10 Steps to Plan Virtual College Tours

Traditionally, Spring Break has been the time when many curious juniors (and sophomores) take advantage of this school holiday to tour colleges in-person. This serves as the unofficial kick-off to the college application season. As with everything else this year, things will look a little different. Given COVID-19 restrictions, many schools will not be holding in-person tours or information sessions again this cycle. The good news is that most schools, after scrambling to create virtual tours last Spring Break, now have excellent virtual tours available for students. In fact, universities have been celebrating the increased access that virtual tours have provided.

Here’s the simple list to planning virtual colleges tours:

Identify the colleges you would like to tour. If you need help creating a balanced college list refer to our How To Build a College List blog.
Go to the Admissions page for each school and find the Apply section that relates to 1st year students.
Look for Admissions Tours and Programs (note that every school locates this information differently and you may have to search around).
You may be able to select from various virtual options including live or asynchronous sessions. We recommend you take a Virtual Tour and attend an Information Session for each school you are considering.
Look for the Calendar to sign up for a specific session.
Many schools offer Academic or Departmental tours as well. This includes programs such as Business, Engineering, Fine Arts, etc. Be sure to sign up for one of these if you are interested in a specific program.
Take notes on each specific tour as this information will be useful if you decide to apply. Almost all schools require a “Why School” essay and you want to show that you have taken the time to get to know their institutions.
Consider e-mailing a thank you to your tour guides if you have any one-on-one interactions.
If you can’t make one of your scheduled tours, please make sure you cancel online or call the school to let them know.
Of course, if you live near a college, feel free to take advantage of the proximity and walk around while being mindful of their Covid restrictions.

We know virtual touring isn’t perfect, but you still can get good information that can help you as you evaluate schools that might be right for you. You can also find more information

If you would like assistance with planning your college tours or your college application journey we are here to help!