Where to start

If visiting a given college in person isn’t an option for you, a virtual tour can give you an authentic sense of the school from the comfort of your home. Even before the pandemic, many schools offered virtual tours as a way to engage international and out-of-state students. By this point, nearly every college provides some kind of online tour option—from entire real-time tours posted on YouTube to 360-degree virtual tours, aerial maps, and even 24-hour campus livestreams. 

Because navigating university websites can be frustrating, we suggest that if you know which school you want to start with, skip straight to a quick “[College Name] Virtual Tour” Google search.

You can also browse tours on sites like YouVisit, CampusTours, and CampusReel. (On CampusReel, students upload videos, tours of dorms, and more to share, but students or families must register to join.)

Prepare to be a little overwhelmed

Virtual tours offer a flood of information in the form of hundreds of videos, articles, images, and aerial shots of sunny campus quads. There is a lot of information spread across sprawling pages. 

We recommend spacing out your virtual tours the same way you would in-person tours to give yourself time and space to judge each school on its own merits and to avoid missing out on key details because of fatigue. 

One of the surprising benefits of the virtual tour? It’s okay to stop! Give a virtual tour an honest try—but one of the advantages of this type of engagement is that you don’t have to stick it out to the end if you can tell early on that the school is not a good fit for you. 

Take notes for further research 

Just like for a “real” tour, you should keep a notebook handy to jot down details that stick out to you or any resources that pique your interest.

Unlike a real tour, don’t forget you can hit the pause button, go back to hear a detail again, skip over general descriptions of majors or programs that don’t apply to you, and make browser bookmarks of anything that excites you. 

Hopefully, you start every virtual tour with an open mind, but it’s still a good idea to start with a sense of what you hope to gain. Keep a running list of any specific degrees, programs, or opportunities mentioned by the tour guides that interest you so you can follow up with research.

It’s also a good idea to find out if the school you’re touring requires applicants to write a supplemental Why College Essay—if so, taking detailed notes now could give you an advantage in writing an outstanding essay down the road.

Before the tour starts, create a list of headings in your notebook to organize your impressions. The headings may include the names of majors you’re interested in exploring, a heading for campus life, one for school values, and one for special resources and opportunities. Also, leave a big space under the heading of RESEARCH where you can note anything you want to find out more about later!  

Questions to consider for further research:

• What special resources, like honors programs, are highlighted in the tour? 
• What do they say about research and undergraduate involvement? 
• Do they discuss internships or study abroad? 
• What students have access to resources like makerspaces and special collections? 
• What have alumni done with this major or degree program?
• What are the mentorship opportunities? What professors would you be excited to learn from and work with?
• How easy is it to study across disciplines?
• What career resources, student support services, and advising does the school offer?

Navigating buildings and tour stops  

In the world of virtual tours, just as in real-world tours, “stops” at specific locations or buildings on campus are what provide the tour guide the opportunity to discuss majors, programs, and resources. 

Some colleges are great about organizing tours by the majors and programs themselves, but for other schools, you have to look up what building houses your particular majors of interest, then navigate to that building/tour stop to hear about the majors and programs within it.

Again, enjoy the process of exploring and stay curious, but also feel free to skip any buildings/tour stops that have nothing to do with what draws you to that particular campus. 

Pay attention to the details

Apart from the descriptions of parts of campus, what do you get to learn about your tour guides in the virtual tours? 

Most schools will require guides to introduce themselves by sharing their names, where they are from, and their majors. Listen carefully: do any of the guides have surprising major combinations, like Chinese and art history, or math and sociology? Do the students mention taking part in any special degree or Honors programs within the college? 

These details can offer clues to the strengths the school wants to highlight, such as how easy it is to pursue interdisciplinary study.

Listen for values

To learn more about a school’s values, listen to what aspects of the curriculum and campus the videos and tour guides emphasize. Is there a lot of talk about working in teams or groups, a focus on a diverse student body, or an emphasis on career resources? 

If a certain value is what draws you to a particular school, seek out specific examples of how the school engages with that value beyond its marketing materials. If service is important to you, for example, then do some research: how does the college actually demonstrate its commitment to service? Research the types of service opportunities offered and look to see whether the school integrates service initiatives into its academic offerings.

Connect with people when you can

Just because you can’t visit in person doesn’t mean there aren’t people at that school who would be willing to connect with you.

Don’t forget that in addition to live tours and webcams, you can also participate in virtual information sessions and Q&As. If you have a specific question about an academic course, consider emailing the professor who teaches it. Or, if you’re excited about a major or program, reach out to the department chair or advisor. Make sure to ask thoughtful questions—questions that can’t be answered with a simple Google search!—and allow generous time for a response. If you don’t hear back after a week or so, you can send a polite follow-up note. 

Reach out to your family and friends—could they connect you with any alumni who could provide valuable insights into the school? LinkedIn and alumni networks can also be useful tools for creating connections.

If you find an alum willing to chat, utilize them as a resource! Ask any questions you may have about how accessible their professors were, how they joined and engaged in the campus community, and whether they have school-specific tips or insights they wish they’d known while they were applying. 

A final thought

This is your process, so focus on finding ways to engage that keep you interested. Consider looking up the work of professors and alumni. Search for lectures that are available online. Read the school’s Twitter feed. Schedule a Zoom meeting to do a virtual tour with your friends who are also excited about that school—and then compare and share notes! 

Virtual tours offer a taste of what a college has to offer, but just like in-person tours, what you ultimately gain—the depth and range of insights you take away—depends on what you put in.