Virtual College Visits
Low commitment exploration
Visiting colleges can be riddled with stress. Many have memories of not wanting to even get out of the car at certain colleges, having their parents embarrass them by asking the tour guide or admissions officer a million questions, and doubting if they can even be admitted to the college they are visiting.
Levels Of Exploration
In my experience students should visit colleges after they already have done some online research. The college exploration process is really a mix of the student learning more about themselves and what they want while also learning about all the options that are available. I tell my students that exploring college is like catering a party. They should start with seeing all the options, tasting small samples, and then move on to trying full dishes.
Virtual Exploration
Exploring colleges online is valuable because it involves a lower level of investment and commitment, and is efficient, cheaper, and not as emotionally draining. From the comfort, safety, and security of a student’s bedroom a student can read, see, and hear about many different colleges. I tell students that exploring can be done from a set list or randomly, as long as they make sure they see all the available options. It is similar to grocery shopping at a new supermarket. You may walk in with a list, but still go down every aisle to check out what is available. A student does not want to limit their college list before seeing all the options. Most times students and parents are not fully aware of all the choices, or have abstracted the process so much that they are not open to other colleges. The goal is to eliminate regret. No student wants to visit their friend freshman year, and secretly say to themselves “I wish I went here”.
When looking at colleges online I tell students to explore many different types of colleges including small, mid-sized, large, STEM focused, liberal arts, public, private, near home, far away (even out of the country), high and low admissions standards, test-optional, out of the box niche schools, religious affiliation, and even gap year options. Even if the student ends up with the same list as when they started, they will at least now be more secure in their preferences, though often a student finds at least one or two colleges they had not originally thought of.
To begin exploring colleges online, a student can do a simple Google search for all the categories listed above, such as, best small colleges, or best public universities. The student can get as specific or creative as they want, for example, colleges in New York with division 3 hockey teams, or colleges with the happiest students. The information that comes up might not be perfect, but it forces the student to explore colleges that they might not have thought of. After a Google search, I tell students to go to Youtube and watch the college’s promotional videos. This provides a sense of the dominant culture on campus, and after watching several videos a student starts to have a better sense of their own preferences. After Youtube, I direct students to explore a college’s webpage to see what academics they offer, or to You Visit, which is a site that enables students to go on avatar-guided virtual (and virtual reality) tours. While they are exploring, I tell students to keep notes of what they like and don’t like about the colleges they see. It is important to keep this part of the process fun and light. I tell students it should feel like they are exploring potential travel destinations or their dream vacation. They should try to ignore admissions and financial criteria during this stage of exploration because it may kill their spirit and motivation, or they might limit their search and miss a great fit school.
After exploring online, I tell students to review their likes and dislikes and to rank the colleges they virtually visited by that criteria. The list should be no longer than 15 schools, and the students are free to eliminate schools. Now students should share this list and more importantly their preferences with their parents and school counselor. The school counselor can give other ideas of schools that match that criteria or the student can use online search tools to find similar options.
The next step is applying the less enjoyable, but practical limiting admissions factors, including grades, standardized tests scores, and cost. This allows you to customize your college list even further to create the best potential fit.
At this point it is time to actually physically visit some colleges. Choose the three most different colleges on your list, and hit the road!
