How It Started

College Town Tours was born from a deeply personal place- a season of transition in our own family.

As a husband and father of three, I’ve spent the last few years walking college campuses across the country. Our son is now at the University of Arkansas. Our middle daughter is just months away from graduating high school and has already completed multiple campus visits of her own. And our youngest daughter will begin her Senior year of High School next year.

Like many families, we’ve sat through countless information sessions, walked beautifully maintained campuses, and listened to passionate admissions representatives explain academic programs, housing options, and student organizations. Those tours are informative, structured, polished, and they accomplish exactly what they are designed for.

But every time we left a campus, we found ourselves asking the same questions:

Where do students actually spend their time?
Where do they eat after hours?
What does the town feel like on a random Tuesday afternoon?
If my child lives here for four years… what does that life really look like?

Campus tours do a great job explaining what the university has to offer. They rarely show you the community that your student will be living in.

At the same time, our family has always enjoyed experiencing new places through the eyes of someone who lives there. Whether its a guided walking tour through neighborhoods in Tokyo, exploring hidden spots in South Korea, or joining guided tours in cities far from home, we’ve learned that the best way to understand a place isn’t through brochures — it’s through people.

That perspective stayed with us during our college visits.

We realized that one of the biggest missing pieces in the college decision process isn’t information about the school — it’s insight into the town. Students aren’t just choosing a campus. They’re choosing where they’ll eat, study, relax, celebrate, and grow.

That realization became College Town Tours.

Led by current students who are living the experience every day, these tours are designed to bridge the informational gap between the university campus tour and the community that surrounds it. We focus on the real side of college life — the local favorites, the gathering spots, the places that turn a campus into a home.

Our goal is simple:

To help students and families feel more confident about where they’re going — not just academically, but personally — before they even unpack.

Because they aren't just committing to a college. They are committing to a community. 

It’s about choosing a place to live, not just study.