What Are the Top 5 College Campus Tours? (review & videos)
College sure is an exciting place to be!
Remember the first time you thought about going to college, daydreaming about traveling to your new school and attending a new college in a new city? (I was so excited about this)
If you’re like me I was thinking about the professors I might get, were they going to be cool or jerks?
I was pondering the type of classwork I was going to get, my roommate situation, should I join the Greek life, and different parties I might go to.
Your probably like me…because the thought about the total costs associated with going to college is looming in the back of our minds. Right?
- How would you budget your money in college?
- Can you find really good and cheap housing?
- Will you like their academic and athletic programs?
- Are the student activities good?
- What about the parties?
Before you apply to your favorite college, the first thing you should do is join a campus tour.
It’s the best way to find out if the college you want is the best place for you.
Here are 5 colleges with the best campus tour experience, where you learn about the college and have a great time while doing so. Includes review and video.
Best College Campus Tours
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University Campus Tour via aerial view – photo source: byu.edu
Location: Provo, Utah
Type of College: Private research university
Campus Tour
The BYU Campus Tour for fresh, new students is an experience in itself. These scheduled tours are open to prospective students and their relatives.
March and July are the busiest months for the tour.
The first tour starts at 9 in the morning. The last tour of the day is at 4 in the afternoon, except for Tuesday, which ends at 11 AM for the university’s weekly devotional, since BYU is managed by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints.
The tour lasts 50 minutes and includes, not just a tour of the campus, but also a quick introduction to admissions, student life, extracurricular activities, and financial aid.
Video Tour Brigham Young Campus
One of the things BYU uses for the tour is a golf cart to get you around campus.
And if you’re a prospective student, at the end of the tour you get a personalized folder and t-shirt.
The BYU campus tour is the top-ranked in the nation, according to US News and World Report.
BYU was established in 1875 by Brigham Young, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints during the time.
He wanted an academy to be built in Provo so that the children of their church could get a good education.
It started as Brigham Young Academy, but in 1903 it became two schools: Brigham Young High School and Brigham Young University.
Alfred University
Alfred University – photo courtesy: Alfred.edu
Location: Alfred, New York
Type of College: Private liberal arts college
Campus Tour
The Alfred University campus tours are great for people who want to see the campus on a fun party bike!
These conference bikes (“party bikes”) are 8′ long x 6′ wide made for 7 people for pedaling around touring the campus. The school paid $12,750 for each bike to insure a great experience and its definitely a fun way to get around.
Campus tours on a party bike at Alfred – photo source: thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com
AU offers many tour dates, during autumn season, you can visit the school on October 1 & 29, and November 5.
For the Group Information Session & Tour, you can go on Labor Day or Columbus Day. The group session is at 10:15 in the morning, and the tour is at 11:15. There are also tours at 1:15 in the afternoon.
But if you’re not free during those times, then you can come on Saturdays, with sessions at 10 AM, and tours at 11 AM. At the end of the tour, you also get “Tour Hard” t-shirts.
Video Campus Tour at Alfred University
Alfred University began with the Alfred Select School in 1836. It was one of the first few co-educational colleges in the country, and was just second to Berea College in accepting African-American students.
The Select School actually spawned both Alfred University and Alfred State College.
The latter was a junior college for agricultural studies, but because so many students enrolled, it became a separate institution and became part of the State University of New York (SUNY).
Eckerd College
Eckerd College – photo source: Eckerd.edu
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Type of College: Private liberal arts college
Campus Tour
Apart from being a pet-friendly college, Eckerd also has friendly and exciting campus tours.
Prospective students and their family can learn about and see the college with a boat ride!
Eckerd offers boat tours around the college area – photo source: usnews.com
Eckerd offers Open Houses, one in the fall and one in the spring, where students get to meet professors, learn about the college, and see what student life is like.
Video Tour at Eckerd College
Eckerd Tropical Campus Life
Beautiful tropical campus at Eckerd – Photo source: Eckerd.edu
The college also has its own South Beach hotspot. (see image below)
Eckerd south beach commencement 2016 school year – photo source: eckerd.edu
Aside from the day time tour, you can join the South Beach Supper Club, where you can meet and talk with Eckerd current and former students.
Since parents aren’t allowed in the party, prospective students can really get the feel for college life.
Eckerd College first operated in 1960 after it was founded as a Florida Presbyterian College.
The establishment of the college was part of the country’s effort to help World War II soldiers get back to school and to prepare for the baby boom.
Ohio State University
Aerial view for campus visits at Ohio State University – photo source: osu.edu
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Type of College: Public research university
Campus Tour
Ohio State University has a lot of students – in fact, it is one of the largest colleges in the country in terms of student population (almost 60,000).
Part of the reason why it’s so huge is that its campus tours are awesome.
So that prospective students could get the most out of a tour, only 15 people are allowed every session.
These “tourists” will see the campus, get their photos taken with the college mascot Brutus Buckeye, and can get free samples of buckeye candy!
The campus tours aren’t open throughout the year though, its limited.
Video Tour Ohio State University Campus
Also, there are sessions by academic interest, so if you’re interested in studying engineering, you can learn firsthand the student life of an engineering undergrad.
Ohio State started out as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1870.
It became a comprehensive university (university with few graduate programs), then finally a state and research university in 1878.
Birmingham-Southern College
Campus tour experience at Birmingham Southern College – photo courtesy: bsc.edu
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Type of College: Private liberal arts college
Campus Tour
Those interested in studying at Birmingham-Southern College can join a campus tour where they can learn about the academic and athletic programs from the faculty and staff, have lunch or dinner on campus, and attend student activities to experience the BSC college life.
Video Tour Birmingham Southern Campus
What’s more, during the tour, you will ride in one of the college’s GEM cars – their Global Electric Motorcar – which will take you around the college’s 200 acre-campus.
Birmingham College GEM car for campus tours – photo source: usnews.com
Also, high school seniors can sit in a class, meet a professor, or stay overnight with a BSC student or mentor!
It’s more than just a tour. It’s an immersion into the BSC life. It’s a small college, but it’s progressive and exciting.
The Birmingham-Southern College began when two colleges merged in 1918: Southern University and Birmingham College.
BSC is often ranked among the best liberal arts colleges in the country. In fact, it’s been included among the “Colleges That Change Lives” list.
