The recently released report by Maguire Associates reports that 90% high school students and their parents surveyed feel that the COVID-19 outbreak has MOST impacted their college search process by not being able to attend events such as tours and information sessions on college campuses. While prospective applicants won’t be able to stroll across greening quads this spring, there are myriad ways that students can learn about colleges from their homes that can actually give them more information about a school than taking a tour Here are some valuable resources:
· Attend a remote information session, take a virtual tour. Here’s a list of virtual events being offered by more than 950 colleges.
· Through any of these sites you can take a virtual tour of campuses: YouniversityTV, CampusTours, YouVisit, and Campusreal.
· Reach out to colleges’ Regional Representatives. These are admissions officers who work in an official capacity for college and universities and whose job it is to promote their schools through outreach efforts in their territories. Schedule a remote meeting with your regional rep to ask questions about their college that are pertinent to your search. Here’s the membership directory the New England Area Regional Representatives: NEARR.
· Contact a current student at the college and ask them about their experiences.
· Dig deep on college websites to learn about the courses, professors, and internship/research/study abroad opportunities offered for the major that you are considering. You’ll find vast differences from college to college. When you feel like you’ve become knowledgeable about your intended major and you have specific questions to ask, reach out to the department chair or the professor whose specialty is in the same area of interest as yours and ask to schedule a time for a call with them.
While it’s not the same as setting foot on campus, using a combination of the resources above will provide you with more information that you would have been able to get from a campus visit alone. And hopefully, in the not too distant future, you’ll be able to stroll across a beautiful campus.