Virtual Reality is the New Way to Tour College

Many high school students dream of moving away to college and experiencing all that college has to offer.

Receiving college brochures and visiting the website is not enough to learn what the campus has to offer, however. In most situations, visiting the campus in person is the only option, but not everyone can afford the time away or travel.

Going on a college tour in person can get expensive, especially if it’s across the country which limits some students’ options.

Virtual reality, however, is changing how students tour their future college.

How Virtual Reality Tours Help Students Choose a College

Speaking from experience, in-person campus tours take a lot of time and money which is not something that every high school student has in abundance.

Taking virtual tours campus and the classrooms can be what helps someone make the decision to enroll. VR allows students to replicate the experience of a campus tour at a much lower cost and in less time. Students or families can even purchase Google cardboard headsets for $13.

Despite the positives that VR can bring, not many colleges and universities are taking advantage of it. VR is becoming more and more popular with young adults. Gen Z is tech-savvy and over 74% of young adults believe that technology is making their lives easier.

This is an untapped marketing tool with many benefits both for students and colleges.

Utilizing VR allows colleges to recruit students that in the past they were not be able to due to distance and money restrictions. The Savannah College of Arts and Design implemented VR and sent headsets to accepted students which allowed them to visually explore campus. Within 12 months of this program, the school saw a 26% increase in admissions.

Today's future college students grew up in the internet age and are changing the traditional approaches to recruitment. They now expect technology like VR and 360 tours to be part of the school they wish to attend.

The use of VR for colleges and universities is important with the recruitment of out-of-state students who simply don’t have a way to visit in person. With national college enrollment dropping, it becomes more important to reach out to a wider geographic of students.

The schools who have already turned to VR say that the act of virtually experiencing a college tour brings students as close to the real thing as possible.

The reason VR is a hit with universities is because it makes schools much more accessible and interesting. Not only are students from all over the world able to tour your campus, but some schools are also making the tours interactive.

Temple University turned their tours into a treasure hunt. Making the campus tour into a video game is a fun way to engage students and leave them with a lasting impression. After such an experience, you can be sure that students will be considering you as one of their choices.

The virtual experience also allows for the staging of the best tour that can be accessible at all times. In a VR tour, you can show students in a science lab working on cool projects, your newest technology in action, and much more. With an in-person tour, students are walked from building to building, which can become mundane for some students.

VR has given colleges the ability to show students your institution in the best light and get them excited about enrollment.

With so few colleges using this amazing technology, be sure that you are one of them to stay ahead of the game and appeal to more prospective students.

If you have questions about VR for your campus, contact us today!