions for your tour guide. As you read, consider which questions you'd like answered, and how you might customize them to meet your specific interests and needs!

• Are some majors or departments considered stronger or more popular than others?
• How large are the classes?
• Are the classes more lecture-based or discussion-based?
• Would you describe any classes as especially innovative or project-based?
• How many of the classes are taught by a professor, and how many are taught by a teaching assistant?
• Are the professors accessible outside of class?
• What kind of classes have smaller section meetings? What are they like?
• Are there any especially popular classes or must-have professors?
• How much freedom do freshmen have in choosing courses?
• Are students usually able to take their first choice courses?
• How's the Wi-Fi?
• How are freshman advisors assigned?
• Is it easy to change your major?
• How would you describe the freshman experience, in terms of advising or any classes that everyone has to take?
• Do the professors hold office hours? How often can students interact with professors outside of class?
• Can undergraduates work with professors on research?
• Are there honors programs or capstone classes? If so, what are they like?
• How many hours of class do students typically have each week? How much homework outside of class?
• Are finals more exam-based or project / essay-based?
• Where are the best places to study on campus?
• What are the hours for the library? Do these change during reading periods or exam weeks?
• Are there any research methods or databases I should learn about for my classes?
• Do any majors require seniors to write a thesis or complete a senior project?

As mentioned above, you might alter some of these questions to refer to a specific major or class. An intro science lecture, for instance, might contain hundreds of students, while a literature class could be discussion-based and limited to twelve students. Keep this in mind as you check out the rest of the questions on this college visit checklist.

Like the fearless owner of this rainbow Beetle, don't be afraid to customize your college visit questions.

Academic and Social-Emotional Support

• Can you get help from professors outside of the classroom?
• Is there free academic support or tutoring? Is it effective?
• What kind of resources are there for international student support and orientation?
• What kind of learning disability resources does the school offer?
• Is there a writing center to help with essays and research papers?
• Are academic advisers accessible and effective?
• Do the librarians help with research?
• Do students organize study groups or online discussion forums?
• Are there computer labs?
• How accessible and helpful is health services?
• Do students or administrators organize conversations for students to talk about their feelings on important issues and events?
• Are there social orientation programs for freshmen? Are they enjoyable?
• Is there career counseling? Is it helpful?

Research, Internship, and Study Abroad Opportunities

• What kind of opportunities exist for undergraduates to work on research or academic projects with professors?
• What kind of internships are available? Do a lot of students get internships?
• Are any departments known for their contribution to research?
• Do any majors prepare students to continue as researchers in a Master's or doctoral program?
• Are study abroad programs popular? Any ones in particular?
• Do most students study abroad on a program through the school or an external program?
• Do students of certain majors, like engineers, find it difficult to study abroad?
• Are there internship opportunities abroad?
• Are there opportunities through the school for summer internships or research?

Extracurriculars

• What are some of the most popular extracurriculars and why?
• What clubs or other opportunities exist for community service?
• Do sports play a large role on campus? What divisions are the sports teams ? What about intramurals or exercise classes?
• Can you talk about the fill-in-the-blank club? (Examples might include the student newspaper, student magazine, international relations clubs, art groups, science clubs, musical performances, plays, bands, ensembles...whatever you're interested in!)
• In what ways do students connect with and volunteer in the surrounding community ?

How many students do they really squeeze into those dorm rooms?/em>

Residence Life

• What are the dorms like? Are there lounges, laundry, and kitchens? Shared or private restrooms?
• Do certain dorms appeal to students with different interests, like a "healthy living" dorm?
• Do most students live in the dorms? What about after sophomore or junior year? If they move off campus, do they live in apartments or shared houses?
• Are any students placed in triples?
• How are the resident counselors? Do they plan social events for freshmen to get to know one another?
• Do most students get along with their randomly assigned roommates?
• What would I do in case of a conflict or need for a room switch? Is that possible?
• What kind of food does the dining hall serve? Are there different options? How is it, really?
• Does the dining hall accommodate special dietary restrictions?
• Are there any aspiring chefs on campus who host occasional exclusive gourmet pop-up dinners? (This question may be exclusive to this kid and this kid . So cool!)

