With the opening of the California State Application on October 1st, many students are starting their applications. College tours are one of the main tools that prospective students use when comparing schools. During Covid-19, the CSUs are offering virtual tours.

CSU virtual tours are put together by California State Universities and intended to offer the benefits of in-person campus tours without risking student safety.

“Many campuses offered short videos with highlights to their campus before the pandemic, but now host a full tour, similarly to what students would get if they scheduled a campus tour in person.  In addition, some CSU campuses offer a Virtual Guided Tour, which is done live over zoom and is more interactive,” said AV ROP College & Career Specialist Kimberly Woodworth.

Just like in-person tours, virtual tours enable prospective students to see campuses up close and decide which school is the best fit for them.

“I highly recommend attending virtual tours if you haven’t seen the campus prior to the pandemic because it’s extremely risky to call a place your home for the years to come without being able to expect anything out of it. Campus and the city’s lifestyle is a huge deciding factor when it comes to choosing further education,” said AV alumni Harshika Sethi (‘20).

While there are numerous benefits to attending virtual tours, there are also clear distinctions to actual campus visits that are not possible during the pandemic.

“We get to listen to current and graduated students and their involvement with the community. One major disadvantage of these virtual tours is you don’t understand things from your own perspective. Also, everything can’t be explained in a 15-20 min session, so it’s hard to get all your questions answered,” said Aashritha Javvaji (‘21).

CSU tours being conducted online means that they are a lot more accessible for students who may have not been able to attend normal tours due to restrictions on time and money.

“Prospective CSU students have the opportunity to see all CSU campuses in an up-close way without the cost – travel and time –  of attending in-person tours. It also allows students with tight schedules to view college tours during their day or at a time that works best for them and their families” said Woodworth.