As the news media reports one story after another of colleges sending students home or switching to an entirely online teaching model this semester, high school students are wondering if there’s any point in visiting prospective colleges this year, or if they’ll ever get to. Will things be back to normal next year? Does the in-person campus experience matter if most of your classes are online? And will colleges even let you set foot on their campuses right now?

As far as the first question goes, odds are that the pandemic will be past us by next fall (if not way sooner), and life in college– and most everywhere else– will return to the way it was. To answer the second question, I will refer back to the first answer: eventually life is expected to go back to normal, which means that the in-person campus experience will matter at some point during current high school students’ college careers, probably from the beginning. The answer to the third question is that some colleges will allow you on campus right now and even give you a tour, while others will not.

So, what should you do about visiting colleges before you actually enroll, especially if you’re a senior? First of all, don’t throw in the towel.  A lot of students had plans to tour colleges over spring break or during the summer and didn’t get to. Some are throwing up their hands and saying, “Oh well! I tried.” Keep trying!  Again, some colleges (many here in Texas) are offering in-person, on-campus tours as we speak. Look up the colleges on your list and find out if they are. If they’re not, there’s a good chance they will be this spring. You may have to submit applications to colleges sight unseen, but you don’t necessarily have to accept an offer before laying eyes on your new home.

Secondly, while nothing, in my opinion, replaces an official on-campus visit, the world of college admissions has gone virtual. And virtually every school is offering online information sessions and virtual tours, among other options. Take advantage of these opportunities. Admissions sessions and campus tours, whether virtual or in-person, can tell you so much about the university. Yes, the presentations can be staid, and sometimes it feels like every university is saying the same thing; but, if you listen carefully, they’re not. Each college is going to tell you about its particular values, list its own statistics, promote its unique traditions, inform you of its specific admissions procedures, and make you aware of its opportunities for financial aid. No two colleges will say the exact same thing.

Furthermore, many colleges offer sessions– once again, in-person and/or virtually– about a particular program or major within the university. These can help students determine what they would like to study, give a basis for comparing one college’s program to another, and inform students of which prerequisites they will need. Finally, most colleges offer preview days each fall, where they go into greater depth about their university, perhaps including a student or faculty panel, access to multiple departments, and in-depth financial aid sessions. These, too, have gone virtual, and can help you make sense of the college experience at a particular institution.

So, COVID or not, here you come! Don’t let this pesky pandemic deter you from having the best college experience you can. A good college experience starts with finding your fit, and you can’t do that if you don’t shop around.