Campus Culture and Surrounding Area

• Where do students tend to hang out on and off campus?
• Are there movie theaters and concert venues? What about good cafes for getting work done or finding the perfect pumpkin spice latte?
• How would you describe the presence of Greek life ? Do a lot of students belong to fraternities or sororities?
• How ethnically diverse is the campus?
• How many international students are there? What countries do they come from?
• Do students stick around or go home on weekends?
• What's the party scene like? (This might be a question to ask current students away from the group tour.)
• Have there been any recent student protests? What were they protesting, and how did staff and faculty respond?
• What are some big campus events, like homecoming or alumni weekend?
• Is it easy to get around campus or get off campus without a car?
• What transportation options are there around campus?
• Is it a safe area to walk around at night? What kind of safety measures are in place?
• Do many students work on or off campus? How easy is it to find a part-time job?

You don't want to put your tour guide too much on the spot, but you should feel free to ask about her experience at college!

Personal Questions

As mentioned above, tour guides are typically current students who went through the same college application process just a few years earlier! Most tour guides are also, presumably, happy about their choice to attend. I wouldn't recommend prying into their high school grades and test scores, but there are other personal questions that are fair game, like the following:

• What's your favorite class and why?
• What's it like to study in your major?
• How helpful did you find your freshman year advisor?
• What do you wish you had known going into freshman year?
• What do you wish you had asked on a campus tour when you were in my place?
• What's a typical weekday like for you?
• What surprised you about campus life here?
• Is there anything you wish you had done differently to improve your experience here?
• Are there any things you'd like to change about the school?
• What would be your most important advice for freshman?
• What's your favorite spot you've discovered on campus since arriving?

Your tour guide, along with any other current students you meet, is a great resource for honest, firsthand feedback about the student experience. As students, they're likely to have similar experiences and concerns as you, and they can give you a sense of what's in store if you're accepted and decide to enroll in the college.

For more technical information on admissions policies and financial aid offers, you might set up meetings with the relevant offices. Read on for questions to ask the administrative staff.

Boldly go where no college student really has to go again once she's accepted.

Questions to Ask an Admissions Officer

Making contact with the admissions office can not only get your questions answered. It can also get your "demonstrated interest" on file, which may help when it comes time to review your application. Rather than appearing as an anonymous applicant, admissions officers may recognize you from a meeting, email, or other records of contact. Not all schools keep track of this, but for some, establishing some kind of relationship may help show your enthusiasm for the school and thereby give you a bit of an edge.

If you want to meet with an admissions officer, make sure to set up a meeting via email or calling beforehand. If it's application season, usually March and April, try to schedule this a few weeks early to make sure they're not too busy to meet with prospective students. Then have your list of questions ready to show that you prepared and are ready to make the most of your conversation. Here are a few questions you might ask.

• What's unique about this college?
• What leads most students to choose this college?
• What qualities and experiences are you looking for in applicants?
• Can you tell me more about the application evaluation process ?
• How large of a role do SAT scores play in admissions?
• Do you have any advice for applicants? Does this differ for early versus regular decision applications?
• What percentage of students graduate in four years?
• What are the college's most important values, and how does it demonstrate this to students?
• What sort of student would succeed here?
• What sort of student might not be happy here?
• Can you tell me about career placements or grad school acceptances for graduates?
• How do you help students prepare for post-grad employment?
• Do you have an active alumni network?

Just as the admissions office will have lots of facts and advice about the admissions process, the financial aid office can walk you through your financial application. The next section covers questions you might have for them.

All of these are good topics to discuss with a financial aid officer.

Questions to Ask a Financial Aid Officer

Most schools offer a good deal of information about the cost of tuition, room and board, books, and other fees online, as well as the steps to take to apply for financial aid. If financial aid's an important factor for you, it could be helpful to meet with an officer and make sure you're doing everything you can to get your financial needs met.

I would suggest researching the school's financial aid website first, so you're not asking about info that's readily available online. Then you can use that base knowledge as a stepping off point for other queries, like the ones below:

• What kind of need-based financial aid do you offer?
• Do you meet 100% of demonstrated financial need ?
• What information do you require besides the FAFSA ?
• How many students receive merit-based scholarships? How much is offered?
• Are there other scholarships that students can apply for at the time of application?
• How much do students typically owe after graduating?
• Can I renegotiate my offer if it's lower than I expected?
• What are some opportunities for work-study ?

The financial aid office is the best place for any and all your money-related questions. If you get the chance to meet with a professor , then you can shift back into academic mode.

Tell me, Professor McGonagall, how serious are you about deadlines?

Questions to Ask a Professor

Finally, meeting with a professor could be a great way to make contact and learn about a department and class, especially if you have a strong sense of what you want to study . You can learn about her teaching style, the department's approach, and any opportunities for independent projects or research.

