Virtual campus visits
For people who can't visit campuses, a lot of schools offer free CD-ROMs, DVDs, and/or VHS cassettes with "campus tours."

I've been keeping list of schools I've come across that offer these materials, and I thought you might be interested.

NOTE: Please note that, at some schools, materials are only available for certain programs. As always, check with Admissions for more information.

DVDs

+ Agnes Scott College
+ Anderson University
+ Baptist Bible College
+ Belhaven College (arts department)
+ Belmont University
+ Bethel University (chemistry department)
+ Bryant University
+ Calvin College
+ Cedarville University
+ Centre College
+ Champlain College
+ Cornell College
+ Dixie State College of Utah
+ Dordt College
+ Emory University
+ Flagler College
+ Florida College
+ Furman University
+ Gonzaga University
+ Huntington University
+ Ithaca College
+ Jerusalem University College (Israel)
+ John Brown University
+ Kansas State University
+ Lake Superior State University
+ Northwestern College (IA)
+ Oregon State University
+ Pennsylvania College of Technology
+ Rhodes College
+ Rollins College
+ Sacred Heart University
+ Saint Michael's College (VT)
+ Simpson College
+ Stetson University
+ Swarthmore College
+ Tulane University
+ University of Alabama
+ University of Hartford
+ University of Kentucky
+ University of Massachusetts-Lowell
+ University of Miami
+ University of Nebraska-Lincoln
+ University of Notre Dame ($10 USD charge; focuses on giving admission tips)
+ University of Pittsburgh
+ University of Rochester
+ University of the South (Sewanee)
+ Vanderbilt University
+ Vermont Technical College
+ Warren Wilson College
+ Washington University in St. Louis

CD-ROMs

+ Albion College
+ American University
+ Bemidji State University
+ Brandeis University
+ Bryant University
+ California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
+ Case Western Reserve University
+ College of the Atlantic
+ Creighton University
+ Eastern Arizona College
+ Eastern Oklahoma State College
+ Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
+ Ferris State University
+ Finlandia University
+ Florida Institute of Technology
+ Haverford College
+ Humboldt State University
+ Kent State University
+ Lynn University
+ Manhattan College
+ Marshall University
+ National University of Ireland-Maynooth
+ New York University
+ North Carolina State University
+ Northern Illinois University
+ Northwestern College (IA)
+ Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee
+ Old Dominion University
+ Radford University
+ Roanoke College
+ Rollins College
+ Saint Michael's College (VT)
+ Seattle University
+ Simmons College
+ South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
+ St. Norbert College
+ State University of New York-Oswego
+ State University of New York — University at Buffalo
+ Stirling University (Scotland)
+ Sweet Briar College
+ United States Naval Academy
+ Unity College
+ University of Alabama-Birmingham
+ University of California-San Diego
+ University of Georgia
+ University of Massachusetts-Amherst
+ University of Massachusetts-Boston
+ University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
+ University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
+ University of Pennsylvania
+ University of Southern California
+ University of Southern Florida
+ University of Tampa
+ University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
+ University of Texas-San Antonio

VHS

+ Agnes Scott College
+ Austin College
+ Belmont University
+ Centre College
+ Champlain College
+ Cornell College
+ Emory University
+ Flagler College
+ Furman University
+ Green Mountain College
+ Hillsdale College
+ Northwestern College (IA)
+ Rhodes College
+ Rollins College
+ Saint Michael's College (VT)
+ Simpson College
+ Stetson University
+ Sweet Briar College
+ Tulane University
+ University of Hartford
+ University of Miami
+ University of Rochester
+ University of the South (Sewanee)
+ Vanderbilt University

Undetermined Format

+ Carnegie Mellon University — says "video" can be ordered
+ Central State University — says "video" can be ordered
+ College of Wooster — says "video" can be ordered
+ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — says "video" can be ordered
+ Lee University — says "video" can be ordered
+ Macalester College — says "movie" available
+ North Dakota State College of Science — says "video" can be ordered
+ Southern Virginia University — says "video" can be ordered
+ Union College (KY) — says "video" can be ordered
+ University of South Carolina-Aiken — says "video" can be ordered

Downloads, Streams & Other On-line Tours

+ Agnes Scott College
+ Aquinas College
+ Belhaven College
+ Beloit College
+ Berklee College of Music
+ Bethel University (College of Arts & Sciences)
+ Boise State University
+ Bryn Mawr College
+ Calvin College
+ Cambellsville University
+ Capital University
+ Carleton College
+ Carnegie Mellon University
+ Cedarville University
+ Clarke College
+ College of Charleston
+ College of Wooster
+ Columbia University
+ Cornell University
+ Davis & Elkins College
+ Dickinson College
+ Dordt College
+ Eastern Tennessee State University
+ Endicott College
+ Fashion Institute of Technology
+ Fayetteville State University
+ Fort Hays State University
+ Franciscan University of Steubenville
+ Franklin Pierce College
+ Goshen College
+ Harvard University
+ Humboldt State University
+ Huntington University
+ Illinois State University
+ Illinois Wesleyan University
+ Iowa State University
+ Ithaca College
+ Kenyon College
+ Lewis & Clark College
+ Lincoln College
+ Luther College
+ Lyon College
+ Manhattan College
+ Maryville University
+ Missouri State University
+ Montana State University
+ Mount Holyoke College
+ Muskingum College
+ New England Conservatory
+ Northwestern College (MN)
+ Northwestern University
+ Ohio Dominican University
+ Ohio State University
+ Princeton University
+ Quinnipiac University
+ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
+ Ripon College
+ Saint Louis University
+ Southern Virginia University
+ Springfield College
+ St. Cloud State University
+ State University of New York-Oswego
+ State University of New York — Stony Brook University
+ Swarthmore College
+ Syracuse University (additional)
+ Temple University
+ University of California-Santa Barbara
+ University of California-Santa Cruz
+ University of Maryland-Baltimore County
+ University of Michigan
+ University of Missouri-St. Louis
+ University of Pennsylvania
+ University of Texas-Dallas
+ Utica College
+ Vassar College
+ Warren Wilson College
+ West Virginia Wesleyan College
+ Westminster College (UT)
+ Wheaton College (MA)
+ Wittenberg University
+ Yale University


Last updated: January 6^th, 2006.

If you want one, simply e-mail the admissions department to ask for one.

Also, there is a company called Videc that will send you promotional DVDs and VHS cassettes giving you tours of a few different colleges. There is no charge for the movies or shipping, and although the website says you need to mail the materials back, you no longer need to do this — they're free to keep. (You also don't need to fill out the survey they mention.) When you request the info, Videc lets the schools know that you did in order to let them know you're interested.

There are free videos available for the following schools: Agnes Scott College, Austin College, Belmont University, Centre College, Cornell College, Emory University, Flagler College, Furman University, Hillsdale College, Rhodes College, Rollins College, Simpson College, Stetson University, Sweet Briar College, Tulane University, the University of Hartford, the University of Miami, the University of Rochester, the University of the South (Sewanee), and Vanderbilt University. You can also get a DVD for each of those schools (except for Austin, Hillsdale, and Sweet Briar).

I've already received the Sweet Briar VHS and the Rochester DVD. The Sweet Briar video was a little cheesy and outdated, as you might expect for a free video, but it did give me a chance to see what the campus looks like. I got the Rochester DVD today and haven't watched it yet, but the design makes it look like it's fairly new.

In any case, I thought I'd let people know that there are materials like this out there. For those of us who can't travel easily, they're a great deal.