Researching colleges and universities can be time-consuming and tedious, but it’s one of the best ways to reduce stress in the college admission process. That’s because applying to colleges that are good academic, social, and financial fits ultimately reduces time, effort, and anxiety.
Why? After thorough college research, you will know that you’ll thrive at any of the colleges to which you’re applying. You will spend less time writing college essays because you’ll know right away how to answer questions about why you want to attend. You will have details to support your answers at your fingertips in the form of your college research notes. And you won’t be worried about whether you can afford to attend, or whether you’ll be happy there. You will have carefully considered that already.
After thorough college research, you will build a well-balanced list of schools that fit your unique needs, preferences, and goals, and you’ll apply to colleges where you know you’ll be successful. Moreover, you’ll do so with lower levels of stress and anxiety.
Ideally, you should apply to schools that offer:
the major and classes you need to fulfill your educational, professional, and personal goals;
an appropriately challenging environment in which you can learn and live in the most effective and productive ways for you;
a sense of “home” and belonging – an opportunity to meet like-minded peers and mentors, to explore your interests, and to build on your existing knowledge and skills;
an opportunity to encounter new people, new ideas, and new experiences – to step out of your comfort zone and grow in new directions;
an education that is affordable for you and your family. College is a worthwhile investment, but it should also be a responsible financial decision that sets you up for post-college success.
Applying to colleges and universities that are a good fit for you is the best way to ensure that you’ll thrive in college. If it’s not a good academic, social, and financial fit, then it’s not a good school for you – however great it might be for someone else.
Determining whether any given college or university is a good fit requires a deep-dive into the many factors that will impact your experience at that school. In order to do well in your classes and prepare for a future job or career, you’ll need to be happy, healthy, and engaged. For each college on your list, follow these 6 steps for effective college research to ensure that each school meets your academic, social, and financial needs -- and to reduce stress in your college list-building and application experience.
Review basic college info.
Before you dive in, get a general sense of the college or university. Where is it located? Is it public or private? Urban, suburban, or rural? Does it have a religious affiliation, and if so, what kind? How many students go there, and (in general) where do they come from?
You can find basic college information at collegedata.com or at the National Center for Education Statistics’ College Navigator website. If you are a Hilltop College Consulting client, you’ll find basic college information in the College Data section of your personalized organizational spreadsheet.
Explore the college website.
Look for the following information, and take detailed notes about what you like and dislike, paying special attention to your college criteria and priorities. Also note specific opportunities at that college that you would utilize as an enrolled student.
Homepage
What does the college want you to know or notice about them? What kind of experiences or opportunities are they choosing to emphasize? For example, do they showcase students engaged in research? Community service? Technology? Sports? Often, aspects of a school’s priorities, values, and even its personality can be gleaned from the marketing strategies used on its website.
Mission, Values, and/or History
What objectives does this college have for its students’ college experience? What is its educational philosophy or approach to teaching and learning – and how does that resonate (or not) with your own learning preferences? Is there anything notable about the history of the school or how its mission has shifted over the years? Look for this information in an “About” page in the website menu.
Academics: Available Majors and Minors
Find “Academics” or “Areas of Study” or “Departments” (or a similar heading) in the website menu, or sometimes on the Admission Office webpage. Majors, minors, certificate programs, and other academic offerings may be grouped together by type – for example, Engineering, Humanities, Social Science, Physical Science, Fine Arts – or they may be listed in alphabetical order, or organized in another way. Regardless of how you find them, browse the available majors and minors slowly and with an open mind.
Follow links to more information about areas of study that seem intriguing, exciting, or unfamiliar. Look for a description of specific subjects or disciplines (what is “anthropology,” anyway?); an overview of the major or minor at that school, including which classes are required or offered; a list of faculty members (with links to bios or curriculum vitae if you want to know more); information about department sponsored research, internship, or study abroad opportunities; and details about what students majoring in that subject do after college. Keep in mind that you may not find all of this information on every academic department website. Make a list of ways in which you would take advantage of academic offerings at this college.
Academics: Curriculum
In addition to exploring potential majors and minors, you should also take a look at the college or university’s curriculum, including any courses or experiences required of all students (regardless of major) before graduating.
Sometimes called a “core curriculum,” such required courses might include a first-year writing seminar, courses in specific subject areas (such as arts, humanities, social sciences, math, or physical sciences), courses that teach certain kinds of thinking (such as quantitative thinking or logical reasoning), and more. Alternatively, you might find that the college you’re researching has an “open curriculum,” or no required courses outside of the major. Consider whether the curriculum meets your learning needs and preferences – and how you would answer a potential application question about how you’ll use the curriculum to fulfill your goals.
Student Life
What will everyday life be like at this college or university? What will you do outside of class? Where will you live? What will you eat? Who will you meet and spend time with? How will you “blow off steam” when you need to? To find answers to these questions, navigate to the “Student Life,” “Life at This School,” or similar page to find specific information about what you could expect as a community member and not just as a student. Look for the following types of information:
Student clubs and organizations – what is available, and in which activities can or will you get involved?
Social and residential life – what do you notice about campus housing, campus dining, campus social life (such as fraternities and sororities, otherwise known as “Greek life”), the surrounding town or city, and other factors that would impact your social and residential experiences?
