It’s a rite of spring — the spring break campus visit pilgrimage. If you are finding yourself in the throes of scheduling college visits, count yourself among the many doing the same thing.

When organizing your visits, one of the first things that you’ll notice is that you don’t need to talk to anyone to make plans. Unlike the old days when you actually called a college admissions office, spoke with a person and scheduled a visit, that is no longer the case. Now, 100 percent of trip planning can be done online at each college website.

Some thoughts to keep in mind once you’re on campus.

n Make sure they know you’re there. Establish contact with the admissions office because many colleges, though not all, track your level of interest in their school and the campus visit is one of the most important factors that is tracked.

n Divide and conquer. Separate and let your child go with a different tour guide. Your child may take the visit a little more seriously when you’re not around, may ask their own questions and you’ll have a good conversation comparing your two tours.

n Get lost! Wander on your own and explore what makes each college unique. Go beyond the standard visit. My mantra is: “It is worth more than two hours of your time if you might be spending four years of your life there.” If the college is worthy of your visit, then dedicate sufficient time to tour the area around the campus, sit in on a class, have a meal in the dining hall, etc.

n Ask good questions. Better yet, don’t ask “stupid” questions that can be answered by doing your own basic research, such as “Do you require four years of a foreign language?” or “What are your middle-50 percent SAT scores?”

Some “good” questions might include: How many students work on research projects with faculty? What types of honors courses, learning communities, and other distinctive programs are offered?