Visiting Boston Area Colleges

Visiting a college is an important step in choosing the right school because it gives you a firsthand feel for the campus environment, student life, and overall atmosphere. Walking through classrooms, dorms, and dining halls helps you imagine what it would be like to live and study there. You can talk to current students, attend a class, and ask questions that go beyond brochures and websites. A visit can reveal whether a college truly fits your academic goals, social preferences, and lifestyle, making your decision more confident and informed.

 

The Best Times to Visit Boston Area Colleges

The best time to visit colleges is during the fall or spring semesters, when classes are in session and campuses are full of student activity. Visiting during these times gives you a realistic feel for the environment, allowing you to sit in on classes, talk to students, and see how the campus functions day to day. Fall is especially popular for college visits, as many schools host open houses and information sessions. Spring is also ideal, particularly for juniors starting their search or seniors making final decisions. Avoid holidays, exam periods, and summer, when campuses are quieter and less representative of the typical student experience.

Visiting Boston colleges in the summer has several advantages, especially for students with busy school-year schedules. With more free time and flexible travel options, summer visits can be less rushed and easier to plan for families. Campuses are typically quieter, allowing for more personal attention during tours and admissions meetings. Without the crowds, you may have better opportunities to explore facilities at your own pace. While fewer students may be around, some colleges offer summer programs or student-led tours that still provide valuable insight. Summer visits are a good starting point to get a sense of the campus layout, location, and overall atmosphere.

 

 

The Best Days to Visit Boston Area Colleges

Each college has its own schedule for visiting, and some are open seven days a week, others only a few days a week. Generally, weekends are not a good time to visit, as colleges operate on a weekend schedule. Many Boston colleges offer Monday through Friday for visits, but sometimes Friday is not the best day to visit as students get ready for the weekend. Make sure you don’t visit during holidays or special exam days. Checking with colleges is best before you plan a visit. 

 

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Visiting multiple colleges

Visiting multiple colleges on the same trip is a great idea. Grouping them by general location will make that easier. In the table below, you will see the general location of each school.

Metro Center: This indicates that you can reach it via the subway (called the T).

Metro North, West, and South: best visited by car, Uber, or, in some cases, commuter rail.

 

Other Visiting Considerations 

The following are typical visiting options offered by Boston colleges:. 

Campus Tour 

A guided tour on campus is generally followed by an information session.

Self-Guided Tour

You can visit the campus, but you need to explore by yourself. Some colleges offer mobile apps and/or maps. 
These tours are very helpful when visiting outside of regular hours. 

Virtual Tour

A student-led online tour of the campus (3D) or simply videos describing the campus.

Information Sessions

It can be on-campus or virtual.
Interviews It can be on-campus or virtual.

Open House

Most are in the fall, and a few are virtual.

 

 

Visiting Options for Boston Area Colleges

The list below shows visiting options available from Boston Area colleges. Please check the details before you plan to visit.

 

