Autumn of senior year is undoubtedly the most insane time for a high school student. Seniors have to deal with grades, sports, clubs, extracurriculars, and, perhaps the most-time consuming of all: their dreaded college applications.

With these applications comes the pressure from college admissions officers to visit the campus as a sign of interest in the college. For years, school admissions representatives, guidance counselors, and parents alike have mercilessly drilled the importance of college visits into the heads of anxious high school seniors. Many consider college visits a necessity to display one’s enthusiasm for a school—but should these visits really be held in such high regard?

College visits are undoubtedly incredibly important. They give potential freshman a feel for the college—many high school students look for specific aspects of a school that only a campus tour can give. No one wants to apply to a college and realize upon arrival that he or she hates the environment. There are so many important aspects of a college that cannot be exhibited through a website—dorm rooms, social life, and even things as arbitrary as noise level or the amount of stairs on campus.

However, college visits have arguably grown too important in recent years. According to the 2014 State of College Admissions report, about 54% of colleges admitted to placing either considerable or moderate importance on a student’s interest in a college. Admissions officers usually look for this interest from a student through campus visits.

Beth Heaton, college admissions consultant from College Coach (a program that assists students in the application process) also claims that “for schools tracking demonstrated interest, visiting is the most important thing you can do.” Since colleges have started emphasizing the importance of a visit, many students feel incredibly pressured to fit one in, so that lack of one will not jeopardize their chances of being accepted.

Admission representatives need to place more weight on other aspects of a senior’s application rather than emphasizing the college visit so heavily. Realistically, it is impossible for everyone to visit the colleges of their choice. Many people simply cannot afford to travel across the country just to visit a college, no matter how intriguing it is.

Katherine Kim ’18 sums it up nicely: “College visits are necessary because they give incoming freshman a fresh view into where they’re going to be staying for the next four years, but there are people who can’t afford to go and travel to new places, and it’s unfair of colleges to make them.”

Even if the student can afford to travel or has no need to, time is also an important factor. Time is a rare commodity these days, especially among students. On top of college applications, students need to juggle a plethora of activities, and all while maintaining their ever-important GPA.

Colleges and counselors have each, on numerous occasions, emphasized the importance of being a “well-rounded” student: one who not only keeps up high grades, but also participates in a multitude of extracurricular activities. However, those students may not have enough time to finagle a college visit into their schedule. Unfortunately, each college visit means more time off of school, which leads to more make-up work, and, overall, more stress. Many seniors are even afraid to miss a single day of school, worried about the amount of make-up work it would give them. If a student is lucky enough to be able to visit the college on a weekend, there is still the worry of missing sports or losing precious homework time.

Simply put, admissions representatives cannot judge an applicant’s enthusiasm for a school based on whether or not he or she visits, since there are a variety of extenuating circumstances preventing a student from visiting.

As Ridge senior Kourtney Dobkin ’17 puts it, “College visits do give you the vibe of the college and allow you to compare what you like and dislike about it with other schools. But, let’s say your top choice college is in California. If you don’t have the time or money to travel across the country, how are you going to make this work? You can’t, so it’s kind of unfair to thousands of students out there.”

One’s ability to afford or make time to visit a college should not jeopardize one’s chances of getting into the college. It places an unjust burden on the student to either grow money on trees or create time out of thin air—neither of which is humanly possible. Students should still visit the colleges, but only when they have the time and money to do so.

Rather than judging a student’s enthusiasm based on a college visit, admissions officers should base judgment off of the student’s application and other forms of contact made. Technology today makes it incredibly easy for students to contact admissions officers and vice versa. Students can easily send officers a quick email or even set up time for an online interview, thanks to the ever-connected Internet. Not to mention that nearly every school demands a separate essay asking the student to explain why he/she feels that this particular college is perfect—this alone is an easy way for students to demonstrate enthusiasm without hurrying to every campus tour out there. Admissions officers need to realize that there are many ways to judge a student’s interest in a school outside of a mere campus visit—something that, sometimes, is simply not feasible.