A College Guidance Blog
As technology continues to become a ubiquitous part of society and the lives of its young people, possibilities continue to unfold. In the short time since the internet's inception, dramatic changes have occurred in the way people consume knowledge, share their lives, engage in commerce, and interact with one another. Technology has also acted as a tool for leveling the playingfield in many aspects of life. For some that has resulted in access to books through easily available tools such as Learning Ally, for others it has opened up doors for composition or speech, and still for others it has provided access to a virtually limitless bounty of information.
In the world of college admissions and counseling, technology has similarly revolutionized processes, information, and access. College professionals will tell you that a crucial part of discerning the "best-fit" college is stepping foot on campuses of interest. Unfortunately, this prospect is simply not an option for many students. Visiting college campuses involves taking time away from school, money for travel expenditures, and means to plan such visits. This makes the campus visit a non-starter for a vast majority of students, despite being lauded as a critical step in the process. Realizing this truth, colleges, marketing professionals, and technology companies have responded with a host of tools that allow students to "visit" campuses from the comforts of their own home. The product: Virtual College Tours (VCTs). Simply put, VCTs are collections of photos, videos, audio, and other information that place the viewer in the midst of the college's campus. I will use the Savanna College of Art and Design's (SCAD) VCT as an example. Using a tool called YouVisit, SCAD begins the viewer at its most iconic building in beautiful Savanna. The tour is hosted by Gabrielle, a pleasant student of the college, who provides a very human aspect of the tour. There are links to other buildings, videos, 360-degree photos, and options to schedule an actual visit. Check it out for yourself...
Using tools such as YouVisit, VCTs are becoming an increasingly popular means of encouraging student interaction with campuses, while luring students for actual visits. Outside of purely a marketing ploy, VCTs offer unique opportunities for students to gain a nearly first-hand campus experience. They can visit libraries, see buildings, quads, dorms, and other facilities that give them a sense of what colleges value.
But, students must approach VCTs with a careful eye. While indeed provide an insider's perspective, many VCTs are sanitized by the colleges themselves. To look deeper within the college of their choice, students can choose to employ another tool to accompany their VCT: the on-campus student interview. Using tools such as Youtube and Vimeo, students can easily unearth interviews with students on many campuses (like these from SCAD). Students can also tap into resources such as CollegeClickTV, a collective of interviews with college students. CCTV's productions are candid, unscripted, and insightful. Consider this interview with an Ithaca College student...
Combining a YouVisit VCT with some interviews from CCTV can be a powerful experience for a student, and open a young person's eyes to some of the truths about colleges that they don't always hear from an admissions brochure. As technology in the college process continues to develop, be sure to remain on the lookout for similar tools that can increase campus accessibility and lead to students finding their "best-fit" option for the future.
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