<p>I'm beginning to visit colleges, and living in Pennsylvania, I've got a lot of great choices nearby. But I know, due to financial constraints and my parents' pure stubbornness, I won't be able to visit most of the schools I'm really interested in. It seems like most of the schools I really really really like are out of state, in the Midwest, or in New England, places I have no way of visiting. Everyone keeps saying "Don't go to a school you've never visited." What should I do?</p>
<p>It’s always better if you can visit, but it’s not a requirement. When I went to college (before the Internet) I never did a campus visit either – and my college was only a four hour drive from my house. You can imagine in an offline world with no campus visit how little information I had before I first stepped on campus as a freshman with all my stuff in tow. That was pretty normal back then. With the Internet you’ll already have ten times more information that the previous generation did, even without a campus visit. I’d say visit the ones you can and don’t sweat the fact that you’re not visiting the others.</p>
<p>Try to visit colleges nearby that would be representative of the ones you’re interested in. Essentially, look at nearby liberal arts colleges, big universities, etc. Then, when you’ve been accepted to places, try to visit the one you think you’ll ultimately attend before you commit. And the internet will help a ton.</p>