With colleges and universities forced to close last March because of COVID-19, college visits have been different for juniors and seniors because many colleges are closed and only available for virtual visits. 

“It’s a big difference between in-person and virtual visits, in-person well, everything in-person you actually know the actual shape, size and actual colors of the buildings, but virtually it may seem small but can be a big building and vice versa,” senior Michael Rodriguez said, “ Virtual college visits are just not effective as in-person.” 

College visits are supposed to give prospective students more information about the college, the kind of environment the school is like, how big the cafeteria is, and how many buildings there are. Virtual visits only provide a 360-degree video and are welcomed by a video from the college admission representatives and graduates.  

“Seeing your dream college or the college you’re applying to through a screen and not in person definitely plays a role in whether the college is the right choice for me,” senior John Lyle said. “Seeing the college through a screen isn’t as exciting and adventurous.” 

Having that in-person connection with the school representatives and guides can make it challenging to interact and ask questions about the college because the answers are not always provided on the internet. It also takes time for admission advisers to respond to all the emails, which can delay the student’s decisions. 

“It’s very easy to attend college visits because our school has a Ranger Time that holds Zoom calls for specific colleges,” Rodriguez said. “I attended the Baylor virtual tour, wasn’t expecting many students to join but there were a few, and it felt personal because it was the closest thing to having a one and one connection with admission advisors.” 

Another big factor is the cancellation of school events. It’s harder for students to tell how eventful the college is. Many colleges are creating videos and hosting personal Zooms for students to attend to get a better one-on-one connection. 

“You can’t feel welcomed over the screen as you would usually in person,” Lyle said. “I’m not able to see students on the campus doing their regular daily things at the campus, but instead just pictures of a school online, and it doesn’t feel personal to why I’m choosing the college.”