One of the most exciting things about searching for the right college is imagining yourself in a new venue with new people and surroundings.
But what if you just don’t have the money to visit every school on your wish list? What if you simply can’t go from the University of Oregon to Florida Southern College?
Here are some tips on how to “visit” every college on a budget.
1. Read up about the city or town a prospective school resides in.
Many towns and cities have tourism websites that you can visit to get an idea of what an area is like with listed attractions, photos, and more. It’s not the same as actually being there, but sometimes, it’s the closest thing without spending a dime.
2. After making a list of possible colleges, search for videos on YouTube of each college.
You can find everything from campus tours to mindless fun filmed by students. These videos will sometimes give you more of an idea of what to expect from a college than anything else.
3. Make a list of qualities you are looking for in a school. Then, check out reviews of each school and figure out what matches your interests. If drinking is a low priority, then reviews like this one might help sway your decision:
4. Does someone who graduated from your high school attend one of the schools on your list?
Send them a FB message and ask them questions about what the adjustment was like.
5. Read the college’s newspaper to get an idea of what’s going on on campus.
Many student newspapers are online, so you can read about events going on and get an idea of what campus life is like.
While it’s not necessarily recommended to attend a school without ever having visited it, “virtual visiting” schools through these tips is a good way to narrow down your search and maybe focus on actually visiting the ones that make it through to your next round of picks.
What other tips do you have on “visiting” a school when you can’t actually be there?