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COVID 19 has made the the college search much more difficult. For the most part, it is not possible to do in person college visits, tours or information sessions. So how can you make an informed decision when choosing a college? Many universities have been offering new ways to get information about their schools available to potential future students to help with the college search.

Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are one tool many colleges are using to visualize their campus.  The virtual tours often include interactive maps and programs that give you a 360 degree view of different areas of the campus.

Videos

Some schools offer videos to provide a view of the campus, details of their programs as well as interviews with students about their experiences. Videos are great way to visualize a campus and get useful information about a college.

Virtual Information Sessions

Virtual information sessions are another tool colleges are using to get information out about their schools. These rage from large sessions over Zoom with an interactive chat available for questions to smaller Zoom sessions where the participants are encouraged to use their cameras and audio for questions. Colleges often offer general sessions as well as sessions for specific majors, for example the engineering department. Info sessions are not offered all the time and need to be reserved in advance on the college's website.

Virtual Class Trials

Many schools are also providing opportunities for prospective students to try one of their classes. These limited class sessions are often held online on common school holidays to give an idea of what a class at that college is like. These classes are run by actual professors in different subject areas and need to be reserved in advance on the college's website.

While it is more difficult to do a college search during a pandemic, colleges have been coming up with ways to explore their schools virtually. Provided are links to virtual tours and virtual information sessions at colleges with engineering programs.

As a result of COVID-19, the college search for an engineering school has become more difficult. In person college visits, tours and information sessions can't occur in most cases. This is both challenging and frustrating for both high school seniors and the parents of them. As parents of a high school senior, we have been going through these frustrations ourselves. Every day things seem to be changing. So how can you make an informed decision when choosing a college for an engineering major? Many universities have been rising to the challenge by instituting new ways to get information about their schools available to potential future students. Virtual tours and virtual information sessions are two ways to visualize a college and learn more about them. Another great way to get more questions answered is to schedule virtual or phone interviews with college representatives. Signing up for info sessions and interviews does more than get you information. It shows demonstrated interest in the school.  This is something many colleges look for when choosing who to accept. Check our links to colleges with engineering programs that offer virtual tours and virtual information sessions.

Due to COVID-19 the traditional college search has changed. Since campus visits can't happen, many colleges now offer virtual information sessions. These sessions are done in different ways. Many are offered in a webinar format with interactive chat for questions. Some are prerecorded slideshows of information. Some schools offer just general information sessions, while others have general sessions and sessions on specific majors. Most also offer a virtual tour of the school so you can get a better visual of the campus. Virtual info sessions are often found on the Visit Campus Page of a college's website. In addition, many colleges look for demonstrated interest in their school from their applicants. Traditionally, this would be shown by college visits and interviews, but with today's changes, signing up for virtual info sessions are also counted. Here are links to several schools with engineering programs that currently offer virtual information sessions.

Additional colleges offering information sessions can be found on this previous blog post.

Case Western Reserve University SUNY Buffalo
Colombia University SUNY Stony Brook
Cornell University University of Arizona
Drexel University University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Duke University University of Maryland
George Washington University University of Michigan
Northeastern University University of Pittsburgh
MIT University of Rochester
Ohio State University University of Texas A & M
Rice University University of Virginia
Rochester Institute Of Technology University of Washington
Stanford University Vanderbilt University
Stevens Institute of Technology

Many colleges are now offering virtual information sessions due to COVID-19. These sessions are a great way to get information about a school when you can't actually visit the campus. The sessions are often conducted in a webinar format with interactive chat so you can ask any questions you might have. Some schools offer just general info sessions, while others have general sessions as well as sessions on specific majors. Many also offer virtual tours of their campus. This is a great resource to look for to help with the college search. In addition, many colleges look for demonstrated interest in their school from their applicants. Traditionally, this would be shown by college visits and interviews, but with today's changes, signing up for virtual info sessions are also counted. Virtual info sessions are often found on the Visit Campus Page of a college's website. Here are links to a few schools with engineering programs that currently offer virtual information sessions.

Georgia Tech 

Carnegie Mellon University 

Perdue University 

Virginia Tech 

Johns Hopkins University 

University of Wisconsin