Last Updated On: February 25th, 2026
Introduction: Spring of Junior Year—The Busiest Season
Spring of junior year is a significant time in college preparation. It seems like college is still a ways off, and there is so much going on academically and socially that it can be tempting to procrastinate planning. However, if you don’t take advantage of this time, your preparation can be harder than it needs to be.
If you have already started your college planning, this will be much easier for you. Early standardized test prep, organization, planning, and research will free you to focus on the beneficial activities of junior spring. If you haven’t put time and effort into your planning yet, there are great benefits to starting now, so let’s go!
This guide focuses on college campus visits—why spring of junior year is the ideal time, how to plan effectively, what to look for during visits, and how to maximize every campus experience to inform your senior year applications.
Campus Visits During Spring Break: Why Visit Now?
Spring of junior year is an ideal time to do college campus visits. It seems like summer would be a better time because you don’t have classes to worry about, but this is exactly why you don’t want to do summer if spring visits are an option. To get the best sense of a campus, you want to see the campus in action, when the classes are in full session and activities are occurring. If you see your potential colleges in the spring, then your application preparation will be more informed during senior year. Your visits can show which colleges really interest you so that you can focus your attention on those applications and even consider an early application option. Similarly, you may find that a college you thought would be great doesn’t feel right or has had changes that make it a less good match. Eliminating this college from your application pool will free up your time and energy in addition to showing you more of what is important to you.
Planning Your Campus Visits
Your campus visits will be most effective if you plan for them ahead of time. You will want to consider which schools to visit. If you are looking at schools in particular regions out of your immediate area, you will want to group schools together so that they are on a driving route or well spaced in relation to where you will be staying during your visits in the area. If you don’t do this, you can spend more time retracing your steps during a term where your time is already stretched thin.
Another part of planning will be at the college itself. Making contact with the admissions office will allow you to schedule tours and informational meetings. You will also want to talk to department heads in areas of interest, professors teaching courses that you want to take or leading research/projects/ensembles that you would like to join, and coordinators of clubs that interest you. You may be able to schedule interviews with admissions counselors as well.
To maximize your visit, you will want to set up a digital or paper-based organization system for each of your potential schools. You can set up electronic folders or physical folders; you can plan a document to take notes or bring paper to do your note-taking. Whatever format you pick, it will be easier to keep your thoughts organized if you set a place for those thoughts in advance. This will prevent you from forgetting which school had that great club or the name of that kind mentor student. It seems like these details would be easy to remember, but when you are sitting with a stack of notes in a chaotic document or notebook back home, it is easy to lose track of which visit was which.
If you haven’t already:
Decide what kind of school you are interested in attending. Make lists of potential schools, research the schools to make a short-list of top contenders, and gather important information: campus address, admissions contact information, and programs of interest. If you are planning to do visits during spring break, find colleges that are not on spring break at the same time. Try to find times that your school has breaks where your potential colleges are actively in session.
What to Look For During Visits
In addition to planning ahead, you will want to be aware of relevant information during your visit. You will be looking for the campus that best matches what you are looking for in a college experience. It is likely that you will be able to build a successful college experience at any college, but some schools will be easier places to pursue your goals. Keep your attention on areas that will influence your fit with each school’s culture. Make sure that you set aside space in your notes for questions and answers about these considerations.
Tour the academic facilities. Pay attention to where your classes will be, including those for your major, if you have one selected. Pay attention to the spread of the buildings; some campuses are smaller and some are large. Think about how you will move through the campus: on foot, by bus, through tunnels in bad weather. Are there shuttles? Is the campus bike friendly? Are the walkways landscaped or shaded? If you commute, how is the parking? If you will be in residence, where are the dorms compared to your classrooms? If you will live in off campus housing, how close will you be to the campus?
Also consider the resources available in the facilities. Are the classrooms comfortable? Are there computer labs, tutoring, libraries, and writing assistance easily available to you? If there are, how busy are they and do they seem like places you could work? Are there offices for support for accommodations, financial aid, or career exploration if you want them? How are the science labs, the stages, the practice rooms, the greenhouses, the studios, or other subject specific resources?
