Making the Most of Virtual

The college search should be fun. Yes, there’s the less than glamorous fact gathering of the process, but it’s also driven by the emotional. We enjoy seeing different places, comparing and contrasting different campus “feels”, and connecting with tour guides and other college ambassadors as they share their stories. This engagement with others gives us the opportunity to try and predict the future, dreaming about how we are going to do college: studying on the quad during beautiful spring days, cheering our team on to victory on football Saturdays, and devouring bacon cheese fries (yes, my go-to, and I’m salivating as I type) at 2 a.m. with your roommate.

 

All of the things we love about the college search and imagining what college is going to be like is about shared experiences! We tour with family and friends, envision studying and pulling all-nighters with classmates, hope to cheer on our team with fellow crazies, and understand that we are preparing for the rest of our lives with thousands of strangers that might be future best friends.

 

Whether you’re a senior trying to trim or expand your schools, or an underclass student attempting to develop a list, below are some ways you can add a third-dimension to the 2D computer screen, ways to find feel, identify future friends and mentors, and yes…get excited about imagining how you will do college!

Invest time – Visiting a campus is a commitment measured in hours or even days, between the drive or flight, hotel stay, tour, information session, and eating. In comparison, no one is recommending spending days on a college’s website, however, do not virtually visit a school with the goal of being succinct. Dedicate a block of time to review the school’s “About” page, study your potential major’s webpages or how undecided students are advised and find information about your priorities and fit-factors (study abroad, housing, athletics, financial aid, surrounding area, internships, community service, diversity, community, etc., etc.). Write down questions to ask about these areas or other information that you cannot find. Engage presenters with these questions during the typical information session and potential online tour.

 

Visit and explore with friends and family – Having your people with you to discuss things, point out missed items, and laugh and make fun of the mistakes of online presenters makes things more memorable. The support of family and friends makes us comfortable and the companionship helps us work through the slower parts of virtual visits (and trust me, there are slow parts of in-person visits too – see any Presidential welcome…zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!). Discuss positives and negatives of the school just as you would on the ride home, post-visit dinner, or hotel stay. Share the experience!

 

Find people to talk to – Ask any college student or graduate why they love their university and the conversation will eventually gravitate toward people and community. One of the best predictors of college success and happiness is the ability of a student to identify an adult mentor. While lazy rivers, rock walls, steak houses, Tempurpedic mattresses, and laundry service are fun amenities, it’s people that make us happy, fulfilled, and grounded. Many colleges will offer individual or small group discussions with future classmates, admission professionals, alumni, and professors. Take advantage of these; are their messages and stories consistent, do they seem genuine? It’s their community you are considering becoming a part of, do they feel like “your people?”

 

Revisit school’s websites – A pandemic isn’t something that most prepare for (no political statement coming), colleges included. Pre-COVID, most school’s web experiences served introductory purposes for passive question seekers, speaking in only one direction. Now schools are continually changing content, diversifying experiences, and attempting new ways to engage virtual visitors. New content is the norm: specific panel presentations, upgraded video tours and highlights, refined information sessions, individual conversation opportunities, classroom visits, and updated student diaries and stories. The luxury here is returning to a school doesn’t require a plane ticket or day off from school.

 

Create a “when I visit” list – Be excited about what it will be like when you do visit a campus in-person. Write down the things you want to see and feel. The list you scribe could include visiting campus locations: Washington Square Park at NYU, the buffalo-shaped pool at University of Colorado, the robot-arm in the library at Temple, Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke, or Sip (one of the best college coffee shops in the country) at Columbia. Perhaps it’s an experience you want to be a part of: dance during THON at Penn State, run or maybe just watch the Krispy Kream Challenge at NC State (run five miles and eat a dozen donuts), be a spectator at the Little 500 bicycle race at Indiana University (see movie – Breaking Away), run in the Ball State University Bed Races or carve an ice sculpture at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival. Your list can also include people that you’ve engaged during your virtual visits – people to find and just say “thank you” for making their campuses come to life and showing an interest in your college search. There’s a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, we need to have things to be excited about – plan out and imagine what that might look like!

 

Explore beyond .edu – College administrators and marketing teams do a great job of messaging and branding. Websites are usually consistent and people are sometimes scripted. Get off this propaganda-path and visit other sites to find out more. YouTube and Instagram provide organic windows into campus activities and document occasional student life. Niche.com and Unigo.com provide student surveys, ratings, quotes, stories, as well as the facts and statistical information.

 

Good luck! Stay optimistic and believe campus visits and experiences are in your future. Be eager and motivated to get to these campuses that you’ve researched and explored online. Allow yourself to dream how you will do college and use this virtual time to identify experiences you’re eager to try, the people you want to meet, and the places you want to see. Before you know it, you’ll be inhaling bacon cheese fries at 2 a.m. somewhere – hopefully you’ll save me a little! :-)