Amherst CollegeMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour,Virtual Tour, Information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Amherst College
Babson CollegeMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Babson College
Benjamin Franklin Institute of TechnologyMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual TourVisiting DetailsHotels near Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
Bentley UnivesityMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Metro Center Location, Virtual Tour, Information Sessions, InterviewsVisiting DetailsHotels near Bentley Univesity
Berklee College of MusicMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Virtual Tour, Information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Berklee College of Music
Boston Architectural CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Boston Architectural College
Boston Baptist CollegeMetro South Location, Campus Tour, Open House, Information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Boston Baptist College
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis IncMetro Center Location, Campus TourVisiting DetailsHotels near Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis Inc
Boston University Metro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Information session
Read more...		Visiting DetailsHotels near Boston University
Brandeis UniversityMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open Metro West Location, House, Information session(Virtual and Campus)Visiting DetailsHotels near Brandeis University
Bridgewater State UniversityMetro South Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Information session Visiting DetailsHotels near Bridgewater State University
Bunker Hill Metro Center Location, Self Guided Tour, Information Sessions by appointmentVisiting DetailsHotels near Bunker Hill
Cambridge CollegeMetro Center Location, Virtual TourVisiting DetailsHotels near Cambridge College
Curry CollegeMetro South Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Information Sessions, Interview, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Curry College
Eastern Nazarene CollegeMetro South Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour,Information SessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Eastern Nazarene College
Emerson CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Information session, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Emerson College
Emmanuel CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Informations sessions, Open House Visiting DetailsHotels near Emmanuel College
Endicott UniversityMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Information session, InterviewsVisiting DetailsHotels near Endicott University
Fisher CollegeMetro Center Location, Virtual Tour, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Fisher College
Framingham State University Metro West Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Information session (Virtual + Campus)Visiting DetailsHotels near Framingham State University
Franklin W Olin College of EngineeringMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Virtual Tour, Virtual Open House, Informations Sessions (Virtual and campus)Visiting DetailsHotels near Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Gordon CollegeMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Vistual Tours, Campus EventsVisiting DetailsHotels near Gordon College
Harvard University Metro Center Location, Campus Tours,Self Guided Tour, Virtual Tours, Information sessions,
Read more...		Visiting DetailsHotels near Harvard University
Hebrew CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Campus information session ,Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Hebrew College
Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of TheologyMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
Hult International Business SchoolMetro Center Location, Virtual Open House, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Hult International Business School
Laboure CollegeMetro South Location, Contact SchoolVisiting DetailsHotels near Laboure College
Lasell University Metro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Lasell University
Lesley UniversityMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Lesley University
Longy School of Music of Bard CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Visit, Open House, On-Campus information session , Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Longy School of Music of Bard College
Massachusetts Bay Community CollegeMetro West Location, Virtual Tour, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Massachusetts Bay Community College
Massachusetts College of Art and DesignMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Information session (Virtual and Campus), Special eventsVisiting DetailsHotels near Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts School of LawMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information session, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Massachusetts School of Law
MCPHS University Metro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Metro Center Location, Open House, On-Campus information session , Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near MCPHS University
Merrimack CollegeMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information session , Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Merrimack College
MITMetro Center Location, Campus Tours, Self-Guided Tours, Virtual Tours, On-Campus information session , Virtual information session
Read more...		Visiting DetailsHotels near MIT
Montserrat College of ArtMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Montserrat College of Art
New England School of LawMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near New England School of Law
North Shore Community College Metro North Location, Virtual TourVisiting DetailsHotels near North Shore Community College
Northeastern UniversityMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Northeastern University
Northern Essex Community CollegeMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Northern Essex Community College
Northpoint Bible CollegeMetro North Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Northpoint Bible College
Quincy CollegeMetro South Location, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Quincy College
Regis CollegeMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Information SessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Regis College
Roxbury Community CollegeMetro Center Location, Virtual Tour, Self-Guided TourVisiting DetailsHotels near Roxbury Community College
Saint John's SeminaryMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Open HouseVisiting DetailsHotels near Saint John's Seminary
Salem State UniversityCampus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Metro North Location, Virtual Tour, Open House, Information session (Virtual and Campus)Visiting DetailsHotels near Salem State University
Simmons UniversityCampus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open Metro Center Location, House, On-Campus information session, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Simmons University
Suffolk UniversityMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, On-Campus information session, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Suffolk University
The New England Conservatory of MusicMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near The New England Conservatory of Music
TuftsMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Self-Guided Tour, Virtual Tour, Virtual Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Tufts
Urban College of BostonMetro Center Location, On-Campus Visit, Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Urban College of Boston
Wellesley College Metro West Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, On-Campus information session , Virtual information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Wellesley College
Wentworth Institute of TechnologyMetro Center Location, On-Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, Open House, Virtual information session, Campus Information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wheelock CollegeMetro Center Location, Campus Tour, Virtual Tour, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near Wheelock College
William James CollegeMetro West Location, Campus Tour, Open House, On-Campus information sessionVisiting DetailsHotels near William James College

Visiting colleges in the summer has several advantages, especially for students with busy school-year schedules. With more free time and flexible travel options, summer visits can be less rushed and easier to plan for families. Campuses are typically quieter, allowing for more personal attention during tours and admissions meetings. Without the crowds, you may have better opportunities to explore facilities at your own pace. While fewer students may be around, some colleges offer summer programs or student-led tours that still provide valuable insight. Summer visits are a good starting point to get a sense of the campus layout, location, and overall atmosphere.
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