On an average Thursday, Burnsville Center is full of empty stores and possibility. Mall walkers cruise through the colorful '90s-era food court and past dark storefronts, some of them admittedly drawn more by the south metro mall's vast emptiness than by shopping options. Outside J.C. Penney, Kelly and Tanner Kaski of Lakeville watch as their 3-year-old daughter, Milly, climbs around in a Paul .
With the fall college-tour season in progress, many prospective students, especially those unable to travel, are scouring institutions’ websites and social media to find the right fit.