Hi Pedro,
Most of the time, schools will not pay for your expenses (transportation, accommodations, food, etc.) to visit their campuses. There are always a few exceptions and it depends on the school and the student. Feel free to contact any schools admissions office directly to see what options they may provide.
If you do not have the funds to visit a campus in person, a school's website is a great place to start getting information. Many of the websites have “virtual tours” of their campus. Go to the university’s website and check under their “Admissions” section to see if they have any videos. You can also go to this website, which shows videos from a number of different colleges: [www.youniversitytv.com].
If you are able to visit a campus in person, most colleges and universities have special visit days throughout the year that you may want to look into. These days are often on weekends and are a very in-depth look at a school. Usually they have student and/or professor panels, a tour of campus (which often includes the dorms), and sometimes even a meal in the dining hall. Sometimes the visit days are tailored to certain groups as well (accepted students, high school juniors, minority groups, etc.). Here is a link from Collegeboard.com that goes into more details on college visits: [www.collegeboard.com].
If you are unable to visit a school due to distance, you may want to contact their recruitment/admissions office to see what your other options are. For example, many schools have student volunteers who you can correspond with via phone or email and they can answer your questions and give you a student’s perspective. Additionally, the school may be participating in a college fair near your home that you can attend.
Best of luck!
-Amber George
