College tours provide valuable first hand experience. Brochures and virtual tours cannot capture the essence and atmosphere of a college like being there in person walking through the campus grounds, observing student life, and sometimes engaging with faculty members. In addition, current students can provide insights that would otherwise be impossible to see from a distance.
Tours allow students to gauge their academic interests and what the school can do for their goals. An example of this is seeing how academic counselors can help students to reach their academic objectives. There are also internships that may be available to the students applying, and these internships can be a positive way for students to kick off their interests and get a better understanding of how things work beyond college.
On a different note, physically being on a college campus allows the person visiting to experience first hand what the community and campus life is like. Students can observe and see dorms and other facilities like the dining hall or library. Being able to see how these spaces aid the current students of the campus allows an insight into what visitors life may be like if they chose to go to the college. Understanding norms and lifestyle habits of current students is helpful, because it allows people to picture themselves in that community.
Lastly, a huge bonus of traveling and seeing colleges in person is that it allows you to see more diversity. Having multiple examples of different types of schools is helpful to gauge where a student can see themselves being and understanding that no college is the same as the other. This will help students determine if they want a larger or smaller school, liberal arts school, religious school, and more. This diversity allows the college application process to be more personalized to the student applying, allowing for more connection to schools.
