Collecting Information About Colleges

Dear Parent, 

How can the Internet help you to find the perfect college?  First, search a variety of on-line databases to find colleges that fit your interests and visit their home pages to get more detailed information.  Next, look through some college newspapers, and take some college tours to gather more objective information.  Last, select your final choices by gathering more impartial information and conducting some interviews of your own.

The Internet isn’t perfect, but one of its major strengths is the ease with which you can search through its vast network of information.  Finding a college that meets your criteria is suddenly much easier than pouring over a 400-page printed directory.  Just enter what you want, for example, a small college on the East Coast with an art major, or a public university with a great athletic complex, or a university with study-abroad programs.  Just click and watch the Internet roll out a list of colleges that match.  The resulting list will tell you more about admission requirements, tuition costs, student life, degrees offered and much more.

The web is a great place to find out about a college’s atmosphere, such as whether it is a good place for athletes, serious students, or those intent on finding an active social life.  Some entries include “instant reply” buttons, which let you request financial aid and admission materials, and “download application” buttons, which give you access to electronic applications.

Another good place to search is the College Board’s website:  www.collegeboard.org.  You can search their database by typing in a college’s name or specific degree.  You can also search by completing mini-questionnaires about the type of school and campus setting you want.  For example, if you search by “type of school,” you will get a page asking whether you seek a private or public college, a single-sex or Co-ed College, a large or small college, a historically black college, and/or a college that offers distance learning.  The resulting list will give you more information about admission requirements, tuition costs, student life, degrees offered and much more.

Searching the internet for college information gives you the opportunity to weigh the importance of many of your preferences.  It is a way to narrow down your students list, and get information at your fingertips!  Be sure to get online and take advantage of it!

Until next month…Best Wishes!