Campus Visits With Limited Or No Money

Spring break is one of the best times for high school students to visit college campuses. High school and college spring breaks usually don’t occur in the same week, so visiting colleges during this time provides an excellent opportunity to observe campuses filled with students and conducting business as usual. Visiting college campuses on a “typical” day with students actively attending classes, eating in the dining commons, and participating in student events enables visiting students to experience the true atmosphere and culture of a campus.

If lack of available cash is limiting your ability to travel to colleges this spring break (or at any other time), there are things you can do to save money to make campus visits affordable.

To save money:
- Travel with friends to share the costs of travel and lodging.
- Stay overnight for free with friends and relatives.
- Visit several college campuses on the same road trip.
- Take an ice cooler filled with food and drinks so you don’t have to eat at restaurants every meal.

If tough economic times are making campus visits impossible, then you can learn about colleges of interest through local representatives and by using your home computer.

To learn about college campuses:
- Take virtual campus tours though links on each college’s website.
- View current college student reviews, photos and videos.
- Scour each college’s website for “official” and “unofficial” information.
- Use Google Earth to investigate college campuses and surrounding communities.
- Visit with local college alumni and current college students who live in your home town.
- Be sure to get your name on each college’s mailing list by registering online or calling college admissions office. Being on mailing lists gets you “on the radar” with admissions officers and into admissions office databases.

For more information visit MyCollegeCalendar.org