Student athletes can visit a campus at any time, as long as they pay their own way. These visits are called unofficial visits and have become a big part of the recruiting process. Because college coaches are recruiting players during their freshman and sophomore years in high school, the only way they can meet and talk with recruits is on an unofficial visit. Recruits are being asked to commit, “verbally” to colleges before they can take official visits, so unofficial visits are playing a more important role, in conjunction with attending the college camp. Before scheduling a trip to see a college campus and visit a coach, you want to make sure they are going to be available to meet you!

The other type of visits are official visits.
This is where a college coach can pay for you to visit the school. This type of visit is generally only given to the recruits coaches are seriously considering offering a scholarship.
You can only go on five official visits and they are only allowed to take place during your senior year of high school.