With recent developments regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it affects public health and safety, many changes and cancellations have occurred in the volleyball world. This includes summer camps, which many athletes and families also plan around visiting and touring college campuses. Fortunately, technology has made checking out college campuses much easier, and you can start to research campuses while staying safe at home during this time.
While you should not make your college decision exclusively on taking a virtual tour, it can definitely be a helpful tool for figuring out whether you find a campus appealing. Virtual tours can cut back on your travel costs by eliminating some less-appealing schools on your list and hopefully give you a better idea of college fit. But there are obviously other, very important factors to consider, like academics and cost. Use these virtual college campus tour options to help you make an informed decision.
Google Maps
An obvious choice, but Google Maps nonetheless offers a handy and trusted tool that can let users check out almost any campus they would like. In addition to virtually cruising around campus, users can use Street View to check out the areas around campus from the comfort of their computer or smartphone. Additionally, Google Maps has even begun offering glimpses into on-campus buildings, potentially letting you peek into the library or student center. You’ll also often spot little Street View bubbles around the campus in Google Maps, which offer 360-degree views from off-street locations.
YouTube
Most colleges these days actually have pretty robust YouTube channels, with lots of helpful content that can answer many of your questions. YouTube also happens to be the obvious choice for finding helpful videos that showcase different campuses, as evidenced by the campus walkthroughs offered by schools such as the University of Georgia, the University of Chicago and Stanford University. You can even dig around YouTube a bit to find multi-campus tour videos, like this one that visits nine universities in Boston.
YouVisit
Offering higher-quality tours than Google Maps, YouVisit has a wide range of surprisingly immersive virtual tours in its database. To kick things off, many tours are compatible with a VR headset, which can help make you feel like you’re right there on a specific campus. The tours are also available with virtual tour guides that pop up in the lower-right corner of your screen and share highlights about each college’s campus. While you’re virtually strolling through campus, you can check out various videos that share background information about campus highlights and college history. YouVisit may not be available on as many campuses as Google Maps is, but it’s a quality option for virtual tours.
College Websites
There are a lot of colleges that take part in virtual tour platforms like YouVisit, but there are also quite a few that put together their own tour experiences and make them available through their websites. George Washington University has an impressive three-dimensional, interactive map that is fun to use and Iona College made its own virtual-tour interface. Meanwhile, colleges like the University of Florida and Baylor University have compiled a video section to offer a virtual experience of sorts. Keep an eye out on college websites to see if they also offer something similar.
Nothing can replace actually visiting a college and experiencing firsthand how you feel on campus, but a virtual tour can at least help you cross some “on the fence” schools off your list while you’re spending time at home. Give it a try, and don’t forget to check out the NCSA College Recruiting Guide for more tips on finding the right school.
About the Author
Ashlee Lawson is the VP of Event Team Operations for Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), the Official Recruiting Education Partner of the JVA. NCSA assists JVA club directors and coaches with guiding their athletes through the college recruiting process. Read more about NCSA.
