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Virtual university visits are valuable, particularly for international students who cannot always visit a university in person. A virtual visit should not mean simply watching a five-minute promotional video.

I encourage students to look for live, interactive opportunities which are over an hour long, where you can have a detailed discussion with the student ambassador team, you can dive deeper into what student life on campus is like, what the interesting facts about the university are and how the libraries and other facilities work.

For example, Stanford currently that combines an admissions information session with live forums involving current undergraduates, including conversations around housing, dining, dorm life, student life and academics. 

UC Berkeley similarly offers led by student tour guides, alongside virtual admissions presentations, student panels and recorded sessions. 

Ucas also has a for anyone considering the UK as a destination and points prospective students towards platforms such as Unibuddy to connect with current undergraduates.

These are powerful because they allow a student sitting thousands of kilometres away to hear directly from the people who are living the experience.

My virtual visit strategy

1. Explore the campus

Start with the university’s official virtual tour.

Look at:

• Libraries
• Laboratories
• Classrooms
• Residence halls
• Student centres
• Sports facilities
• Dining facilities
• Surrounding neighbourhood

2. Meet the people

Attend:

• Live admissions sessions
• Student ambassador sessions
• Student panels
• Faculty or academic webinars
• Department-specific events

3. Ask questions

Prepare questions in advance and use the Q&A function during tours and panels. Consider questions that can’t be found on university websites that are specific to the course or campus. 

A student should ideally leave a virtual visit knowing something that they could not have learned from simply reading the university website.

The university virtual visit toolkit

Before the visit

Research:

• The specific course and modules
• Teaching and assessment methods
• Accommodation
• Student societies
• Internships and placements
• Career support
• Research opportunities
• Location and transport
• Costs and financial considerations

During the visit

Look at:

Academic experience

• How do students learn?
• How accessible are professors?
• How much independent study is expected?
• Can you sit in on a class or attend an academic session?

Student experience

• Do students appear engaged?
• Are people studying together?
• What are students doing outside class?

Campus culture

• Does it feel collaborative or competitive?
• Is there a sense of community?
• Are there spaces where students actually spend time?

Everyday life

• How will I travel?
• What is accommodation really like?
• Where will I eat?
• What happens after classes?
• What does a normal weekday feel like?

Talk to three groups of people:

A current student – for lived experience.

A professor or academic – for the academic reality of the course.

An admissions representative – for requirements, processes, financial aid and institutional information.

Counsellors can then ask students to document their observations.

I would suggest creating a simple university visit evidence sheet with three columns: what I observed, what I heard and what it means for me. I encourage students to rate each university from 1 to 5 based on how compatible the university is with the student’s goals and aspirations. 

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Virtual visits can open doors when geography gets in the way.

And walking through a campus, staying in student accommodation, using public transport, talking to students and experiencing the ordinary rhythm of university life can give students a clearer perspective. 

Because ultimately, university is not just a destination they are trying to reach.

It is the environment in which students will spend some of the most formative years of their life.