In a memorable episode of HBO’s mafia drama, “The Sopranos,” mob boss Tony Soprano takes his daughter on a tour of New England colleges.

As they drive across the Maine countryside, there’s only one complication:  Tony spots a long-lost “friend” who has since become a talkative FBI informant.  Determined to multitask, Tony juggles his time between dropping off his daughter at college interviews and getting the drop on his old acquaintance.

For those of us without “family business” to handle, there’s an entirely different set of issues to juggle when embarking on a college tour.  On one hand, visiting college campuses can be extremely beneficial.  Because there’s no such thing as the perfect school—only the college that best “fits” a given student—an in-person visit can help you make a much more informed college decision.

On the other hand, long-distance college visits can be notoriously pricey:  By the time you add up airfare, a hotel stay, car rental, gas and meals for two, it’s possible to spend more than $1,500 on a single overnight trip.  Multiply this amount by a half-dozen or more prospective schools and we’re talking about a serious chunk of change.

So how can you fully explore your college options without breaking the bank on an unnecessarily expensive trip?  Try these four tips.

Start with a local visit

A huge part of the college evaluation process is uncovering the specific qualities you are seeking in a school.  Are you interested in a big university with a variety of offerings or a small liberal arts college with more personalized attention?  At the beginning, most students haven’t considered questions like this in a really thoughtful way.

As a result, your first few college visits will likely focus on sorting out these conflicting priorities.  You can start this process well in advance of your trip by scheduling some visits to local colleges, even if you are not actively considering these schools. 

You’ll get a better feel for what factors are most important to you and this knowledge might help you eliminate some unnecessary (and costly) stops from your subsequent college tour.

Leverage other travel

One of the easiest ways to save money on a college tour is to piggyback on your other travel plans.  Have you promised to visit a certain relative this summer?  Can your mom or dad extend a business trip, include some college visits, and have you accompany them?

My own family took this approach the summer following my junior year, after I won a national scholarship prize that included a trip to Washington D.C.  Hoping to leverage the cross-country plane tickets that were provided to us, we asked the scholarship program coordinator if she would allow us to extend our trip to include a tour of East Coast colleges.  To our delight, she agreed to this and even offered to cover most of the additional cost.

Know each school’s calendar

Many students tour numerous colleges during the summer months and then schedule term-time visits to their top choice schools once they’ve been accepted.  It’s possible, however, to gain the same benefit without the need for multiple trips.

Because many colleges begin their school year as early as mid-August, try to schedule your college tour for late summer when campuses are bustling with activity, classes can be audited and dorms may be available for overnight stays.

Collect helpful contacts

If a college offers the option of an admissions interview during your visit, sign up well in advance.  Schedule additional meetings with financial aid officers, faculty members, prospective coaches and club advisers.  And be sure to collect business cards and send thank-you notes.

Not only does this help you get a better feel for each school, but cultivating such relationships helps bolster subsequent appeals that you may make for additional financial aid.  The amount of scholarship and grant money that you can potentially gain from having an on-campus advocate—someone who can make a phone call on your behalf—can more than pay for your entire trip.

The rest, my friends, is up to you:  Have fun dipping your toes into all that higher education has to offer.  And if you just can’t seem to get started, I hear that sunny University of Hawaii has a great college tour.