November Vacation Days Ideal for College Tours

Early November brings a break from school for New Jersey students.  Some districts close for Election Day, most close for Teacher Convention Days, and a few close for the entire week.  Students who anticipate attending college in their future might want to put these “vacation days” to good use.

Almost every college offers weekday tours, usually each morning and afternoon.  Visiting colleges and going on official tours is the best way for students to figure out exactly what they are looking for in their future dream school. With more than 300 colleges and universities within one hundred miles of Central New Jersey, students have a wide variety of options to choose from and can easily begin their college search without embarking on a lengthy road trip.

Students seeking an Ivy League education can tour Columbia University in New York City, the University Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, or Princeton University in Central New Jersey.  

Students seeking an institution with a particularly strong engineering program might choose to tour Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, or Manhattan College in New York City.

Students interested in fashion might head to New York to visit the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), LIM College, or Parsons. 

Those seeking a Jesuit education can visit Fordham University in New York City, St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Fairfield University in Connecticut or the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. 

Of course, there are 11 public universities spread across New Jersey where students can benefit from in-state tuition rates: The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), Kean University, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Ramapo College, Rowan University, Rutgers University, Stockton University, Thomas Edison State University, and William Patterson University.

Thanks to technology, students who don’t want to leave the comforts of home during their school break can still reap the benefits of college tours.  All of the New Jersey public universities, as well as more than 1,300 other colleges and universities, offer virtual tours via ecampustours.com. 

Another site, youvisit.com, provides 360-degree virtual tours of colleges worldwide, sharing the academic, cultural and social experiences offered on more than one thousand campuses.  Not only are these tours offered in English, but in Arabic, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish as well. 

Students seeking to start their college search truly have limitless options!

Susan Alaimo is the founder of SAT Smart. For the past 25 years, SAT Smart’s Ivy League educated tutors have prepared students for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, AP courses, and all high school subjects. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.