College Planning

College Campus Visits & Info Sessions Near You

College Events 25-26

College Visits

All junior and senior students can be absent two days per year related to visiting a college or university. Documentation with the student's name and date of visit are required for this absence exemption. This means you need to schedule an "official visit" with the university. Look at the college website for tour dates and schedule yours!

When visiting a university, it's important to be prepared with questions. This campus visit checklist is a great resource on what to look for and think about on your campus visit!

Some universities offer virtual and/or YouTube tours - these are not eligible for the attendance exemption. Virtual college visit resources can be found below:

Appily Virtual College Tours
Comprehensive List of all universities offering virtual tours
Campus Reel is a student-led virtual tour resource

College Searches

College Search Tools

Big Future - Not sure where to start? This site provides you with a step-by-step interactive guide.
Christian Connector - A free Christian college resource center.
College Affordability Guide - This site uses millions of data points to analyze college costs and degree plans.
CollegeData.com - Set up a free account and get access to unique planning tools to help you make the right decisions about college. You can also save your favorite college, scholarships, and articles in one place. Stay organized on your path to college!
College Navigator - A free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors and others get information about over 7,000 colleges and universities.
College Scorecard - Search and compare colleges, their fields of study, costs, admissions, results, and more!
GoCollege - One of the oldest and most trusted resources and guide students on how to finance and succeed in college. The materials are divided into four major categories that more students will experience when getting into college: Financial Aid, Admissions, Education Options, and College Survival.
My Texas Future - Compare colleges side-by-side and fill out applications all at this one website.
Niche - Discover schools that are right for you - and so much more! This website has scholarship searches, an admissions calculator, a college comparison tool, college rankings, and so much more!
Texas Genuine - This website is designed to find technical programs and a career path that is right for you. You can then from the colleges that offer your chosen programs and link directly to admissions and financial aid web pages.
TX Colleges and Universities - List of Texas colleges and universities, their admission requirements, costs, financial aid, deadline dates, and more!
Unigo - Set up a free account and get access to unique college planning tools to help you make the right decisions for college. This is a great resource for scholarships!
University HQ Best Colleges in Texas - No matter what subject you wish to study or career you wish to pursue, Texas has a college or university to suit your needs!
Vocational/Trade Schools - All vocational and trade schools vary in the types of education and training offered. You can use this search tool to find a school near you that fits your specific educational and career needs.

Online College Search

College-Scholarships - This is a great resource for scholarships and to explore online degree programs!
Affordable Colleges - Explore online colleges in Texas!
2025 Best Online Colleges

College applications

Online College Application Links

ApplyTexas: This one application can be sent to most Texas colleges and universities for admissions and scholarship opportunities.

Ask ADVi: (short for advisor) A chatbox virtual college advising system, accessible by texting. Any student in Texas may access ADVi by texting "COLLEGE" to 512-82903687 or by starting a freshman application in ApplyTexas

CommonApp: This one application can be sent to several colleges and universities nationwide, including the state of Texas.

Common Black College App: This one application can be sent to several HBCU institutions for a single application fee.

Many universities also have applications through their specific website.

For fee waivers, please contact your counselor.