How to Visit a School

Welcome back to another week of the RRA Newsletter! Today we’ll be talking about how to visit a college. Visiting a college in person (and over the summer) can be a great way to get to know more about a college. There are definitely some things to note while visiting a college in person — but virtual visits in today’s day and age can be equally helpful!

If you are able to visit a college in person, be sure to take note of these things:

• Try to visit a wide range of schools, if possible - visit liberal arts colleges/smaller schools, as well as bigger schools! Take note of the feel of school, in regards to its size, culture, weather, buildings etc. It can be a great way to see what the school prioritizes and whether you would be interested in fitting in.

  • If traveling a lot, you can also see how far away this college is from home and how you’d get there!

• Try to go on a tour. Led by students mostly, tours can be a great way to get to know the school (as well as trivia that you can write in your essays!). However, one big advantage of these in person tours is the fact that you can interact more with the students/ask them questions — don’t hesitate (and maybe note the name of your tour guide so you can reference them!)

• Leave some time to explore on your own. Poking around buildings (with a map of course) can be a great way for you to build your own recollection/impressions of the school.

• Consider keeping a Google doc with your notes/thoughts of the feel of the school. This way, when you look back on the schools you’ve visited, you can remember what you thought of each!

  • This is also great for when you are writing your “Why Us” essays!

Not being able to go to a school in person is totally fine - and oftentimes, schools have virtual tours! If you are looking online, you might want to think of these tips:

• Take notes as well! Explore different parts of the tour (which will most likely link to other parts of the college website!).

• Reminders:

  • Things can be very overwhelming with the sheer number of links each college has (college website interfaces aren’t really the most developed/friendly). Do your best with exploring but take your time!

  • You don’t need to visit every school you want to apply to in person - instead, expressing interest by going to virtual events with admission officers and taking virtual tours, as well as talking to current students by cold emailing them can be great ways to connect!

While visiting a college in person can be really helpful, “visiting” online through the schools’ website is totally a viable option!