Can’t Visit Campus? Ten Ways to Research Colleges Without Being There
An in-person campus visit is still one of the best ways to get a feel for a school — but it's not always possible. Distance, cost, and timing can all get in the way, especially when you're looking at a long list of programs spread across the country. The good news is that thoughtful remote research can get you surprisingly far. You can learn a lot about a school's culture, arts programs, faculty, and student life without ever setting foot on campus — if you know where to look.
Here are ten practical strategies to help you research colleges effectively from home
Attend Virtual Information Sessions - and Take Them Seriously
Most colleges offer regular virtual info sessions, and they're worth attending even if they feel like a formality. Beyond the basics, these sessions reveal a lot about how a school communicates and presents itself — and many institutions quietly track attendance as a sign of demonstrated interest, which can matter in admissions decisions.
Check whether the school hosts separate sessions for performing or visual arts programs — many do, and these are far more useful than a general overview. Arrive five minutes early (sessions fill up), keep your camera on, sit up straight, and come prepared with at least one genuine question. Asking something specific about the program signals that you've done your homework.
Explore Student Videos on CampusReel and YouTube
Student-created content gives you a perspective that no admissions office can replicate. CampusReel offers free access to day-in-the-life videos from students at hundreds of schools — it's a good starting point for getting a raw, unfiltered look at campus life. Create a free account and search for your target schools.
YouTube is equally valuable. Search the college name alongside terms like "dorm tour," "day in the life," "music conservatory," "theater department," or "BFA program," and you'll find a surprising amount of content. For arts students especially, searching for student performances, studio critiques, or recitals can give you a real sense of the program's level and culture.
Follow Schools on Social Media
Following a school on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok does more than keep you informed — it signals demonstrated interest and puts you in front of real, current content about campus life. Most admissions offices post regularly about events, achievements, and student work. Arts departments often share student performances, exhibitions, and faculty spotlights.
Pay attention to who is posting and what they're proud of. A department that regularly highlights student work and faculty research is telling you something important about its values. You can also find and connect with current students or recent graduates through these channels, which can lead to informal conversations that are more candid than anything you'd get in a formal info session.
Go Deep on the Website
Most students scan a college's homepage and move on. Go further. Navigate to the specific department page for your intended major and read everything: course requirements, faculty bios, student outcomes, and any research or performance opportunities listed. Faculty profiles are particularly useful — if you can identify two or three professors whose work genuinely interests you, you already have material for your application essays and interview conversations.
Also look for things that won't make the brochure: average class sizes, curriculum requirements, scholarship audition policies, and the range of student performance or exhibition opportunities. Small details like whether the school has a student-run gallery, a chamber music program, or an improv troupe can tell you a lot about the ecosystem you'd be joining.
Reach Out to an Admissions Counselor
Calling or emailing an admissions counselor feels intimidating, but it's one of the most direct ways to get real answers. Prepare a short list of specific questions — things you genuinely want to know and can't find on the website. Avoid asking things that are clearly answered in the FAQ. Counselors appreciate students who have done their research and are asking thoughtful follow-up questions.
Also, ask if they can connect you with a current student in your intended program, or if there's a student ambassador system. A 20-minute informal conversation with a junior or senior in the theater department will tell you more about what the program is actually like than any official source.
Request a virtual Class Observation
Many programs — especially at the graduate level, but increasingly at the undergraduate level too — are open to letting prospective students observe a class virtually. Contact the admissions office or department directly and ask. The worst they can say is no.
Observing a class, even briefly, gives you a feel for how faculty teach, how students engage, and what the energy of the program is like in practice. For performing arts students, especially, watching a voice studio class, a scene study session, or a choreography workshop is invaluable information that you simply can't get from a brochure.
Use Google Maps Street View to Scout the Area
The neighborhood surrounding a campus matters more than most students realize, especially if you're planning to live off-campus after freshman year. Use Google Street View to walk the blocks around campus: what's nearby? Are there coffee shops, rehearsal spaces, art supply stores, or restaurants that suggest a community you'd want to be part of?
Also, use Maps to understand the school's geographic context more broadly. Is it in a city with a professional arts scene you could tap into — internships, performances, galleries, auditions? Or is it in a smaller college town where the school is the center of creative life? Neither is inherently better, but the answer shapes your experience significantly.
Drive Past Nearby Campuses
If you can't visit your target schools, visiting any campus is still useful. Driving through a small liberal arts college, a large state university, and an urban conservatory — even ones you're not applying to — gives you a tangible sense of the physical differences between institution types. Scale, architecture, green space, proximity to other buildings — these things affect how you feel day to day.
Think of it as calibrating your instincts. After you've stood on a few campuses, you'll have a much clearer sense of what "feels right" when you're watching a virtual tour or reading a student's description.
Read Student Reviews on Niche and College Confidential
Student review sites like Niche.com and College Confidential offer candid perspectives from current and former students on everything from academic quality to social life to housing. Take individual reviews with some skepticism — they reflect one person's experience — but patterns across many reviews are often revealing.
Search specifically for reviews of the arts programs or departments you're interested in. Students who are deeply invested in a program tend to write detailed, useful accounts of what the training is actually like, who the standout faculty are, and what the culture of the department feels like from the inside.
Building a college list is one of the most important — and most underestimated — parts of the arts application process. At Best Fit Education, we help performing and visual arts students find programs that are the right fit academically, artistically, and personally — whether or not they've ever set foot on campus. Get in touch to learn how we can help..
