7 BEST Virtual Campus Tour Apps for US Students

American University has officially launched Tour AU, an immersive app offering students a virtual campus tour. The app that gives a “first-hand look at life at American University” has been developed in partnership with Sony. How exactly will students benefit from using the app? Are there any similar “virtual tour” apps at other universities? The Typical Student team tried to figure that out.

What Can the Tour AU App Do?

So, what are the main features of the Tour AU app? With its help, the AU enrollees can do the following:

• Learn more about AU students’ life, find out how they live, learn, and play;
• Eagle for a Day self-guided tour will help experience a day in the life on campus;
• Watch a basketball game using the Jump into a class feature;
• AU Ambassador tour will provide information on what's for lunch at TDR in virtual reality;
• AU Trivia will help in testing the general knowledge of AU.

What’s more, with Tour AU, it doesn’t matter if you’re exploring AU from home or taking a campus tour on site.  

Source: american.edu

Other Universities With Campus Tour Apps

Undoubtedly, mobile technology makes it possible for students to explore the campus life of their coveted university without going across the country. American University is not the first educational facility to roll out a mobile app:

Harvard Mobile app appeared in 2013, and is now available in iTunes App Store and Google Play.   

University of Oregon campus app is completely free, and serves as a campus guide to help both visitors and students find their way around the university campus.

University Virtual Campus Tours Web Apps

Many US universities offer web campus tour apps. Below you will find the most popular ones:

UC San Diego

Enjoy the virtual tour on UC San Diego terrain by choosing the most suitable campus tour option on the university website. With high-quality photography and video footage, UC San Diego visitors can witness everyday student lives.

What’s more, each of the destinations has brief summaries that make the photos come alive. The 360-degree panoramas of a university campus and the audio offered in 6 foreign languages will surely help students in making the right choice.

University of Alaska Sitka

The University of Alaska Sitka is surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, so failing to take a virtual tour would be a shame. The video tour is extremely detailed, with videos accompanying every campus location. Also, the virtual visitors can meet some of the most notable campus personalities.

University of Texas

The University of Texas offers no less visually attractive tour. With lots of strong photography and gorgeous panoramic views of multiple campus locations captured in a full 360º view the tour is absolutely worth taking. Most importantly, the virtual tour allows visitors to focus mainly on the content and not to be distracted by unnecessary features. The web interface of the tour is intuitive interface for controlling the tour and navigating the campus.

Ohio State University

Not only does the web interface of OSU virtual tour has a campus map, but also an intro page allowing to pick the campus section: Central, North or West Campus. Also, there is a possibility to employ VR for touring the OSU campus.