Exploring A College When You Are Unable To Visit

Go to the college's website. Check with Guidance if you can't find it.

Most colleges will not penalize you for not visiting, especially if there is a substantial distance involved.

In some cases, you may want to wait to find out if you have been admitted to a particular college before visiting.

If you are unable to visit, it's important to make sure that your sources for learning about the college are reliable and varied.

You main concern should be to make sure that you learn enough about the college to decide if you would be able to pursue your goals and be happy there.

Make a list of the kinds of things you want to know and list of associated questions.

List people to call or write, and publications to request.

Suggested people to contact (depending on the information you want):

§ Admissions and financial aid officers

§ Professors

§ Coaches

§ Leaders of campus organizations and clubs

§ Students: either someone you know from "home" or someone whose name is supplied by the college

§ Alumni:  the college may be able to give you the name of a graduate who lives near you with whom you could talk

Possible publications to request (in addition to standard catalogs):

§ Student newspapers

§ Alumni newsletters or magazines

§ Sports schedules

§ Literary magazines

§ Research journals

§ Articles written by faculty

Start collecting and evaluating information.  You may be surprised to see how much you can discover about a place without visiting!