Missing out on campus tours? Visit virtually.

As if there aren’t already enough hurdles confronting many high school seniors as they make expensive decisions on where to attend college in the fall, let’s tack on one more: They’ll likely be forced to make their pick without ever setting foot on the campus of their school(s) of choice.

For many seniors, this is traditionally the time for making cross-country road trips to stroll college quadrangles on official studentguided walking tours, check out the dorms, sample the food in the dining hall, pose questions to students and sit in on a class or two. Especially for students holding acceptance letters, these visits can clinch the deal before you shell out thousands of dollars and go into debt.

But because of the pandemic, official campus visits have been put on hold for more than a year. Instead, most schools have resorted to using digital slideshows, Zoom conversations, Oculus headsets for virtual reality presentations and other creative social media techniques to help prospective students kick the virtual tires and feel engaged with campus life.

For example, the University of Illinois offers daily virtual one-on-one sessions with an admissions counselor and group sessions, including an optional meeting with a cultural house representative on campus. There are also 13 short video tours of the Urbana-Champaign campus on the school’s YouTube channel.

At the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, prospective students can sign up for 15-minute “Spider Chats” with a current student or alum. Students at Drexel University in Philadelphia designed a simulated campus called “Minecraft University City.” The school is also holding special chats so admitted students can meet others in their region.

Some schools have designed a virtual reality version of their campus, allowing someone to virtually attend a music performance or walk out to center court at the basketball arena.

If those aren’t enough, try a 3-D exploration of a campus using Google Maps.

But virtual tours “are like walking around campus with blinders on,” said Mark Kantrowitz, a higher education expert and author of “How to Appeal for More Financial Aid.”

“The problem with a virtual tour is you can’t smell the campus or eat the food,” he said. “You can’t sit in on a class or stay overnight in the dorms. It falls short of being there.”

And, while some families might opt for self-guided driving or walking tours, there may not be much to gain — other than seeing buildings either empty or closed to the public.

To get a sense of what the college would normally be like, Kantrowitz suggests asking the admissions office to speak with a current junior or senior who was on campus before the pandemic hit.

They can give you a sense of the campus vibe, as well as their feelings about remote learning, especially if classroom teaching restrictions remain in place this fall.

In addition, check out the online version of the student newspaper to stay abreast of news on campus — from profiles of professors and students to the latest crime reports.

Getting a holistic view of your top-choice school will definitely look different in the near future, but universities and colleges are doing their best to make sure parents and students alike feel good about the place they could be calling home for the next four years.