(This is part 9 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
After reviewing all eleven college search engines’ ability to search on various categories (you have been paying close attention, haven’t you?), you should realize that it’s nearly impossible to compare the results. There simply isn’t enough consistency between the websites in how they allow users to define their searches. But that isn’t keeping me from trying.
(This is part 8 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
When we were visiting colleges with my son, one small liberal arts college pulled the parents aside for a discussion of the Liberal Arts and gainful employment. I don’t think the session was actually called that but it was definitely the idea behind the session. Will my child be able to get a job if she majors in the Liberal Arts?
Will I get in? If you just listen to the media starting at the beginning of April, you would think that the answer to this question for most college applicants is no. All you hear about is the ever decreasing admittance rates at some of the most highly competitive colleges and universities in the country. What possible chance does your kid have in getting in?
(This is part 6 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
The fifth college criteria for our fictional student is that it must be located in or near a major city. There are plenty of good reasons for this requirement including transportation access, cultural and recreational attractions, part-time employment opportunities, and availability of internships.
(This is part 5 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
The fourth element for our fictional high school student’s college search is school size. Without ever having attended college, many high school students have some very definitive ideas about what size school they want to attend. “Big” is associated with endless academic options, social opportunities, and alumni networking. “Small” is about personalized attention, small classes, dinners with professors, and tight-knit social groups.
(This is part 4 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
Most college students attend a school within a four-hour drive of their home. Fifty percent are actually within 100 miles of their home. Location is usually one of the primary factors in the college search. It is the first option for five of the eleven college search websites and a near the top in three more. Seven of the websites offer the option to search by distance from a zip code.
(This is part 3 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
In my original review of college search websites I had a list of seven requirements for a fictional high school student in her college search. The second factor I listed was that she didn’t care whether the school was public or private. Since she doesn’t care, you would think I would be skipping on to the next requirement.
(This is part 2 of Comparison of Top 11 College Search Engines)
In the original review of comparing college search? websites, I used a set of college preferences for a fictional high school student. At the time, I based them on the factors that seemed most frequently mentioned in the college search process-I know, not very scientific.
I don’t intend to become any more scientific this time around. I do want to discuss how the different search criteria can affect how much you pay for college.
Sometime ago I did a series of posts comparing college search websites. I tried to complete a search for colleges with specific characteristics and evaluated how easy it was to do in eight different websites. I think it’s time to once again compare college search websites but use a different approach. This time I’m going to organize the posts by search feature rather than website
