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Tips
& Resources | Selecting the Right College
- More liberal arts programs are providing support for students
who are preparing for careers in a variety of fields. Colleges
such as Middlebury and Connecticut College are highlighted in
this
article.
- An Alternative to Traditional College Guides: A recently
announced website, unigo.com,
provides constantly updated content from students at over 250
colleges and universities around the United States. Jordan Goldman,
a recent Wesleyan graduate, started collecting input over a
year ago, and now his company includes twenty-five editors who
collect and review useful comments and then post them on the
website. Read more about unigo.com in a recent
article in The New York Times.
- Attention Juniors. Two new websites are available for
students to profile themselves to colleges: Cappex
and Zinch. Both are in the
early stages of building their audiences but are becoming more
popular and widely used in many college admissions offices.
- This useful search tool, The
College Navigator, includes a number of attributes for each
college including freshmen retention rates and graduation rates,
standardized test ranges, campus security data, and a key financial
tool.
- Spring is the time to make a final decision on which college
to attend, and this can include visits to campuses for open
houses, an evaluation of the pluses and minuses of all of your
options, as well as some serious soul-searching. Read this helpful
article to help you make your final choice. In addition,
financial aid packages are finalized and you can use this valuable
tool
to compare your financial aid awards.
- To meet the challenge of families focused on getting the best
value for their dollar and finding accurate information to make
the right college choice, the National Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities (NAICU) has launched a new, free
online service called U-CAN
(the University and College Accountability Network). This website
delivers key college information directly to consumers and is
a great resource for juniors as they start building their college
lists. Another useful tool that students can use to compile
their lists is the National
Survey of Student Engagement (as published in USA Today).
- Are you unable to visit certain colleges, but would like to
purchase a walking video tour of the campus? Check here
to see if the colleges on your list are available.
- May 1st is the deadline for making your college choice so
this time of year can be full of angst for families. How do
you make that final decision? A visit to the campus can help,
including attending a class and staying overnight, even if you
visited earlier. Consider which facets of college are important
to you and compare this information on each website: travel
costs and time, opportunities for overseas study offered by
the college, events and activities offered on campus, depth
in your department of interest, and any other areas that are
important to you. Talk to students from your area or high school
who are now attending these colleges to garner other meaningful
information, and review these suggestions
of more things to think about as you make this exciting decision.
Evaluating financial aid packages can be complex as well so
explore the tools
available to help in the process.
- Here's another great resource that can help with your decision:
a database prepared
by the Department of Education comparing graduation rates, freshmen
retention rates, campus safety, and much more.
- Planning college visits or just want to know where a college
is located? Try the beta version of our newly-developed mapping
tool. You may not see all of the colleges on this initial
map, but just use the quick search box to enter the name of
any college and then zoom in to see routes, a birdseye view
of the campus and surrounding area, and a link to their website.
- Those of you starting to prepare a list of colleges and explore
your options might want to begin by printing this valuable
guide prepared by the National Survey of Student Engagement.
- The time for visits to campuses for seniors is approaching,
as many colleges offer this as a preview of life on campus.
Here
are some tips for making the most of the senior overnight visit
to campus. For juniors, the visit usually entails a tour, attendance
at a one-hour information session, and possibly an interview.
You should plan early and pre-register with the admissions office,
if required, as vacation times are popular. In addition, you
might want to consider attending a class or meeting with a coach
or a faculty member in a department of interest. Make the most
of your visit by allowing time to eat on campus, talking to
some students, or meeting with an alumnus from your high school
or neighborhood who attends the college.
- Here are some interesting links as you start developing your
college list: Participation
rates in study abroad; PhD
rates by undergraduate institution; NCAA
by sport and division
- Learn
more about what many institutions are doing to try to change
their gender imbalances.
- Looking for some guidance on how to make that final decision
regarding which college to attend? Click
here for a helpful article.
- Remember to factor in the hidden fees which start to add up
for students in college. An example
of this is the impact of new facilities on college costs in
Washington State, as fees are passed along to students.
- Do you want to learn more
about WUE, the Western Undergraduate Exchange? Through WUE,
students in western states may enroll in many two-year and four-year
college programs at a reduced tuition level: 150 percent of
the institution's regular tuition for residents. WUE tuition
is considerably less than nonresident tuition.
- Now is a great time for juniors to make college visits while
students are on campus. Check for schedules and pre-registration
requirements on the college admissions webpage and plan on attending
a tour and an information session. If you want to visit specific
departments such as music, talk to a coach, or attend a class,
this can usually be arranged through the admissions office beforehand.
- An interesting ranking
of universities worldwide
- Does an elite
college really pay?
- How to develop your college list: juniors might want to read
this first
- Are you a performing or visual arts student who wants to learn
more about the process? Here
are some tips on finding the college program that is right for
you.
- Are you interested in visiting a college campus but can’t
make it happen? One option is to purchase
a DVD of the college tour given to visiting students. These
are not professionally produced, but videos taken by guidance
counselors.
- For students considering an in-state public university, honors
programs are worth evaluating. Honors programs reward strong
students with small classes, top faculty, valuable research
and internship opportunities, prime living-learning communities,
personalized advising, and unique study abroad options. Learn
more about the honors program at Washington's public universities:
- Now is the time when many colleges are planning their visiting
days in the King County area. Make sure to register online on
the admissions page to get invitations, and check the sites
for updates. The trend for colleges is to host events (many
with a consortium of colleges) outside of high schools and invite
those who have registered on their websites for more information.
- Do you have your heart set on a specific college? Learn what
their requirements are for high school students so that you
are not left without an individual course. You would be surprised
as some have interesting requirements like the University of
California which next year will require a yearlong approved
art course from a single visual and performing arts discipline:
dance, drama/theater, music or visual art. Others may require
three years of a lab science.
- As juniors start developing college lists, remember that the
best school for you is not necessarily the most selective. An
ideal time to visit colleges is the February or Spring Break
when most colleges will be in session for the most valuable
assessment. Check the websites of your favorite colleges for
junior visiting days.
- Are you interested in learning more about the colleges on
your list, but all of the websites and tours sound alike? Check
with your college counseling office and ask for the names of
alumni who attend these colleges and contact them by e-mail
and learn more. There is nothing like the experience of a current
student to help you really understand what makes a college unique.
- Do you want to get the inside scoop on the college you are
considering? Go to the college web site and see if there is
an "ask a student" option and some are publishing
student blogs. Many colleges are starting to add this feature
to their sites.
- Many colleges are now posting online the profiles of their
incoming freshman class which can help you build your college
list more realistically.
- The Fiske Guide to Colleges, an excellent guide providing
details including academic and social attributes as well as
quality of life and other important features of over 300 colleges.
- Colleges That Change Lives:
Loren PopeÕs guide to 40 lesser known colleges that make a real
difference for students.
- Colleges
Unranked, by Lloyd Thacker. A collection of essays and
comments from university presidents and admissions deans provides
a look beyond the commercial ranking of colleges and universities.
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