Since I’ve mentioned several times that it’s not necessary to do campus visits, I thought I should discuss some of the alternatives. The obvious one is a virtual campus tour. Most college websites offer some form of online tour through either video, 360 photos, or a map-based walking tour of the campus.
College Characteristics
Do College Rankings Matter?
The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has done everyone a favor. It has a table that displays all of the undergraduate institutions of students who have attended the school.
Don’t get it? US News and World Report ranks Washington University as one of the top medical schools in the country. And you may have heard, they rank undergraduate institutions as well.
Been There, Done That, Ready to Write the Tuition Check: The Results
Last week Wendy Nelson shared her experience of working with her daughter through the college application process. This week she has graciously agreed to reveal the results of the process. Her daughter’s choice, Valparaiso University, is a 50-50 school with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, among the best for institutional aid, in the top 30 for ACT scores,and offers D1 sports. Wendy has an excellent blog, My Kid’s College Choice, where she shares lessons she has learned.
Been There, Done That, Ready to Write the Tuition Check
Families are stressed out about college. And why shouldn’t they be? If all you hear about college admissions is what gets reported in the media, you would be certain that outstanding students everywhere are being denied admissions in the schools they so rightly deserve while taking out massive loans for jobs that don’t exist.
Useful Information or Just Data: Library Facilities and No Test Colleges
I spend a good amount of time browsing through? the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) checking on data available for inclusion in the DIY College Rankings College Search Spreadsheet. There are a lot of variables to choose from and as I scroll through the various lists, I start thinking, “Really? There’s more than one answer for this?”
The Selectivity Myth: Or No Really, I Can Get Your Kid into the Ivy League
A couple of weeks ago I came across a link to an Time article titled: College Admissions: The Myth of Higher Selectivity by Dan Edmonds. I read it, thought about commenting because of the cherry picking of stats used, and then got over it and decided I had better things to do.
Then this past weekend I found myself reading College Admissions Misconception by The Ivy Coach, a blog by a private college counseling group that is “Making Ivy League Admission A Reality.”
Colleges with Religious Affiliations
The first colleges founded on the North American continent before there even was a United States, were religious institutions designed to train religious leaders. Although they no longer claim any religious affiliation, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton all still maintain Divinity/Theological Schools.
Fantasy Football and Finding the Right College
I didn’t make it to the championship in fantasy football this year. Even though I’m tied for the number of championships in the league, that’s not what really bothered me this year. This year I lost twice to “Stan”-not his real name. Stan always finishes towards the bottom of the league. But this year he came in third and it wasn’t because of any brilliant player moves or insight into drafting. This year, Yahoo drafted for him and he played the players as assigned and he had his best season ever.
College Search Websites: Princeton Review and US News
The last two college search websites, The Princeton Review and US News College Rankings, take a different approach than the previously reviewed sites. Rather than provide different factors for you to rank and search on, they essentially rank the schools for you. The user is expected to use the rankings to select colleges for consideration and then take a look at location, school size, graduation rates etc. Both sites have multiple rankings to choose from but do allow for a basic search with US News being much functional than the Princeton Review’s.
