The campus visit is a well-known part of the undergraduate’s college selection process, but as the world shrinks in around us with the digital information age, many students look further afield for their college education. This makes the prospect of visiting every school on one’s list problematic at best, and for returning graduate students, such as those entering into an MBA program, it often seems easier to skip this important step. If you are looking to continue your education at a new institution, you may feel tempted to simply forego the campus visit beforehand, trusting that you will be able to confront any challenges that face you for the remainder of your academic career.

Here are five of the best reasons why an individual entering into an MBA or other graduate program should still consider the possibility of making campus visits:

Is the University the Right Fit for You?

The campus visit plays a critical role in helping to determine whether or not the school you’re considering is the right choice for you. There are many factors to consider in making this decision; the overall institution might more than satisfy your academic requirements, but the specific program or college within that institution might leave something out that you know to be critical to your personal environment. Some MBA students, already accustomed to the rigors of academic life, make the mistake of assuming that they can cope with anything, but it’s much easier to forego a potential school in advance than it is to transfer once you’ve enrolled.

What Are the Academic Requirements?

Many MBA programs have a lot in common, but most schools also differ dramatically in certain specific requirements. These are important to know in advance, in order to be able to plan one’s routine before classes begin. A campus visit affords you the opportunity to ask questions before you enroll, inquiring as to how much time is usually spent on schoolwork outside of class, as well as the frequency of essays and lengthy reading assignments. A comparative analysis of time-intensive assignments is an important step in selecting the right school to suit your needs.

Questions About Financial Aid

Some subjects are simply less awkward to talk about directly, and many people consider financial matters to be one of these areas. Questions about financial aid, such as the average amount of financial aid met by the institution, and the frequency with which grant requests are successfully filled, can be explored to greater depth with a direct visit. A campus visit also affords a prospective student the opportunity to engage with multiple people, including both students and members of the faculty, in relation to such important subject matter.

Explore Campus Life

In addition to faculty and instructors, a campus visit provides the opportunity to engage with students who are familiar with the institution. This allows a visiting student the chance to pick up a few details about the various aspects and perks of campus life. There’s nothing wrong or wasteful, for example, with inquiring as to whether or not there is some sort of defining end-of-year experience, nor with asking questions about the local entertainment scene, and what most students do for fun. A university with a reputation as a party school might feature its MBA classes in a college which is disproportionately populated by quiet, studious individuals, which is the kind of thing that’s hard to learn about without direct inquiry.

Virtual Tours Reduce the Inconvenience

One of the most frequently cited reasons for not visiting all of the campuses on a student’s list, prior to enrolling in an MBA program, is the simple inconvenience involved in physically visiting a large number of potentially far-flung campuses. The growing prevalence of digital technology in the academic environment makes this a less serious concern. For an aspiring graduate student, many of their concerns will focus on atmosphere and learning environment, and much of this can be conveyed through video tours, video blogs, and other virtual representations of campus life.

Experts agree that, even for the graduate student who’s already accustomed to life on campus, it’s important to try and visit as many schools as possible before making a final choice. Prospective MBA program students need to walk the grounds, ask some serious questions, and examine the areas where they’ll be spending the most time. This will help a student to determine whether or not a college is the right fit for them personally, an impression which rarely fails to be a lasting one — regardless of the decision that a student ultimately makes.

Related reading: 5 Tips for Paying off Loans Post-MBA