Some people feel destined from the cradle to attend a certain school. Maybe their parents went there. Maybe it is nationally known for its sports. Or maybe they always wanted to be a marine biologist and this school is the best. But for the overwhelming majority of students, the hunt for a college is long, stressful, confusing, and uncertain. Type in "university search" into Google and it returns northward of 2.5 billion hits. What can be expected with that return of information? Well, there are a few things you can do to prepare the search to make this seemingly insurmountable process a bit more manageable. First, determine where the information is coming from. Is it "official" (information supplied from a school's admissions office) or "unofficial" (information that is compiled from student feedback, outside opinions, or sometimes plain fiction)? Official information is important because it gives you the real meat and potatoes of a school - tuition, diversity, graduation rates, majors, etc. However, do not discount unofficial information either, as it can provide insights into race relations on campus, nightlife, access to the greater community and other intangibles that will matter to you when you live at that school four years or more. Tip: NEVER take information from a generic college search engine as gold. Most search tools link you to the school's website, so click and verify if that admit rate is the same, or tuition rates are current. Next, prioritize what matters to you and go from there. With nearly 5,000 degree-granting institutions in the US, simply picking any criterion will still leave you with a tremendous amount of results. One activity I do with my students is cut out strips of paper with about 20 factors (most are found in the poll below). I ask the students to take 2 min and pull out the first 5 that they feel are most important to them. Then I give them 2 min more to think and see if that has changed. This is also a fun activity to do with student and parent. They each make their own priority list and see where their preferences lie. Once you have your priorities and somewhat of an idea of what kind of school(s) you are looking for, begin your search (see the links for a list of search engines). Do you need to be in a big city (personal preference or easy access to transportation for international students)? Does size matter? Do you need to be with a small group of students or would you be comfortable in a lecture hall with 200 others? Does the school provide need-based financial aid, and additionally, what are the costs associated beyond tuition that you need to prepare for? Does the opportunity for you to study abroad or join a Greek organization matter? There are endless considerations but some that are important because if you envision your ideal school to offer something specific, you had better understand how to search it out. Tip: Beware of sites that continually put the same school(s) at the top of their list, or have schools that are posted first under "Sponsored Results" or similar. Ask yourself, what is the site's motivation for producing this information? Is the site reputable and can the information be trusted. You have options; be sure to look around and not be fooled.
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AuthorOlder blog posts were for the UCLA Ext course "Using the Internet for College Counseling" Archives
February 2023
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