Campus Vists

Answered

Hi @Highschooler,

Campus visits are common to figure out your fit with the school and learn more about it (as @Moksh191 mentioned), but they are also useful as forms of "demonstrated interest," which can possibly boost your admissions chances.

Fit Factor + Learning:

I won't say much here since it's been pretty well covered by @Moksh191, but I do want to emphasize something I don't think was mentioned in their post: assessing fit and learning about a school is especially important if you are applying ED, through Questbridge, or anything that would be a "binding" admission.

Demonstrated Interest:

You can figure out whether or not the school you want to visit considers/tracks demonstrated interest or not by searching for their "common data set" online (Ex. Rice Common Data Set) and scrolling to the portion talking about undergraduate admissions; usually, there will be a table of factors that are considered, not considered, important, etc. You may also be able to find this from other sources online, but the common data set from the past admissions cycle is the most accurate source for any sort of admissions info, especially of a college has changed (their policies, acceptance rates, etc.) from year to year.

If Campus Visits aren't Feasible:

If you can't do many campus visits though, don't worry! There are many other ways to demonstrate interest and learn about a school, especially online because schools are making greater accessibility efforts since COVID. You may also want to look into all-expenses paid fly-in programs from that college (usually for fall of senior year though)

Personal Experience:

I personally didn't make many campus visits (as compared to the amount of colleges that I was applying to and my peers), but I did ensure to visit and further demonstrate interest for local colleges I was applying to and virtually demonstrate interest for others. For reference, my on-campus visits in the fall of senior yr, virtual interest summer b4 senior yr / throughout bc I lowkey didn't have any time b4 that.

I also visited campus of further colleges once I was admitted to gauge the fit factor. And I applied to and was accepted to a virtual fly-in program (virtual on account of COVID, but normally in-person) during first semester of senior year to the institution I ended up enrolling in.

Further Reading:

For a more detailed and complete answer specific to you though, I encourage you to read further about campus visits on the CollegeVine Blog:

- When & If To Make a College Visit: https://blog.collegevine.com/college-visits-when-and-if-to-make-them/

- List of General Articles on Campus Visits: https://blog.collegevine.com/tag/campus-visit/

- Visit Tips: https://blog.collegevine.com/10-tips-for-your-childs-college-visit/

- Making the Most of a Campus Visit: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-a-campus-visit/

Final Message:

Sorry this is so much info! Wanted to try to explain everything as best I could though bc I was also super confused about this and other things when applying.

In general though, for all things admissions-related, I recommend four things: keep calm, do your research (online articles, youtube, forums, college info sessions, etc.), be planed/prepared, and be genuine (it's your life! be happy and enjoy what you do so you can write good essays lol).

Hope this helps! Best of luck! :D