One of the hardest and most important tasks in picking a college is composing
the initial list: the set of colleges that includes all you'd be content to wind
up at. It's often easy to find one, two, or three colleges you'd really like,
with ideas from a parent or older sibling, high school counselor, or website.
But it's much harder to find relevant alternatives: colleges similar to your
first choice, but ones that, for one reason or another, are better for your
needs.
In helping our nephew with the college quest this fall, we've discovered a
great new website, College Results
Online (CRO), that not only helps you compose your list of colleges to apply
to, but also provides a wealth of authoritative data not easily available
elsewhere, all in a user-friendly, easy-to-navigate presentation. To help
seniors still undecided on their final list and juniors who want to get an early
start over Christmas break, we've invited guest blogger Mamie Lynch, a higher
education research and policy analyst at The
Education Trust, to share the secrets of using the site—and finding
wonderful, hidden choices for college, in the process:
Picking the right college can help launch a person's career. But too often,
students and parents make this decision without knowing all of the information
about each campus that's available to them. The Education Trust has developed a
tool, College Results Online, to help students and their families decipher the
reams of data that can swamp decision making. CRO lets users compare four-year
colleges nationwide for the characteristics that count, such as the proportion
of students who actually finish college with a degree in hand. Here are our best
tips on how to use the site:
1. Gauge your chance for success: Students are often so
consumed with getting into college that they don't think about what really
counts: earning a degree. All students who set foot on campus plan to make it to
graduation; yet, in reality, fewer than three out of five will actually earn a
bachelor's degree within six years. But fear not: some colleges outrank others
in the crucial job of graduating their students. To make an informed decision
about prospective schools, search for a college and check out the "Graduation
Rates" section of CRO.
[Subscribe to U.S. News's Premium Online
Edition to research college graduation rates.]
Extra pointer: Bank on six, but shoot for four. Most
graduation rates, including the national average cited in tip #1, are based on a
six-year time frame for completing a four-year degree. On most campuses, the
graduation rate jumps substantially if you add those two extra years. But if you
– like most students and parents – don't want to stay in college or pay tuition
for two more years, check the four-year graduation rates for each school under
"Retention and Progression Rates."
Best-kept secret: On average, some groups of students
graduate at lower rates than others, but these gaps are not inevitable. In fact,
colleges that concentrate on ensuring success for all students often have small
gaps or no gaps at all. Under "Similar Colleges" in CRO, click on "Grad Rates by
Race AND Gender" to see how well colleges serve different groups of students—and
how well they're likely to help you (or your son or daughter) earn a
diploma.
2. Find the right alternatives: Colleges that seem similar
can produce strikingly different student outcomes. After searching for a school
in CRO, click on the "Similar Colleges" tab to compare campuses with common
characteristics, like the qualifications of entering students and the size and
diversity of the student body. Not only will this information help you add
schools similar to the one(s) you've already put on your list, it will help you
discover schools that you haven't yet heard of that would be good choices given
your preferences and SAT/ACT scores. For example, who knew that Muhlenberg
College, Union
College, Centre
College, Skidmore
College, Beloit
College, and 10 other colleges would be good alternatives if you were
interested in Pitzer
College?
3. Don't be bowled over by the tuition: Cost plays a big
role in every family's college decision process. But don't let sticker shock
alone shape your choices. Many schools offer grants and scholarships, so
students who can't afford full tuition pay only part of it. In CRO, check the
"Average Institutional Grant Aid" to learn how much aid most students receive.
(This number is an average for all students; ask the school's financial aid
office about your individual aid package.) And remember, for most types of
financial aid, you only get it if you apply for it, so be sure to fill out the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA), as well as any forms for your state, and submit them before the
deadline.
[Get more advice on how to pay for
college.]
4. Learn who'll be learning with you: College is about
gaining the skills needed for a successful career, but it's also about widening
one's horizons and learning to work well with people from all backgrounds. CRO's
"Student Characteristics" tab provides a snapshot of the racial/ethnic, gender,
and socioeconomic diversity of each school's students. It even shows the
percentage of students from other countries. In today's increasingly globalized
world, it's more important than ever to live and learn with people from
different experiences and cultures.
[See schools with high percentages of students
from foreign countries.]
5. Think about location: Many believe the best college
option is the one closest (or farthest away) from home. But consider whether
proximity to home is worth the risk of attending a school where the chances of
graduating are slim. Keep in mind all of your options for higher education in
the region that works best for you and your family. Use CRO's "Advanced Search"
to find a large pool of colleges in your state or near your ZIP code and then
choose the best one for you.
6. Look beyond reputation: It can be fun to go to school
with friends and relatives or cheer for a winning sports team. What matters more
is families cheering at a graduation ceremony. Read Ed Trust's analysis of last
year's college football Bowl Championship Series to find out where sheepskins
(diplomas, that is) trump pigskins. And watch out for hype about rankings such
as "top party schools." Who needs a top "party school" if that college doesn't
give students the best chance of success?
7. Stretch yourself—and your opportunities: Don't limit your
search to colleges that you think will be easy or that are "safe schools," based
on their entry requirements. Research finds that students are actually less
likely to graduate if they enroll at a school that rates below their academic
qualifications. Use CRO to identify schools with median SAT (or ACT) scores
similar to yours, but also consider applying to colleges with slightly higher
standards. Aiming high might provide a better opportunity for success. Why sell
yourself short?
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