It just depends on the school though. The dead campus was not really what sounded the deathknell for UNC-W. She just didn’t like the campus at all and didn’t like how there wasn’t any fun and funky stuff nearby. She loved how VCU is integrated into the fun and funky Fan District in Richmond. So the summer visit there bumped VCU up the list. VCU was completely locked down and we couldn’t go in any buildings but at UNCW we could go in and check out the different classroom blogs (pre COVID).
We did college tours both during school and in the summer with both of our kids.
The only school that got ditched was one where they were doing extensive renovations or something. Some of the buildings were being painted and were having new floors installed. I have no idea why the tour guide chose those classroom buildings! The gardens were being redone and were all dug up. The cafe and library were closed.
It was very easy to cross this school off the application list.
I think the tours will be very important to my D23, as she really hasn’t been able to narrow her list down at all - I think seeing schools in person helps much more with categories like big/small, urban/suburban/rural etc. we are planning lots of visits in fall but very frustrating as OP says that pretty much noone seems to have tours/info sessions on sundays (was always the case as I recall) but now very few even have them on Saturdays! I hope that is just the remnants of COVID restrictions and at least Saturday tours and info sessions will be back on for fall!
We tried to fit in tours whenever we were near a school D might be interested in and sometimes would throw in a local school that was not on the list just because we were nearby and had time. For instance, we toured Duke and had some time so we drove to UNC and walked around (but not for an official tour). Some tours/visits were helpful in helping D narrow down her list, some were not. We had to do a lot when the kids were not in school which is not ideal, but better than nothing.
I guess my advice would be to plan some visits for the fall for times that work for you. If tour schedules are not up online, you could try calling admissions to see if they can give you a general idea of what the schedule would typically look like when you want to visit (i.e. if they generally have 2 tour times on Fridays, they add in Sundays during busy times, they don’t tour certain days due to the student’s midterm schedules, etc). A lot of kids at my D’s school took Fridays or Mondays off school sometimes for college visits and I believe these were considered excused at her school. My D missed too much school due to an activity so we only did that once for an admitted student day.
We eventually had to get D to prioritize schools for touring. We were able to visit most she wanted to but cost is definitely a factor. Funny enough, the one we didn’t visit because we thought it was a long shot, was where she ended up attending. We didn’t visit until after she was admitted.
They are important! On paper, Ohio State was a great match for my D22. She and her dad got a tour by long-time alums and went to the spring football game. It has great programs for her intended major and is affordable— but it didn’t click. She was certain she would apply but now it is off the list.
I am amazed at ease with which some can tour this summer. I took a look at University of Maryland’s student led in person tour for next Monday. These two requirements could be onerous for some:
“* Only bring up to two (2) guests with you during your visit. No exceptions will be made for larger groups.
- Show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled visit. Supporting documentation will be required at check-in.”
These other requirements are similar to others I posted earlier:
“ * Wear a mask or face covering through the duration of your visit, both indoors and outdoors. The mask or face covering should be secured under your chin and over your nose.
- Remain physically distanced from other guests.
- Cancel your visit if you are experiencing any symptoms or are feeling ill. To cancel, please email ApplyMaryland@umd.edu using the subject line “Summer 2021 Tour Cancellation”.”
Seems normal to me. Hopefully everyone is vaccinated. Obviously if not should be testing and wearing a mask. And not sure having more than one parent plus kid at a visit is helpful anyway - maybe that’s just because that’s how we always did it.
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For my D17, we did summer tours only for schools within reasonable driving distance. It’s helpful to just hear the spiel, see the campus, etc.
Any that were of serious interest were revisited during the school year. She had no schools that required a flight, but my D22 has a couple and we may hold off on those until after admissions decisions.
If it’s your first time, we found it valuable to just pick a couple of local schools to see what the tour/info session/etc. process was all about. She spent a day at a small, local LAC, and found the experience useful, even as an engineering applicant. Next up was Pitt, a larger local school. With that experience, we invested in travel to other schools.
Take a look at your school district’s calendar, too. We found we could schedule some when there was a half day of school, PSAT testing day or a superintendent conference day.
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We had a fantastic student-led tour at Northwestern yesterday. Just hearing the students’ enthusiasm and interesting tidbits helped bring the school alive in a different way. Of course it helped that the guides were theater majors 
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Interesting! Sadly our tour was a couple years ago and it was so bad that my kid didn’t want to apply. I am a Northwestern alum so I was a little disappointed. I didn’t like that the tour that we went on only focused on the south campus (fancy new theater halls, etc). The Norris Center was dead (we went in June during NU finals. I wanted to walk “up North” (ie where the STEM buildings are) but the tour guide said it’s not part of the tour.
We’ve had good luck so far this summer with tours. Availability, including Saturdays, using our stored up credit card points for hotels and airline credits from pre-pandemic for flights. Campuses have had people on them in most cases, and even those that were pretty empty, there was value in seeing the surroundings and the surrounding area especially (didn’t like that Reed and Lewis & Clark were so residential vs a school like GW or even American U, where residential but short walk to food and community). It has been helpful to get our S22 motivated to see the big picture and what all the work on apps and essay lead to - and plan what schools he will want to revisit in the fall (two or three). Several more to go, but so far, go good. Good luck! (We’ve been lucky with great tour guides at the six schools so far.)
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Booked flight to Chicago to jaunt down to visit Purdue and pop up to visit Wisconsin. Doing it over three days and three nights. Hoping to do some hiking and may see a couple other schools from the car for fun (UofC, NW, ND, Butler). Maybe Illinois or IU for a stop but rather far. Must see or do?
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Cubs game. Art Institute. Architecture boat tour. Chicago Riverwalk. Botanic Gardens in Northbrook. Gillson Beach in Wilmette- dinner @ Fat Shallot and margarita on the beach
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We all loved the Architecture boat tour! So interesting and fun. We did it at sunset.
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I agree. The biggest issue we’ve run into is the lack of weekend tours and the limited number of tours in general. We are looking in state within a 4 hour drive but it is a challenge to do these tours on weekdays. One of the four we are going to has a saturday morning tour. All the rest we are having to do on weekdays.
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We only looked at schools in state with D22. Only one had Saturday tours. We visited a similar list with D20 and they all had Saturday tour options.
My kids both found campus visits helpful though. They were both able to quickly narrow their lists after seeing things in person - they both had a school where they felt “this is it” as well as ones that they immediately disliked.
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OP here. Thanks for all the great feedback and suggestions. Finally having some success with tours. Utilizing 2 Jewish holidays that our school district has off in Sept. Was able to tour UVM yesterday and will use next Thursday’s holiday to fly to OH and tour 5 schools in OH and IN on Thursday, Fri, and Sat. Flights and car rentals were very expensive but it is what it is at this point.
Rest of the schools will just have to wait till after he is accepted (or rejected). Our school did add one additional tour day this year so they now have 3 days with excused absences for school tours. Just afraid schools will start shutting down tours again due to Covid.
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Hi MAmom111! I’m a reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education who’s trying to gauge students’ feelings on virtual tours/experiences (what they need to offer to be of value, what’s missing currently, etc). I saw you mention that your son dislikes virtual tours; I’d be interested in picking his brain as to why. Let me know if he may be interested in chatting. Thanks!
My guess is that it would be based on how they are done. Are they virtuals with a tour guide, or self-directed virtual tours? It is across the board, frankly, I’ve seen one on one virtual tours with a student where the people stay for 90 minutes. I’ve seen self-directed virtual tours where the time on tour is less than a minute. I suspect it depends on how it is set up.