Check out your student life resources as well. If you will be living on campus, tour the dorms to see the rooms and resources. Look for laundry facilities, computer access, tutoring, and social areas. If you plan to commute, is there a commuter lounge? What resources does it have? If you will be eating on campus, check out the dining areas, the meal plans, and the payments accepted. Tour the libraries for comfortable and inspiring study spots. Find areas where you can meet a study group, make a phone call, commune with nature, have a quiet talk with a friend, and work off stress. Look at the athletic facilities for what is available, who it is available for, and when it is available; consider pools, group classes, exercise rooms, weight rooms, dance rooms, fields, tracks, and student groups in addition to organized teams and clubs. Find the student services and student activities areas. What groups and clubs are available? Where do they meet? What do they do and how often do they do things?
Before or after your campus tour, take some time to look at the community surrounding the school. Look for areas for entertainment, recreation, and socialization, as well as companies for potential internships or volunteering, off campus study areas like coffee shops and libraries, and local shops and stores.
If you haven’t already:
Thoroughly look through each college’s website so that you can show motivation and interest during your conversations. Initial research will also give you names and locations of places you want to visit. Consider building a labeled map of places that you want to see both on and off campus. If you have notes about things that interest you from the college website, you will come across as organized, motivated, and interested.
Making the Most of Each Visit
Talk to as many people as you can during your visit to gather information. As you see all of the places on your campus tour, talk to the current students whenever possible. Remember that not every student you talk to will have your same interests, but you can get more real insight by talking to people who are in the position that you are considering. You can also talk to faculty members teaching courses that you want to take, department heads in potential majors, or coordinators for programs of interest if any are available. Ideally, you will have planned this before you visit, but do not be afraid to check if anyone is available for a drop-in. Your campus visit during spring term has the advantage of more classes in session, so see if you can sit in on any classes, meetings, or practices. You will definitely want to meet with admissions officers during your visit. Have any questions prepared about steps and timelines in the application process, and see if you can make progress on your application while on campus for admission, scholarships, honor groups, or course placements.
While you are talking to people and seeing locations, take notes and, when allowed and appropriate, photos. Pick up informational literature, resources, and swag that are available in areas you tour. Gather business cards or contact information from people that you meet for follow-up questions, thank you’s, and ongoing communication.
If you haven’t already:
Organize where your notes and photos will go. Consider making a comparative table or spreadsheet. Gather all of your materials that you already have, including grades, test scores, and activities and honors. Plan who you want to meet by digging through the college website. Gather contact information and set appointments to meet people or observe groups or classes. See if a student led tour is available while you will be there.
After the Visit
After your visit, write down your impressions as soon as possible after you finish your day. Schedule time into your day to process your thoughts on what you have seen, how the school relates to your goals, and how the school relates to others that you have toured. Prepare thank you notes for people that you talked to and send them out right away. You will usually do this through email, but you may want to also send a physical card to people who were particularly helpful or important.
Following up, you will want to schedule the next steps in your admissions process. Set dates in your planner to organize these and follow up with plans that you made with the admissions office. When you return from longer visits, you will want to consider how your newly visited schools fit into your application planning. Revise your plans with your new information. If a college was extraordinary, bump it up in your priority listing. If you think that a college wasn’t an outstanding match, you can set it as a backup or remove them from application consideration completely.
Don’t underestimate the value of demonstrating interest in a school. This is not the same as begging or flattering, which can come across as desperate or fake. Demonstrating interest must be sincere and informed to be maximally effective, and it can help you stand out when acceptances are being considered. Demonstrate interest to admissions contacts during follow ups by letting them know what about the campus impressed you and how those impressions enhanced your interest in attending the college. You can also demonstrate interest to faculty members, department heads, and other influential people that you met in follow-ups and future communications.
If you haven’t already:
Make sure that you have internet access wherever you are staying during your visits so that you can send timely thank you emails. Pack paper thank you notes and stamps for special contacts. Have a system in your notes to mark high and low priority schools.
