It’s that time of the year again for senior students; college visits. During this time, seniors at the high school are preparing for their futures, and more specifically where they will be spending the next four years. This year it’s a little more difficult for students to visit colleges due to COVID-19 and the health and safety precautions being taken on college campuses, but schools are offering multiple alternative options for students to explore their campuses, student life, academics, and more.

Visiting a college is a major part of the process in finding where you’re going to be for the next four years, and since this is the first year that students can’t go to visit colleges, it has caused some extra stress and worries for students. When visiting campuses, people can usually feel if the school will be the right fit for them or not. But how are students supposed to know if they can’t physically be on the campus?

Colleges have expanded their resources for students and now offer virtual visits and Zoom meetings to sit in with professors who discuss topics like classes, majors, and the academic lifestyle, which would normally be introduced to students when visiting the campus.

Like many other colleges, The University of Connecticut is offering virtual visits. This includes a tour of the campus, and a look inside the dining halls, dorm rooms, and athletic facilities. Additionally, students can also access more information on certain colleges through their social media accounts and school website.

Many seniors have participated in virtual visits and have expressed the benefits of being able to get a better understanding of a college classroom dynamic as well as the overall feel of the campus. Senior Taylor Ellef was able to visit a college that she was interested in before COVID-19 quarantine had started, but she had also participated in many virtual campus visits as well.

“Visiting a college in person definitely helped me a lot to get the feel for the campus and student life and that’s something that you can’t really do when looking at the campus virtually, although COVID-19 has impacted the college process for us, I definitely appreciate virtual visits because without them I wouldn’t have looked at half the schools I did,” Ellef said.

No matter if you’re a freshman or a senior, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on many students both globally and internationally. Despite the challenges that students are facing this school year, many colleges and universities are working to help high school students overcome these obstacles and help them continue their education, whether it will be online, or in person.