With the warmer weather approaching (we can only hope ;-), high school seniors poised to make those all-important college acceptance decisions, and juniors pondering just where they should apply, visits to college campuses, near and far, are in the offing.

Yes, there are virtual tours galore, and, by all means, you should take every last one of them. Still, as the old saying goes, there's nothing like being there! [Check out our previous post on campus visits and virtual tours.]

From January to May, many high school students will be taking college trips. These visits can be the most important factor in deciding which school to attend since being on campus can help high schoolers experience the culture, environment, and student life at a college. However, planning a college trip presents challenges, from deciding on schools to visit to organizing travel.

Keeping in line with our credo to bring you the best of everything college, from application and admission advice to finding and getting the most bang for your college bucks, we thought a look-see at those college tour websites would be in order.

One website that has caught our attention is Go See Campus, (with which neither The College Whisperer nor College Connection have any affiliation or financial interest) offering free (always nice) college trip planning for high school students and their parents.

Go See Campus, launched in March 2010, helps high school students and parents by providing them with a first-of-its-kind, online College Trip Planner. New additions let users plan visits to over 2,300 campuses. Students can search for colleges, connect to activities like campus tours, and create itineraries to take on the road.

In addition to the expanded College Trip Planner, Go See Campus has launched a new "Resource Library" on Facebook, which offers exclusive information not yet available in the website's "College Advice" section. For example, one article on Facebook outlines issues that parents and high school students should discuss before overnight college visits. Go See Campus has also launched "Connect with Colleges". This new feature lets students request admissions information from schools and enter to win a college scholarship.

Kevin Preis, the website’s founder, says, “Go See Campus' goal is to help students and parents get the most from the college search. Expanding the universe of schools and offering new college trip resources are part of that effort.”

The website has a growing audience of students, parents, and college professionals, including The College Whisperer and the folks here at College Connection. Go See Campus is great when you’re planning a college trip because it details the activities you can participate in at the schools and why they are important.  With the ‘Travel Arrangements’ and ‘Find Restaurants Nearby’ options, you can get everything you need for each visit.

Initiatives such as advice articles on Facebook and the "Connect with Colleges" feature join other site efforts, like "College Resources" and "Campus Bookstore" pages, and represent Go See Campus' continuing work to support families in the college search.

Keeping college-bound students, and their parents, on the cutting edge and in the know. It's what we do at College Connection. So, go see campus, and check out Go See Campus!

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Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer, the authors of referenced articles and websites, and such guest bloggers as may appear.
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