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College Fly-In Programs and Free Visit Opportunities

October 1, 2024

Visiting campus is one of the most important steps for students to decide what type of college or specific institution is right for them. Because of this, most colleges offer campus tours, information sessions, or open house events to showcase academic and social life. Whether these events are in-person or online, they should help students visualize themselves thriving on campus.

 

What is a Fly-In Program?

Many institutions will host events focused on culture, support programs, and targeted academic or extracurricular interests for prospective students to explore those aspects of campus life at a particular university. These weekend or multi-day programs, often known as ‘fly-in programs,’ allow students to experience campus more intimately, so they can get to know the students and faculty who bring the college to life. For prospective students, fly-in visit programs typically occur in the spring of junior year or fall of senior year before students have submitted their college applications. There are also fly-in and visit programs created to help admitted students decide where to enroll in the spring of senior year.

 

Should a Student Apply to a Fly-In Program or Free Visit Opportunity?

Traveling to campuses for multiple visit programs can be extremely expensive, especially for students looking at colleges far from home. That's why we have created a sortable list of fly-in programs and funded visit opportunities for prospective students (see below). Students and their advocates can also use this list to find out which colleges offer travel assistance.
 

How to Use College Greenlight's Fly-In List

You can view the full list in the original window or click ‘view larger version’ in the bottom right corner of the table for an expanded view. The list can be filtered, sorted, or grouped based on the following characteristics:

  • Host institution
  • Intended audience
  • In-person, hybrid, or virtual format
  • Travel funding opportunity
  • Month when program occurs
  • Duration of program
  • Month when the application opens
  • Month when the application closes

Event information will be updated throughout the year, so check back in the late spring through mid-fall for updates. Please email College Greenlight if you have any questions about this list.

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