The Importance of Virtual College Visits

These days, hopping in the car or jumping on a plane to visit colleges on your student’s list is not necessarily a reality.  While some colleges are open for tours, these tours will look drastically different than a year ago, and their plans for allowing guests on campus can change day by day.  This is the time juniors should begin working on their college list, but if you can’t see the campus, how are you and your student supposed to make educated decisions?

College visits are a huge part of the list-building process.  Students must have an idea of their criteria before getting too far into building their list, but it can be hard to even know what criteria they want without trying some colleges on for size.  They may not know that they hate big college campuses until they step foot on one.  Or maybe they didn’t know how awful it would be walking to class in the snow until they do it for 90 minutes on a campus tour.  But, we have to pivot, and colleges and universities across the country really are getting creative with their offerings and want to engage with your student!

Virtual presentations come in a few different forms and many colleges are offering a variety of options.  You can find virtual tours on colleges’ admissions website, many of which existed prior to the pandemic.  Many colleges have their admissions officers offering live sessions where you can interact and ask questions of the representatives.  You can also find pre-recorded webinars or presentations that may have occurred earlier in the season to glean more information.  I recommend watching any and all of the offerings, especially for those colleges that your student has an interest in and wants more information.

These virtual visits are something that can be done as a family.  If you would have walked the campus together, why not “visit” the campus online together?  Throw dinner in the oven, tune in to an online tour or presentation, and then discuss your thoughts as a family over dinner.  Does your student want to learn more about this school?  Should they reach out to their assigned admissions counselor for more information and to demonstrate interest?  As their parent, can you see them attending this school?  These are the conversations you would have had on the car ride home or to the airport.  Do not let this pandemic prevent you from having these vital discussions as a family.

While online tours and presentations may not be what you envisioned for your student’s junior year, don’t ignore the importance of these online experiences.  There are still ways to determine best-fit schools via these virtual experiences and they are necessary in your student’s decision making.