When you depend solely on in-person tours to showcase your university’s offerings to prospective students, you’re missing out on an essential component of the modern-day college search. More than 2,665,587 virtual tours were accessed through Concept3D’s map visitors just in the first six months of 2022, and the demand for immersive experiences before students ever step foot on campus only continues to grow. The benefits of virtual campus tours continue to grow, as well.
Learn more about the benefits of virtual campus tours. See how to make the most of them to help students choose your school as they consider their college admission options.
How Do Virtual Campus Tours Enhance the College Selection Process for Prospective Students?
Students want a sense of their future college experience as they make application decisions. Campus visits are one way to meet this goal. But many students will use virtual options as the starting point for their considerations.
When considered from a prospective student’s perspective, it makes sense. There are multiple benefits to virtual campus tours.
First, students can take their time to seek comprehensive information on the topics that matter most to them. Virtual college tours offer truly self-paced experiences.
In addition, students can participate in informed decision-making with the opportunity to compare features from a variety of schools from the comfort of their own homes.
Finally, a virtual campus tour offers a low-cost and low-anxiety way to explore higher education options. It’s more accessible than in-person visits, which can come with time-consuming commitments, substantial travel expenses, and overwhelming crowds. Those benefits of virtual campus tours are just the beginning.
The Key Benefits of Virtual Campus Tours for Universities and Prospective Students
But prospective students aren’t the only ones who benefit from virtual campus tours. Universities can also leverage this technology to improve their marketing and recruitment efforts.
1. Increased accessibility for prospects
The popularity of virtual tour options rose during the pandemic. But they’ve endured because they offer increased accessibility for prospective students.
Long-distance students who might not be able to visit every campus on their long list can explore options virtually before choosing which to tour in person. Students with disabilities can also use accessibility features to learn more about their prospective college with ease.
2. Cost savings for universities and students
In-person events are costly. On-campus tours often require catering, logistical planning for parking, multiple staff members, and training. For students, travel expenses and hotels—as well as meals on the road and time away from work for students and parents—add up quickly.
These expenses are a worthwhile investment when the visiting students are seriously considering enrollment. But they can be hard to justify when visitors are just exploring their early options.
As the New York Times reports, “Eager students may want to see every college they hear about, but travel to far-flung campuses is expensive. Two airline tickets and two nights of hotels and restaurant meals can easily total more than $1,000.”
Many of the costs of physical tours—for institutions and students—can be mitigated by using virtual experiences as an early part of the admissions experience. University cost savings can be rolled into creating more meaningful and effective in-person tours for a more focused audience.
3. Sharing the college experience with family
For parents, sending their child off to college can be stressful. A virtual tour allows parents to see the dorms their children will live in. They can also see the dining hall their children will eat in and the facilities they will learn in. Parents also look for safety. Highlighting the public safety features of your campus in a virtual tour will make it more likely that the parents will be on board.
Many schools create virtual tours just for parents (like this one from Boise State). This can be particularly helpful on move-in day. Parents can orient themselves with important landmarks, information, and even parking and closed roads.
4. Providing vital information
Potential students don’t always pay attention to the impressive stats and figures on a college’s website. But an engaging virtual tour can highlight this information in a context where it is more likely to make an impact.
Embed sports records in the athletic portion of the virtual experience. Then, highlight the achievements of past and current students in the extracurricular area.
Providence College uses an in-depth look at its residence halls as part of its virtual tour to help prospective students feel more confident in their living situation.
5. Highlighting campus life
Academics is a key part of choosing a college, but many students will use campus life as a way to make informed decisions between the schools that have made the top of their list. Virtual campus tours allow students to better imagine how they’ll spend their free time.
Use your virtual experience to highlight social venues like student lounges, recreation centers, and coffee shops. Provide candid shots of the college campus and how it looks at the height of the semester so students can familiarize themselves before they enroll.
This is also a great time to highlight inclusive resources like lactation rooms for new mothers and meditation rooms for mental health breaks.
See how Clemson University builds student life into their virtual tour with 360-degree views of the student center. It also uses interactive elements like clickable text boxes and images to let users explore more deeply.
6. Promoting sports and activities
The benefits of virtual campus tours include showcasing your sports programs, clubs, and activities. Help students picture themselves on the field or in the stands by providing immersive views of sports fields and facilities.
Introduce potential students to coaches and highlight athletic programs with interviews with current student-athletes. Showcase accomplishments of noteworthy past and present athletes in the spaces where they achieved them.
To access additional benefits of virtual campus tours, you could even provide real-time footage of ongoing live feeds when games are in progress.
7. Providing a customizable experience
Admissions counselors know that today’s students come to college for many different reasons and with many different goals. Creating a standard in-person tour experience that will meet every student’s needs is impossible. But virtual tours provide a fully customizable experience.
Using webinars, virtual reality options, dorm room tours, and more allows you to create an endless web of pathways. Prospective students can explore campus at their own pace and as their interests lead them.
8. Highlighting unique landmarks, buildings, and history
Syracuse University students will be quick to share information about Tree of 40 Fruits. The University of Pennsylvania is well-known for its giant broken button sculpture (an homage to Ben Franklin). Flagler College boasts a dining hall filled with original Tiffany Glass windows.
One of the benefits of seeing campuses in person is getting a sense of the impressive legacy of the space itself. You don’t need to give up this important aspect of physical visits in your virtual tours.
Highlight your unique landmarks and architectural features with 360-degree views, including garden tours and specialized facilities. Think about what makes your campus unique and ensure that your virtual tour captures it well.
Taking the time to meaningfully and genuinely spotlight these unique features will help your campus stand out as students enter the final decision-making process.
9. Profiling nationality clubs and cultural events for international students
If you are trying to attract international students, a virtual tour is a great way to show why your college is the place to be. Overseas students are unlikely to be able to visit your college in person. So, a virtual tour is the perfect way for them to get as close to a visit as possible.
The virtual tour also gives you a chance to show off your diverse student body and the activities and clubs that may appeal to them. You can also highlight your international alum presence, which may be available in their home country.
Provide a Variety of Virtual Campus Tours With Concept3D
As U.S. News and World Report explains, virtual tours have become an important, influential part of the college search for many families. “Auburn averages nearly 30,000 virtual visitors, including students living in India, China, Canada and Brazil, and about 25,000 in-person visitors per school year.” The benefits of virtual campus tours are immense around the world.
A virtual tour can just not be beat when it comes to convenience: “In a matter of minutes, students and families can visit a school in California, then zip to one on the East Coast.”
To make the most of your virtual tours, you’ll want to create an immersive experience with high-quality options. Concept3D‘s interactive map platform is a unique solution that allows colleges and universities to create unlimited virtual tours with interactive media. Our platform also ensures that your content is easy to update. You can highlight new accomplishments and keep your status up to date with a click of a button.
Use Concept3D’s robust set of tools to craft different virtual tours for different audiences: existing students, parents, prospective students, alums, and beyond.
The unlimited nature of the platform allows individual departments to create their own virtual tours for their recruitment efforts or to highlight specific events, art collections, achievements, or architectural features.
If you’re ready to get started creating robust, engaging virtual campus tours, contact Concept3D for a demo.