Video tour of COllege or REAL tour? OPinions!!

[highheels]

I am wondering whether I should just buy some videos and watch them whether than just going there.

The videos are from http://www.collegiatechoice.com/

I will probably get the ones for UC davis, UC irvine, UCLA, and UCSD. I am going to one of these colleges in the fall and I want to see them before I choose, I am having a tough time deciding. I can also just take a week off of work ( I am a senior and work 25-30 hours/week during the schoolyear) and drive there and actually visit the campus. But I am really short on money and I am wondering if these videos are worth it (fifteen bucks each).

Anybody seen these videos before? Is it really worth it to drive there? btw, how old are these videos?

[calmom]

I think the videos are pretty old.... but for the most part the UC campuses haven't changed all that much over the years. I don't think that videos are a substitute for a real tour, but you may save yourself a lot of money by viewing the videos first. I mean... if you decide from looking at the video that you don't like the overall look and feel of the school, it's cheaper than coming to that decision when you pull up into the parking lot. So previewing the videos may be a good way of narrowing down your choices.

Are you in southern California? If so, UC Davis is really the only college that is going to tax your travel budget, so I'd suggest starting with that video to get a sense of whether you feel its worth a drive up north to see more.

[Little Mother]

Nothing can take the place of actually visiting a campus and having the opportunity to talk with students and/or faculty and visit classes. Videos will not necessarily show you the construction that's going on (and whether it will be completed so you can benefit as a student) or the diversity of opinions that you might gather in personal conversations. If you can take the time off, I would encourage you to visit and perhaps stay with students on campus to defray your expenses.

Good luck!

[ucsd_ucla_dad]

Definitely visit them. Remember that you'll likely spend the next 4-5 years of your life there and you want to make sure you're happy not just with the campus but also the surrounding area. I suggest visiting the campus and also checking out what's close-by depending on your interests such as beaches, malls, hiking trails, access to transportation, etc. The amount of money spent in this one trip will be trivial compared to the cost of attendance over the next years. UCSD is about an hour from UCI which is about an hour from UCLA so those three are fairly easy to see, especially if you're already in Southern Cal.

Also remember that videos are almost always going to be biased to some extent and could be out of date. These campuses have had a huge amount of construction going on in the past several years.

[SpringfieldMom]

There's no substitute for the real thing. Absolutely take the time off and go visit.

[cathymee]

We ordered videos from some schools .Viewing them enabled S to drop one school off his list (campus looked too nice,manicured,too quiet) and sparked his interest in another college we really knew nothing about at the time of viewing.we did eventually visit that one along with others we hadnt viewed the videos of.
You may be able to borrow the videos from yur public library,or your HS Guidance Office.

[carolyn]

In my opinion, the Collegiate Choice videos can be a useful pre-screening tool in the early stages of the college search. However, I would not recommend making the final choice of which college to attend based just on these videos. Do visit.

That said, in the early stages of college planning, they can be a useful tool to help sort out which colleges you do want to visit. They are much more "real world view" then the free marketing video's the colleges themselves produce, and you do often get to see some warts along the way. I find they also sometimes give you some good questions to ask when you do actually visit in person. In short, they can be useful in deciding whether you want to spend the time and money to visit Campus A instead of Campus B. My daughter also found re-watching them was useful in helping her remember which campus was which after months had passed since our real visit.

However, they are not professional quality, and as Cal Mom points out, many are a few years out of date at this point. The producers also go to great pains not to show any current students - not even the tour guide - so you won't get much of a sense of what the students look like (this drove my daughter mad). And, because they're not professional quality, sometimes they can be vertigo-inducing as the camera pans wildly about.

["just"aMom]

I might use them as a beginning tool, but for me it would be like buying a house off the internet without ever seeing it in the flesh. The tool would be a good start, but I would have to see it and feel it to know if it was really all the "advertisement" said it was.

[MSMDAD]

Someone in another thread pointed out a web site that contains free videos (short clips): http://www.theu.com/

My DD actually watched a few of the videos and liked them.
To answer your question, I fully agree with others that have said that a video is not a substitute for an actual visit. I must say that the two college tours that I went on with DD and family were very benefitial and helped determine "fit". If time and finances allow, I would strongly encourage visiting the campuses that you are interested in.

[kathiep]

We bought one of the video's for my son last year. It was a dvd. I thought it was very well done. I think you can see when it was done before you order it. I wouldn't decide on a college from the video alone but they're good for narrowing a list.

[kelsmom]

Videos are an excellent starting point. After you narrow things down with videos, please consider overnight visits at the top picks. My daughter found these visits to be especially helpful in determining where she would "fit." Best of luck --- enjoy the search!

[caligali]

If you are in SoCal you could visit in just a couple of days. Walking across a busy campus gives you a vibe you can't get from videos. My D changed her mind both negatively and positively after campus visits.

If you can't possibly visit try to find friends whose taste you share and who have been to these campuses and pick their brains.

We have recently been to all those campuses except UCSD and they are each unique.