Great College Advice

The most valuable assistance an independent counselor can give is in finding the colleges that best match a students interests, abilities, and aspirations. There are over three thousand 4-year colleges in the United States, plus many more community and junior colleges, career colleges, and other educational options.

The tool of choice for 21st century parents and students is the Internet search. There are services, both free and fee-based, that allow you to plug in various criteria and come up with a list of possible colleges.

The Internet is a helpful place to start. But it is more of a blunt instrument than a fine-toothed comb.

Here are some helpful Internet sites to get you started.

College Navigator

This is perhaps the best site around for finding reliable data and for tuning your search. This site is run by the US Government, and uses data that colleges are required to report in standard formats. So it’s easier to compare apples to apples here. Plus it’s easy to find graduation and retention rates, as well as create detailed lists by major. You can find College Navigator at nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

UCAN: University and College Accountability Network

This free site was established by a consortium of colleges who wanted to present data objectively without ratings and value judgments that so many of the ratings publications (like US News & World Report) have compiled. The data is reliable, but there isn’t as much of it on this site as on College Navigator. Plus not all colleges are part of the network. Still, it’s a useful resource, and you can find it at www.ucan-network.org/.