• What are your expectations for students in your class?
• How can students succeed in your class?
• What are typical requirements, like exams, papers, or presentations in a semester?
• What kind of materials would I use in your class?
• What skills or knowledge would you consider to be prerequisites?
• Do you offer any opportunities for students to do research?
• What other opportunities are available outside of the classroom to reinforce my learning, like cultural clubs or festivals?
• How often do you meet with or mentor students outside of class?
• What are the strengths of your program? Department?
• What's the community of students who major in this program like? Do they act as peer mentors, collaborate on projects, or form study groups?
• What could I do to prepare for further research at the graduate level?
• Would I be required or able to write a senior thesis or do a capstone project?
• How much flexibility would I have in shaping my major or taking an interdisciplinary approach?

As you can see, there's a wide range of questions you could prepare to ask tour guides, admissions officers, financial aid officers, and professors. In addition to knowing what to ask, it can also be useful to know what not to ask. Are there any questions you shouldn't ask on your campus tours?

This question, for example, would be less than ideal.

Questions to Avoid on College Visits

I know, I know, they say there are no dumb questions—but there may be some worth keeping to yourself on your college visits. For instance, I mentioned above that it would probably be inappropriate to ask your tour guide to recite her high school resume to see how your grades, scores, and involvements stack up. While she can talk about her experiences applying and attending, asking for specific info like that would probably cross the line from curious to prying.

You should also avoid asking questions that are overly personal and not helpful to others in the group when you're on your tours. For example, I wouldn't advise sharing your life story and then asking your tour guide (or a professor, for that matter) to speculate about your admissions chances. She probably can't speak to highly specific concerns, and your fellow tour group members won't find it helpful either. If your question feels like it's too personal for a group setting, then cross it off your list.

A final good rule of thumb to follow is to avoid asking basic questions that can be easily answered via Google or a quick search of the school's website. For instance, questions like the following fall into that category:

• Do you have a psychology major?
• When was the school founded?
• How many students are in the freshman class?
• What was last year's rate of acceptance?

Based on these guidelines and suggestions, you probably have a sense of the kind of questions to ask on a college tour that will help you make the most of your campus visits. Most are prompts that may open into a more in-depth discussion. That being said, how can you use these questions to prepare for your college tours?

Start gathering your tastiest college tour questions.

How to Prepare for Your College Tours

Your first step is scheduling and signing up online for your college tours, as well as any other meetings or overnight stays. The best time to tour is when classes are in session so you can get the truest sense of the college in action.

Since you should prepare questions and take notes on the answers, I recommend writing them down and bringing a notebook (paper or electronic) to take notes. You'll be getting a lot of information, along with walking around and seeing everything, so it will be useful to have a record to which you can refer at the end of the day.

You certainly don't need to go overboard with the college tour questions. I would suggest preparing five to ten of your most important questions for each person (student, admissions officer, professor, etc). You may find you should choose about three during your tour, while you may be able to ask a lot more during a one on one conversation or meeting. Better to over-prepare than under-prepare, and you could list your highest priority questions at the top to make sure you get to them first.

In addition to asking questions and jotting down notes on the responses, you should take the time to observe everything going on around you. Beyond viewing the facilities, try to notice how the staff responds to you or how students interact with one another. Perhaps most importantly, is it a place where you'd feel comfortable?

Finally, spend some time writing and reflecting after your visit. Does the school seem like a good fit with your personality, interests, and goals? Do you feel excited about the prospect of attending? At the end of the day, you must save the final questions for yourself.

What's Next?

Are you in the midst of researching colleges and narrowing down your college list? This guide has some seriously helpful suggestions for figuring out what you want and choosing the colleges that best match your goals.

Once you've found some exciting schools, head on over here to learn when to apply. This comprehensive guide goes over the various application deadlines you need to know, along with some examples of regular and early deadlines for popular schools.

Finally, check out this guide on all the steps to apply to college , starting with choosing the best high school classes as early as freshman year and finishing with submitting your college apps!

Rebecca graduated with her Master's in Adolescent Counseling from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has years of teaching and college counseling experience and is passionate about helping students achieve their goals and improve their well-being. She graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT.

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There's a lot to take in when visiting beautiful college campuses: the dorms, the library , academic buildings, the food and so much more!

Do you have a list of questions to ask on your college tour? Don't let your next college visit trip be confusing or overwhelming! We're demystifying the college campus tour and visit process for you!

Applying to college is an exciting time. Students (and families) are beginning to plan their future! It can also be a tedious process - with or without guidance.

The College Visit Journal: Campus Visits Demystified  was created to help navigate a specific part of the process: the college campus visit, including virtual college tours!

