Here is a guide to visiting colleges in Virginia with your high school student. We suggest that you contact the college admissions office at each school you plan to visit, so your student can take advantage of an official campus tour and possibly sit in on a class.  Click on the web links below to learn about each college before you visit.

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Route 81 Tour

Starting at Winchester, go to SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY.  Then approximately 30-45 minutes down Route 81, take a quick detour over to Front Royal where CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE is located.  Get back on Route 81 traveling south to Harrisonburg.  Here there are 3 colleges to visit:  JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY and BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE. 

Next stop is in Staunton to visit MARY BALDWIN COLLEGE.   Further south on Route 81 is Lexington, where your visit will take you to WASHINGTON & LEE UNIVERSITY and VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 

Continue on Route 81 south.  As you come upon Roanoke, head east to visit HOLLINS UNIVERSITY.  Get back on Route 81 for a couple of miles and then you’re heading southeast to visit FERRUM COLLEGE.

Back on the road, traveling south again from Roanoke, you’ll come to the town of Salem, where you’ll find ROANOKE COLLEGE.  Next stop is Blacksburg, home of the Hokies at VIRGINIA TECH.   Less than half-hour away from Virginia Tech, is RADFORD UNIVERSITY.

Heading west off Route 81, go over the mountains to BLUEFIELD COLLEGE.  You can continue on west and visit THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S COLLEGE AT WISE.

From here, you need to head back to Route 81.  If you travel north, plan to visit EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE.  If you choose south, head for Bristol, where you’ll find VIRGINIA INTERMONT COLLEGE.

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Route 29 Tour

Take Route 66 West to Route 29 South.  The first stop is Charlottesville at the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 

Returning to Route 29 South, visit SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE.  Then stop by RANDOLPH COLLEGE and LYNCHBURG COLLEGE before heading off to LIBERTY UNIVERSITY.  Take a side trip from Lynchburg onto Route 460-East and visit HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE and LONGWOOD UNIVERSITY.
If you stay on Route 29, the last stop on this tour will be in Danville where you’ll visit AVERETT UNIVERSITY.

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Route 95 Tour

Starting in Northern Virginia, stop by GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY in Fairfax.
Then you’re off to Arlington to visit MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY.

Travel down Route 95 to Fredericksburg to visit the UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON.  The next stop down Route 95 is RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE in Ashland.

Continue on to Richmond, where you will have 3 college to visit: UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY and VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY.

If you want to continue on Route 95, the next stop is VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY in Petersburg.  From there take Route 85 south and go to Lawrenceville to see ST. PAUL’S COLLEGE.

If you can visit the Virginia Beach area on this trip, take Route 64 East from Richmond. 
Stop in Williamsburg to see the COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY.  The next stop is Newport News where you can visit CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY.  Then visit HAMPTON UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE and OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY in Norfolk.