Making the Most of Your Spring Break College Campus Visits

Visiting colleges during your high school spring break allows you to see the university in session, filled with students engaged in their activities, and campus culture on full display. While summer can be a more convenient travel time, most colleges are sleepy places during their long annual break when there are fewer students around (or are filled with campers rather than university students) and lots of facility construction. Check to ensure that your high school’s spring break does not overlap with the spring breaks of the colleges that you want to visit, and target your spring visits to those that are in session. And whether you are a sophomore just starting your search with several colleges close to home or a high school senior deciding where to matriculate, do some advance planning and online research beforehand so that your visit is intentional and purposeful.

COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS

Campus visits are typically available by registration on the admissions page of a university’s website. They most commonly consist of two parts:

A Guided Campus Tour led by a backward-walking student ambassador covering campus history and key landmarks, academic buildings, dormitories, and other facilities. Tours provide valuable insights into campus life and culture, and give a good “lay of the land” overview.
An Information Session by an admissions staff member featuring the college’s academic programs, admissions process, financial aid opportunities, and campus resources. These sessions often include an interactive component where you can ask questions.

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COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS: DEMONSTRATED INTEREST

Campus tours and info sessions showcase what the school sees as its strengths and distinguishing characteristics. Attending the official school tour and info session is also the best way to show “demonstrated interest” for those schools that track it. Do the schools on your list care whether you visit? Read our blogs on demonstrated interest to find out those that do and those that don’t. Either way, spring break visits allow the opportunity to explore beyond these official offerings.

Avoid forming impressions based primarily on how much you like the tour guide: that guide is only one student among thousands at the school. To get a deeper feel for how the campus culture aligns to your own preferences and interests, it is best to go “off script” and seek additional ways to experience the campus.

COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS: EXPERIENCE THE CAMPUS

Attend a class or lecture to get a firsthand experience of academic life at the college. This allows you to observe teaching styles, classroom dynamics, and student engagement, giving you a sense of what to expect academically. College is, after all, fundamentally an academic experience. Class visits have been restricted post-Covid, so if sitting in on a live class isn’t possible, ask what buildings you might want to see for your prospective major and stop by the academic department that aligns with your interests. You might arrange a conversation with the undergraduate advisor for your intended major or scan the bulletin boards for course listings, related lectures, and research or internships opportunities.

Branch out. Talk to at least one student who is not a tour guide. If anyone from your high school attends the college, reach out in advance to see if you can meet up to get their firsthand impressions. You can also contact a campus group that you plan to join and see if you can meet with members of the debate team, affinity group, or solar car team, for example. Otherwise, be brave, introduce yourself, and strike up a conversation as you wait in line at the bookstore or coffeehouse.

Things to ask: Ask the students you meet thoughtful questions like “What do you love about the college?” or “What was most unexpected?”

Customize. Visit the places on campus where you will be spending time. Campus tours show greatest hits, but seek out the spots that align most closely with your interests: the maker space, orchestra hall, or soccer field, for example. Universities like Northwestern, USC, Cornell, and University of Miami with dedicated schools for disciplines such as engineering, business, and public policy may have separate school-specific sessions where you will be in a smaller group and may end up with a private audience with an admissions dean.

Something to consider: how much does this university prioritize the activities that most excite you?

Go solo. Traveling with your family is a great bonding experience, but once on campus, put on your backpack and walk around by yourself for an hour to envision what it would be like as a college student.

Things to notice: Do students meet your gaze and smile at you or are they walking with heads down focused on their phones? Are they helpful with directions and recommendations? In the libraries, are students studying solo or in groups?

Grab lunch. Instead of dining at a restaurant in town, eat in the campus dining hall or visit a campus food truck. Most campus eateries accept cash in addition to meal plans. Besides evaluating meal options, you’ll have a ringside seat to observe students and hear a bit of their conversations.

Notice as you eat: Are most students eating alone, with a friend, or in large groups?

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COLLEGE CAMPUS VISITS: FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

Spring break visits allow you to see how students spend their time outside of class and—in the best serendipitous moments—you might find yourself in the middle of an improv club fundraiser, an environmental rally, or an engineering class experiment. During your college campus visit, you can gather valuable insights to make a more informed decision about which college is the best fit for you academically, socially, and personally.

As a final tip, be sure to summarize your observations in detail before heading to the next visit on your itinerary. Impressions that are clear in that moment can blur as you experience multiple schools. Writing them down, even in quick note form, allows you to refer to them later when making decisions about which colleges to apply to and when preparing for your college essays and interviews.

CAMPUS VISIT CLUSTERS: REGIONAL ITINERARIES

For suggested regional itineraries, see our Campus Visits Clusters series featuring Boston, SoCal, NorCal, Chicago and the Midwest, and New York City.

Even if official tours are booked or the admissions office is closed the day you plan to be on campus, it is still worth a visit! Take your own “behind the scenes” tour using digital resources provided by the university (Princeton, for instance, offers a self-guided tour you can access on your smartphone).

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Heidi Lovette

Senior Private Counselor at Top Tier Admissions

As Assistant Director of Admissions, Heidi evaluated and made executive decisions on 7,000+ undergraduate applications to Cornell University’s College of Arts & Sciences. With additional experience in the admissions offices of Dartmouth College and Temple University, she brings deep insight into the review process at highly selective institutions. Heidi’s admissions experience is complemented by a 15-year career in communications and publishing. As Medical Editor at Cambridge University Press and Science Editor at Cornell University Press, Heidi collaborated with STEM faculty and physician authors to bring dozens of books to successful publication. Heidi now enjoys using both her firsthand admissions experience and editorial skills to advise students on how to distinguish themselves in the admissions process.

After attending Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California, Heidi graduated cum laude with an Honors thesis from Dartmouth College as a double major in Classical Archaeology and Comparative Literature. At the University of Pennsylvania, Heidi was a Williams Fellow in the graduate program of Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World. She has conducted archaeological field work in Sardinia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey.