Share your suggestions for evaluating schools without seeing them in person

@publisher, I can only speak for myself, but I am not looking for style or wordsmithing when I read manuals. I have concrete questions about policy. How they do lights out, study periods, medications, dress code, signing out to go off campus, girl/boy dorm visits, late night snacks, hours of the dining hall, how advisors work, dorm assignments, etc. All of those things collectively tell you a lot about a school’s culture.

On top of that, look at how they structure the required courses and how well integrated the arts are into official courses v extracurricular. Eg is the kid run a cappella group totally a “free time” thing or does it fit i to the academic schedule.