Visiting colleges is a big part of the whole college process, but it can be a tricky thing to plan! Between classes, sports, clubs, jobs, and other obligations, sometimes it’s impossible to get college visits scheduled during the school year. Now that you’ve got your whole summer stretching out in front of you, it’s time to start thinking about getting out there to see some college campuses!
These visits can easily be done in and around your other plans, as long as you make sure you prepare everything in advance. Going on a road trip with your family? See what colleges you’ll be near and swing in for a visit! Flying across the country to visit your grandparents? That makes it the perfect time to check out campuses near them! Taking a vacation somewhere warm? Consider seeing what the options are wherever you’re visiting!
Bear in Mind
There are a few things to keep in mind if you’re planning summer college visits. One is that there are far fewer students on campus during the summer, so you very likely won’t be getting the true picture of what day-to-day life is like. It varies from campus to campus, but it’s possible that the summer session only has about 1/10th of the students that are on campus for the fall and spring semesters. It’s a big difference!
Another thing to remember is that many campus visit opportunities are scaled back over the summer. While it’s usually pretty easy to book a campus tour and information session during the school year, they might only be offered a few times a week during the summer; on some campuses, they might not be offered at all. You might be better off booking a private tour through an outside company, though those are also more limited in the summer months.
Also, it’s possible that you also might not be able to do other common campus visit activities, like visiting a dorm, eating in the dining hall, talking to an admissions counselor or professor, or sitting in on a class. Everyone else is on summer break, too!
All of that said, though, get campus visits done whenever you can! Campuses are very rarely truly shut down for the summer, and you can still glean a lot of important information from a summer college visit. Get out there and see what there is to see!
