Pros and Cons of Using College Navigator for Creating Your College List

Person smiling and making an "OK" gesture with their hand while sitting at a desk with a laptop. Text reads, "College Navigator pros and cons for creating your college list.

Student using laptop to search college navigatorWhy should you use College Navigator as your starting point in creating your college list? Two reasons. The first is that College Navigator is provided by the federal government which is also one of the two major data sources for college search websites and the more reliable of the two. Really. When US News College Rankings wants to check their data, they use the federal government’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data to check the Common Data Set (CDS).

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Pros and Cons of Using College Board’s Big Future for Creating Your College List

Person sitting on the floor with legs stretched out, typing on a laptop placed on their lap. They are wearing jeans and a t-shirt, contemplating the pros and cons of their Big Future. The surface appears to be a light-colored carpet.

woman sitting on floor using laptop representing Big Future's pros and consIf you do a web search for “college search” chances are you’ll find the College Board’s Big Future at the top of the results list. It’s not surprising since they have historically already have access to some of the information many students and colleges have considered the most important in college admissions–test scores. But just how good is Big Future in helping you create your college list?

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