Whether or not reservations are required varies by school—below is a breakdown of universities and their various policies regarding this topic. In general, it is important to look at the websites of universities you’d like to visit before you set foot on campus. Make sure that tours and information sessions are indeed being offered on the day that you are planning to be there—some colleges do not offer them every day of the week, and holidays might mean tours and information sessions are suspended.
HARVARD No prior registration is required for small groups. For engineering tours, groups of 10 or more must email tours@fas.harvard.edu.
YALE No prior registration is required, although there is an online tool that lets you inform Yale ahead of time that you are planning on coming so that they can make prior arrangements. Yale also asks that groups of 10 or more make a reservation via a request form on Yale’s website.
PRINCETON Does not require reservations for its student-run tours except for groups of 15 or more.
COLUMBIA requires prior registration for both tours and information sessions.
DARTMOUTH Dartmouth prefers visitors to sign up ahead of time through a tool on their website. Groups of 10 or more should call (603) 646-2875 a month before their visit. Groups of this size can only be accommodated when classes are in session. Dartmouth also does not offer tours to large groups during the month of April.
CORNELL For campus tours, only groups of 10 or more need to make reservations. Students interested in attending information sessions should RSVP on Cornell’s website. Groups of 10 or more should also alert the admissions office two weeks prior to their arrival if they wish to attend an information session.
BROWN Reservations are not required, but they are recommended for campus tours.
PENN As tours and information sessions have limited capacity, it is necessary to register ahead of time on the website.
MIT Reservations for information sessions are highly recommended. For groups of 10 or more, a special form available on MIT’s website should be completed and submitted two weeks prior to arrival.
CALTECH Caltech offers special group tours for groups of 10 high schoolers or more. These tours require filling out a request form. Prospective students should also pre-register for information sessions and campus tours.
AMHERST No reservations are required for groups of fewer than 10. Groups of 10 or more should call (413) 542-2328 two weeks prior to their visit.
WILLIAMS Pre-registration is not required.