Please refer to the slides from the Collegewise webinar for specific recommendations on how to learn about your colleges while you cannot visit campuses. Whether attending virtual college fairs, virtual campus tours and information sessions, talking with current students and alums, reading college guide books and college websites, watching vlogs on YouTube or Campus Reel, or taking advantage of the college search features in Naviance, you have many opportunities to get to know your colleges without visiting their campuses. 

YouVisit

Campus Reel

Campus Explorer

YOUniversity TV

Youtube- Check out this channel on "A Day in a Life" on many college campuses. 

Go to Naviance for your high school’s accepted profile stats compared to your own in “College Lookup”.  Check out scattergrams.

College Board College Search

·         At A Glance – Size, Acceptance Rate, Cost, Map, Photo Tour

·         Deadlines

·         Majors & Learning Environment – Retention %, Majors, etc.

·         Campus Life – Size, Student Body info, Campus Environment, etc.

·         Applying – Stats, Required Tests, Test Scores, Score use policy

*Tip:  From Home page, Click on “Explore Careers” at top for great major/career info

Visit the School website for:

·         Philosophy/Mission -  “About” and “Why”

·         Admission FAQ’s (often in “Prospective/Future Students” or “Apply” tab)

·         SAT – for score use and policy

·         Majors/minors.  Click on links for more info about curriculum.

·         Housing options

·         Look at tuition and fees and understand the total cost of attendance

Additionally, remember there many factors at colleges and universities that have not changed. Focus on your priorities and then see how a college can meet these:

• Academic Programs

• Extracurricular Activities

• Professional Development/Career Opportunities

• Financial Accessibility

• Student Services

• Facilities/Campus Environment

Don’t immediately rule out a college or limit your search because of cost. There are many types of financial aid. Often, the price you see advertised, is not the price you will pay. We encourage you to focus on net price, not sticker price.

In this blog post, Mark Kantrowitz, a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships, and student loans does a great job explaining the different options to pay for college from 529 college savings plans to education tax benefits.

Now that you have a better understanding of how financial aid works, we encourage you to complete the Estimated Expected Family Contribution Calculator so you get a realistic idea of what a college may expect your share of the cost to be.

Lastly, create an account on Raise.Me and start earning scholarship money for college today.

College admissions want you to first prioritize your health, safety, and well-being. However, if the essentials are taken care of and you're able to devote time to activities, then you do should so. It shows your ability to be creative and flexible, and to persevere in unusual times. Most importantly, it gives you a change to spend time on something you really enjoy. This is key from both a human and college admissions perspective. Just because meetings, clubs, or competitions are either taking a virtual form or have been cancelled, doesn't mean you can't showcase your interests. 

When you are coming up with your ideas of how you can be using your time, think back to why you originally signed up for, and what specifically you likes about or hoped to get from it. Use that as inspiration! Once you've brainstormed alternative ways to fulfill your interest, set a concrete goal for yourself. Progress over perfection.  While COVID-19 clearly wasn't the way most of us expected to be following our passions, it forced us to adapt, change, and be flexible. All good for finding creative ways to pursue your genuine interests!

For ideas about what you can be doing during the pandemic, please see this list of 120 creative ideas for how to spend your time in quarantine.