{shortcode-551348390f4943753b920b54134a77b1ec8a362a}Welcome, prefrosh! Whether you came to Visitas to help decide whether or not to commit to Harvard (spoiler alert: you should), to dream about the next four years, or to shamelessly show off on your Instagram story, chances are you’re now trying to figure out how to make the most of this elusive weekend. And while we can’t give you a step-by-step guide (or can we?), we can lay out some of the tried and true strategies for winning at Visitas.

Download every event onto your Google Calendar.

While I’m not quite sure how to do it myself, I do know it is possible to download the entire calendar of (registered) events during Visitas onto your GCal. For those wanting to make it to every single open house and event during Visitas, this is the strategy for you. Be warned, this strategy is not for the faint of heart, as it’ll drown your entire weekend under layers and layers of multi-colored events that leave you without room to even breathe. You may not lose track of all the events going on across campus, but you may just lose your sanity…

Fill your camera roll with event flyers.

I may be biased here because this was my Visitas strategy, but filling your camera roll with photos and screenshots of all the event flyers you encounter is a lower commitment version of the GCal strategy. This strategy can be tailored to your specific interests while also giving you a wide list of events to drop by on a whim. Plus, it gives some appreciation to the Canva heroes behind those flyers. The only caveat to this strategy is that you may lose that Crimson open house flyer in the hundreds of pictures of the Yard you’ll inevitably take. Proceed with caution!

Make a to-do list.

If you’re already thinking of Visitas as a series of smaller prefrosh adventures, the to-do list might be the way to go for you. Whether that be a list of buildings to visit, clubs to see, or lectures to attend, you know what you want. So make that to-do list — but be flexible with it. In order to truly win at Visitas, you need to embrace your inner overachiever and explore the unknown. Take some detours! Add some whimsy to your weekend! Breathe in all of the intellectual vitality!

Wander aimlessly across campus.

For some, the best Visitas strategy is no strategy at all. In the spirit of a liberal arts education and trying not to overwhelm yourself, the ‘aimless wandering’ strategy involves exploring campus without a specific roadmap and seeing where you wind up. This strategy really has no limits and could lead you to discover a future favorite study spot on campus or even make friends you otherwise never would have met.

Regardless of how you decide to take on Visitas, remember that you’ve already won by being here! Enjoy yourself and get excited for everything!

Read the rest of our Visitas 2025 feature here!