Shortly after publishing our first blog post on the Coronavirus/COVID-19, we were asked an excellent question in the comments section. Lisa asked, “What happens if you get the regular decision acceptance letter and you want to tour the college before the May 1 deadline?”

As we said, it’s a good question. Regular Decision acceptances are already rolling out, with many more to come in the next few weeks, and students are going to have to decide where they want to be in the fall. Typically, that decision is helped along by revisit days, on-campus events, and the regular tours and information sessions that we’ve come to rely on in the college admissions process. All of this leads up to putting down a tuition deposit, often required by May 1st, at your school of choice. 

We’re not in a typical situation anymore, though. Colleges and universities across the country are moving to remote learning models, minimizing the number of people on campus, and have completely stopped offering tours, information sessions, and class visits.

In response to this uncertainty, is circling to pressure colleges to push the tuition deposit deadline back to June 1st. Despite this, there hasn’t been much word (yet) on whether the deadline for tuition deposits will be pushed back. The radio silence on deposit deadlines is likely a result of the same uncertainty that inspired the petition. If colleges don’t know when tours will be able to restart, how can they know whether to push the deadline back and, if so, when to push it back to. If tours don’t restart before summer, it’s possibly irrelevant anyway. Pushing it back wouldn’t change anything and may even give some students false hope.

We will not be surprised if some schools, especially those in areas that are less impacted by the Coronavirus, do push the tuition deposit deadline back in the hopes that they will be able to accommodate some tours in May or even June. However, we will also not be surprised if the number of schools that decide to push the deadline is very, very small.

With that in mind, we are helping our students plan what to do if (and not really if, but when) they can’t tour schools before making their final selection.

If you’ve already been able to visit your top-choice colleges, not being able to tour schools for a second time isn’t a huge deal. Sure, it may be annoying, but if you followed our College Tour Template, you should feel confident in your experience.

If you haven’t been able to tour your top-choice colleges, you’re in an understandably frustrating spot — but it is still possible to get a good sense of whether a school is right for you without having to step foot on campus.

Once you know what your options are, the first step is to write down what it was about the schools that made you apply to them in the first place. If there are any schools that you simply aren’t enthusiastic about, now is a good time to rule them out. There is no reason to spend time on a school you aren’t even considering attending.

When you have the list of schools that you are interested in attending, write the name of each institution down on a separate piece of printer paper. Then, list the reasons why they are still in the running under the name of each school. Star, circle, or highlight the things that are the most important to you (i.e., good food is great, but having your ideal major is ultimately more important). If you have not done this before, it should help you in visualizing which schools have more of what you want and which are not as good of a fit. After this process, you should aim to narrow your list of options down to 1 to 3 schools. If you end up with one, great! You’re done. If you have 2-3 top picks still, it’s time for the next step.

Most of our international clients never get to visit their college before showing up for orientation. And yet, they still manage to find a perfect fit. How? It takes some extra effort, but it’s all about seeking out, collecting, and sorting through information. 

Whenever possible, the next step is to take a ‘virtual tour’ of any colleges you are interested in that offer them. Many do! , , and just to name a few, are all promoting virtual tours as options after canceling all on-campus visits. We expect many more schools will release similar virtual tours in the coming weeks. Other schools, including Claremont McKenna College, or CMC, are offering self-guided tours. However, this is not an option at all schools, and even CMC’s policy may change. Please do not show up on a college campus to peek around. Colleges are working very hard to keep their communities safe and walking onto campus without approval may inadvertently endanger others.

Whether or not a virtual or self-guided tour is available, the next step is to absorb as much information as you can through both unofficial and official channels. There are thousands of “Day in the life” videos online from students at colleges around the world. These can provide essential insight. Many admissions offices also produce original video content, including student interviews and tours, that can help you become more informed about your options. The most useful unofficial channel, however, is to talk to people.

Reach out to anyone you know who is attending or has recently attended a school you are considering. They do not need to be a close friend, and they don’t need to be studying something you are interested in pursuing — we explain how to schedule conversations with current students in our post on touring colleges during the Coronavirus. Please note, though, that since you are already accepted, our advice on emailing admissions offices does not apply to you. 

Will talking to students, watching videos, and taking a virtual tour ever add up to visiting campus? Yes and no. It won’t ever feel the same as walking onto campus. Still, when the deadline for tuition deposits comes near, and you have to make your pick, you may have a more well-rounded understanding of your options than you would after following tour guides around.

If you’re preparing to apply to college and concerned about how the Coronavirus/COVID-19 will impact your process, send us an email. We help students and families create structure and find success, especially when things get rough.