There are many sources of information on colleges and the quality and types of information available from these different sources is as varied as the sources themselves. Below you will find a list of resources to tap when researching colleges.
Counselors: Your high school college counselor or guidance counselor should be available to help you weigh the pluses and minuses of different colleges and can help steer you in the direction of schools that might be good matches for you.
Current college students: Perhaps the best source of information on a college is someone who is a student there now. Check out the website UNIGO to see what current students are saying. To make the information even more relevant to you, see if you can get into contact with alumni of your high school who are attending colleges you are interested in. Using a social networking site like Facebook might enable you to get in touch with graduates of your high school.
Alumni: People who attended the college you are interested in can provide you with their experience at a given college. Keep in mind that colleges change over the years and recent graduates can provide you with information that will bear more resemblance to what your experience might be like than what the experience was like for your parents.
College admission publications: Colleges and universities spend millions of dollars each year on the production of literature designed to inform you and educate you about their institutions. Your own high school counseling office might have catalogs and view books from schools available for your perusal. College catalogs are not flashy, but they contain information you might find helpful, including academic and student life policies, requirements for degrees in all of the departments at that school, a listing and description of all of the courses offered, and a listing of the faculty members. The view books are slick, photo-filled marketing tools designed to show you what the campus is really like. The text is brief, but most view books list programs available at the school as well as its activities and organizations. They also contain practical information on the admission procedure, as well as financial aid information. Many view books have applications or instructions for applying to that particular college.
Writing for your own information: Most likely you have already received literature from many colleges and universities who have purchased your name and address from any one of a number of sources (including the College Board- remember that little box you could check on the PSAT?). Chances are, however, there are other schools about which you will want to learn more. More and more students are using email to communicate directly with colleges and universities and it is a great way to acquire information.
Guidebooks: There are many college guidebooks available at bookstores. Many people prefer to shop online where you can find bargains on second-hand guidebooks on sites like Amazon. The guidebooks fall into two main categories: objective or comparative guides, and subjective or ranking guides. The first type includes such books as those published by Peterson's, Barron's, and the College Handbook by the College Board (among others). Most of the information included in these guides was obtained directly by the publishers from the admission offices. They provide quick-reference information and a lot of statistics. Be careful! Statistics can be manipulated to suit the needs of the person or institution presenting them. The subjective guides include those by Fiske, the Yale Daily News, Rugg, William Buckley, Princeton Review, Kaplan and Students' Guide to Colleges edited by Jordan Goldman and Colleen Buyers. When reading these guides and reviewing the manner in which they rate various aspects of the institutions they are discussing, keep in mind that you are reading the opinions of only a few people. On the other hand, even though the information will be two or three years old, it is possible to read several such descriptions and put together a good idea of what life at the school might be like. In my own experience, I have found that the Fiske Guide provides a well-balanced approach.
Online: Every college has a website where you can find a wealth of information about the school. The depth and breadth of information will vary greatly from college to college, but typically you will find up to date information about the school's programs, policies, activities, events, and its application procedures. Some sites include "virtual" tours, and others allow you to apply electronically to the institution. Most sites will provide an email address for you to use to ask questions and communicate directly with the admission office.
Videos and DVDs: Although most colleges are now offering videos and virtual tours on their websites, many have produced videos and DVDs for admission office use. Check out this example from Hamilton College to see a very nice virtual tour of their campus.
Some schools will automatically send you a CD if you are on their mailing list; others will send you one if you request it. Some may charge for their videos, and a few companies specialize in producing college videos and selling them to prospective applicants.
Your high school's admission statistics: If you like numbers, you will probably enjoy looking through a website which contains the admissions history of recent graduates from your high school at popular colleges and universities. Usually, the information is presented by students' grade point averages and SAT/ACT scores (not by name of students). The information can allow you to gain some insight into how realistic a school might be for you when considering numbers. Keep in mind that numbers are just part of the application process and there are many other factors considered by admissions officers as they evaluate applications. My high school uses Naviance to track the admissions histories of our students and I am a huge fan!
College fairs: Many high schools plan college fairs for students and their parents at some point in the school year (ours is always in the spring). Representatives from many colleges in the United States, Canada and Europe attend the college fair, providing an excellent opportunity for students and their parents to gain first-hand information about colleges of interest to them.
The National Association of College Admission Counselors also sponsors larger college fairs around the country which bring together representatives from a few hundred colleges. Information on the fair in Manhattan, held in April, can be found on the NACAC website here. Another great fair is the Colleges That Change Lives Fair (information here), which is a grouping of colleges celebrated in Loren Pope's amazing book by the same name. These fairs can be good forums for you to talk briefly with the representatives, pick up literature, and put your name on their mailing lists.
College representative visits at your high school: Each fall, many colleges and universities send admission representatives to high schools all over the country to speak with students and answer their questions. The presentations are a convenient way for students to establish contact with an admission office and to learn more about the school and its application procedures from someone working there. The meetings are also a good chance for you to learn more about schools about which you might know very little. You should attend at least a couple of the meetings just to find out what they are like and to hear what an admission officer has to say to prospective applicants.
One added benefit to the meetings is that (in many cases) the representative will be one of the people who will be reading the applications from your high school and contributing to the decisions made by the admission office. It is definitely to your advantage if that person gets to know you as a person, rather than as just another application. Arrive at the meetings on time and with at least some knowledge of the school so that you can ask informed, intelligent questions and make a good impression.
If you are even considering a college, and that college is visiting your school, I strongly suggest attending the information session. These admissions representatives travel all over the country to meet in small groups with students. The least you can do is spend your lunch period meeting with them. I am always shocked when students at my school choose not to attend the on-campus information sessions. When students choose not to attend, it sends the message that students do not place a high value on the time of the admissions officers and on the application process in general.
Interested in a particular college? Just about every college will keep track of how much interest you are showing in their school. They know how many times you have requested information in writing or by phone, they know if you spoke with a representative at a college fair or at a meeting at your high school, and they know if you have been on campus and had an interview. Regardless of how many times you have been asked to complete information cards for an admission office–on that campus or elsewhere–do it again. Also, remember that the more personal you can make the process, the better it can work in your favor. Get to know someone in the admission office–that person could be an important advocate for you later.
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