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It was such great experience! The tour around the grounds of Trinity was amazing, our guide was a 3rd Yr student of Trinity, who was so witty, funny, knowledgeable and passionate – it was an absolute pleasure to listen to him. The Book of Kells itself and the Old Library were not guided but breathtaking all the same.

November 2022

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This was a must see on my Dublin visit having read plenty of Sally Rooney and Tana French where the college plays a role. The guided tour from a student, Connor, was excellent. As a third year student he was very knowledgeable and gave us a real insight into the history of the college with lots of fun tales too. The Book of Kells exhibition is also a must. An amazing book. And then there’s the library – oh wow! Stunning.

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The Chiefs once again ended the season on top of the NFL. Yet the 2023 regular season wasn't as smooth as the end might have made it out to be. This offseason, GM Brett Veach and Coach Andy Reid had some clear holes to fill when analyzing the 2024 draft. Namely, Wide Receiver, Offensive Tackle, Cornerback, Running Back, Interior OL.

The Kansas City Chiefs seemed to exit this years 2024 NFL Draft looking like one of the smartest teams and biggest winners, working multiple trades to get highly regareded players at positions of need.

Here is how Veach and Reid did with their selections for the Kansas City Chiefs 2024 NFL Draft:

Round 1, Pick 28: Texas WR Xavier Worthy Round 2, Pick No. 64: BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia Round 4, Pick 131: TCU TE Jared Wiley Round 4, Pick 133: Washington State DB Jaden Hicks Round 5, Pick 159: Penn State OL Hunter Nourzad Round 6, Pick 211: Tennessee CB Kamal Hadden Round 7, Pick 248: Holy Cross OG C.J. Hanson

For more Chiefs draft coverage check out SI's Chiefs site.

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Biden to speak at Morehouse College commencement, sparking faculty concerns

WASHINGTON — Morehouse College is set to announce that President Joe Biden will deliver its commencement address on May 19, but some faculty members have raised concerns about the decision, according to two people familiar with the matter and an email to faculty members reviewed by NBC News.

“This week, I received an inquiry from concerned faculty about rumors they were hearing about President Biden’s selection as the 2024 Commencement speaker,” Kendrick Brown, Morehouse College’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, wrote in the email to faculty members Friday.

Brown said he would convene a virtual meeting Thursday “to extend an opportunity for faculty with different perspectives on the selection of our Commencement speaker to ask questions and make comments.” He said students would also engage with college President David Thomas.

Brown did not respond to a request for further comment, and a spokesperson for Morehouse declined to offer more details.

A Morehouse faculty member told NBC News administrators are believed to be concerned that faculty members will join students in protest of Biden during the ceremony.

The pushback against leadership’s decision comes amid increasing protests on college campuses over Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The protests since the war began in October have already forced Biden, and other top administration officials, to dramatically scale back appearances at college campuses.

Commencement season is typically a time when presidents reach young audiences, and it offers them opportunities to deliver keynote addresses highlighting their accomplishments and the future. In an election year, commencement speeches can carry particular significance.

But Biden’s addresses this year are poised to be fraught, largely because of growing protests over his refusal to call for a permanent, immediate cease-fire in Gaza without conditions. Biden is struggling with younger voters, and recent polling also indicates many Black voters are not enthusiastic about supporting his candidacy.

Speaking at a historically Black college would provide an “opportunity” for Biden, according to the person familiar with the controversy.

The White House declined to comment.

Brown wrote in his email that Morehouse first extended its invitation to Biden in September and that the college would announce him as its speaker early this week.

And, he wrote, “the College does not plan to rescind its accepted invitation to President Biden.” The meeting Thursday “is a forum for discussion and to respond to questions about the invitation that was extended and accepted,” he wrote.

Morehouse, like other colleges, has faced students speaking out about the war in Gaza. In February, the Maroon Tiger — Morehouse’s student publication — reported that a student pulled an Israeli flag down from the chapel and was detained by campus police.

“Students are not in favor of the way in which the United States has handled this situation, and are surely not in favor of the trauma and the pain and the genocide that the Palestinian people are going through — but also that innocent civilians and Israel are going through as well,” Calvin Bell, a Morehouse College student said in February, after the flag incident.

A source familiar with the commencement planning told NBC News: “It’s not been a secret nationwide, if not globally, that there are a lot of concerns ... about how the war has been handled and how America and the presidency has been in the war. We’ve heard conversations like that. There’s also plenty of people who are excited to have a sitting president as their commencement speaker.”

Carol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.

Nnamdi Egwuonwu is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Aaron Gilchrist is a White House correspondent for NBC News.