Athletics – Even if you won’t be a varsity athlete, what is the athletic scene like at this school? (And how much do you care?) If you hope to participate in club or intramural athletics, does this college offer the sports you want to play? If you like to work out, what is the fitness center like?
Health and wellness – Does this school provide the services and resources you need to be healthy and feel well? How will you maintain your health or keep a healthy stress level at this school?
Other – anything else that matters to you or that you’ve identified as an important factor or criterion in your college search. This could include, for example, religious or spiritual life; availability of racial, ethnic, or affinity groups; disability or academic support services; support for first-generation or rural students; campus safety; and more.
Admission & Financial Aid
Learn more about how the college evaluates applications, when applications are due, any minimum requirements for admitted students, standardized testing policies, and application components. You’ll also find information and requirements for specific types of applicants here, including international students and first-year, homeschooled, and transfer applicants.
At the Admission Office webpage: Take a moment to express interest in this college or university by requesting more information and registering for an on-campus or virtual information session, tour, or other admission event. Read more about how this will help you demonstrate interest (and why demonstrating interest is important) here.
Usually, the Financial Aid Office has its own webpage, but often you’ll find financial aid and scholarship information linked in the Admission Office page. Find out more about cost of attendance, need-based financial aid requirements, and the different types of merit- and interest-based scholarships available to applicants and enrolled students.
At the Financial Aid Office webpage: Use the college’s Net Price Calculator (NPC) to estimate your cost of attendance, based on your family’s unique financial situation. If you have not done so already, you should also estimate your federal financial aid eligibility, or Student Aid Index (SAI), using the Federal Student Aid Estimator or another credible SAI calculator. (Remember that this is an estimate, and your actual financial aid package may be higher or lower than the NPC’s estimated cost.)
Read a third-party review or profile.
Third-party reviews are reviews or descriptions of a college or university published by people unaffiliated with the school (so, not employees or students or alumni or parents of students). Third-party reviews can be found in printed guidebooks and websites and usually focus on the highlights, prominent features and attractions, and general “vibe” of a college or university. Third-party reviews can offer objective and evaluative perspectives on a school, without the marketing and sales strategies utilized by colleges themselves and without the individual bias of any one student or alumnus.
Books (available at most libraries):
Princeton Review's Best 390 Colleges – read for the profiles, not the rankings!
Colleges That Change Lives – focused on Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs)
Websites:
Shmoop College Profiles – written from the perspective of the schools themselves, sort of like a dating profile
Niche.com – profiles and “report cards” at the beginning, student reviews at the end
Unigo – also includes subjective student reviews
When reading reviews of any kind – subjective or objective – remember to take what you read “with a grain of salt.” Always consider reviews alongside information from your own research and experience, and always weigh individual reviews against the consensus. A consensus of negative reviews should tell you more than a single negative review.
Take a virtual tour.
Think of this not as a substitute for an in-person tour but rather as a preview of what you’ll find on-campus. Even on a screen, seeing what the campus looks like and how it’s laid out will give you a better sense of what it would be like to live and learn there for the next four years or more.
You can find on-demand virtual tours at the college’s admission office webpage (sometimes); on websites such as CampusReel, The College Tour, and Appily; and on YouTube, offered as college-sponsored videos or as independent videos created and uploaded by college students. Look for videos that take you inside buildings, as well as bigger-picture tours of the larger campus or even the surrounding town or city.
Visit the campus.
If you like what you’ve seen so far, then register for a campus visit – in-person/on-campus, if possible, or virtual if you can’t physically get there. Whichever option is best for you, make sure you register with the admission office (at the admission office webpage) so the college can track your demonstrated interest.
For colleges that offer on-campus interviews, consider signing up for an interview as well. While some schools offer only virtual interviews in the late fall and winter, other schools offer only in-person interviews in the summer and early fall. Your on-campus visit may be the best (or even the only) time for your admission interview! Typically, you’ll find interview information on the admission office webpage.
Consider other reviews.
For more information about the colleges and universities on your list, consider reading additional reviews and profiles, including:
Reviews and rankings based on equity, diversity, and other factors:
Data-driven summaries and evaluations:
College Navigator (National Center for Education Statistics)
College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education)
Student and alumni reviews:
Forum-based feedback (this is my least favorite but can be helpful, if used wisely!):
Reddit, for example r/ApplyingToCollege
College Confidential
Again, always read reviews – especially subjective reviews – “with a grain of salt,” considering others’ opinions alongside your own impressions and your college research as a whole. One person’s negative experience may not mean that you will have a negative experience. On the other hand, if many reviewers describe poor facility maintenance or unaccommodating professors, take note!
You might spend 45 minutes, an hour, two hours, or more researching each college or university on your list, and even more time if you decide to visit the school in person. But by the end of that time, you’ll have a better idea of how well that college meets your unique needs, preferences, and goals, and whether it’s a place where you will thrive (not your friend or your classmate or your mom but you!). If it doesn’t check all or most of your boxes, consider replacing it with a college that does.
Looking for more guidance through the college search and list-building process? Shoot me an email at hilltopcollegeconsulting@gmail.com, or schedule a free initial consultation here.
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