You've read everything there is on the market about the college/university you think you want to attend. You've checked the college/university website out thoroughly and maybe you've even called and had a nice, long chat with an admissions counselor. But, somewhere in the back of you mind, you still have questions. What do you do? Visit the campus!

"Visit? Oh, no. Wait a minute," you say. "I can't visit the campus. Not with my class schedule, and work, and sports, and... And even if I could find the time, how would I get there? Mom and dad have to work and there's my little brother. Plus, I have 5 colleges I'd really like to see and its just so expensive to travel these days! There's no way we could afford to visit 1 let alone all 5!"

Whoa! Take it easy! No panicking allowed! If you can't manage to make an actual trip out to campus to either wander around on your own or walk out with a guided group you have other options. These days, there's more than one way to "visit" a campus and take a tour. While mom and dad are goggling at the idea of visiting a campus without actually "visiting" the campus, lets take a real look at some of the opportunities available to you.

First, understand even virtual tours take time. So, you should narrow down the list of colleges you really want to visit to a list of no more than 10. Once you've done that, check out the college's website to see if they have a "virtual campus tour" available (if not, check out one of the free sites like CampusTours.Com or eCampusTours.Com to see if either company has a virtual tour available). These are typically glitzy, high-dollar productions made by advertising companies contracted with the colleges or universities. They typically feature actors, instead of real students, and the commentary is scripted. But, you usually get a good look at the scenery.

In my opinion, though, these glitzy productions don't tell you a lot. I prefer something a little less sales oriented, a little more personal, and a lot more "real." Yes, we're still talking about "virtual tours," but even some of these can be more "real" than others.

If you have the time, and like me you want something more "real," I recommend heading over to Collegiate Choice. What is Collegiate Choice and what can they do for you? Collegiate Choice is an independent educational consulting agency based in New Jersey. The independent consultants at Collegiate Choice know how important it is to choose the "right" college and how difficult it is for students and famlies these days to actually head out and physically visit each of the many campuses they're interested in. As an alternative, they've developed a series of DVDs covering more than 350 campuses across the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland and Scotland.

How are Collegiate Choice's DVD tours different than the glitzy virtual advertisements many colleges and virtual tour companies offer students? The cosultants at Collegiate Choice aren't affilliated with any of the campuses they tour. They are simply interested third parties who scheduled a guided campus tour with the college and then video-taped that tour.

What don't you get with Collegiate Choice's DVD tours? You won't see the picturesque overlays as the tour guide gives his/her spiel. You won't have any added music or commentary. In fact, there's no post-production editing at all. You see and hear exactly what the consultant sees and hears as he/she takes the tour of the campus in question.

What are the drawbacks? Well, you aren't the one taking the tour. So, you can't ask any questions of the guide and you can't stop any students you pass along the way and ask them for comments. Plus, there is a small cost involved to order the DVDs from Collegiate Choice ($15 per tour plus shipping). But, its a terrific way to get a more personal, more "real" tour of the campus without actually sacrificing the time or very many dollars to go to the campus yourself.

Do the DVD tours replace an actual visit? Certainly not. But, you can narrow your list down, I think, using these. Once you've whittled your possible list down to 5 or fewer, I still recommend you try to physically visit your top two choices.

For families and students considering distant campuses or for those who still haven't whittled the list of "possible" institutions down to a manageable number, I really recommend virtual tours. And for those, like me, who want less ads and more reality, consider ordering one of the DVD tours from Collegiate Choice.

Collegiate Choice
41 Surrey Lane
Tenafly, New Jersey 07670
Tel. 201-871-0098
FAX 201-541-0384
e-mail: collegiatechoice@earthlink.net
online at: http://www.collegiatechoice.com

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

Preparing for college admissions? Trying to find direction? Need a little help with the planning? Check out my college planning series:

• College Planning Made Easy--the planning and preparation workbook for the take charge, college-bound student,
  
• Paying for College Made Easy--a college financing guide designed to assist students and families in preparing and planning for higher education expenses; and
  
• The Great Scholarship Search--my guide for students and parents researching and applying for scholarship funding.