Tips for Researching Colleges from the Comfort of Home

By Liz Jackson

Researching colleges typically involves two stages: online research and campus visits. Because visiting campuses can be time- and resource-consuming, it’s a good idea to investigate colleges using the many virtual resources available before determining whether you like a school enough to plan a campus visit. This guide will walk you through some of the virtual resources USM’s College Guidance office recommends as you begin the college research process.

What am I looking for?

There are four major elements that contribute to the “fit” of a college:

1. Academic
2. Social
3. Location
4. Financial

Your goal, therefore, is to assess whether a school has the type of academic and social environment you are seeking, whether its location is appealing to you, and whether it is likely to be affordable for your family.

Assessing Academic Fit:

The best way to assess the academic fit of a college is to visit its website.

• Consider your potential majors: If you have one or two fields of study that you are considering (for example, you might want to major in engineering or in computer science), it is a good idea to visit the department pages for each of those majors. Take a look at the courses offered within the departments and the profiles of some of the faculty who teach them. As you peruse, think about these questions:
  • What courses are mandatory for your chosen major(s)?
  • Do the course offerings look interesting to you?
  • How large are the departments within the university?
  • What research or internship opportunities are accessible to students within your chosen majors?
  • Do you notice faculty members engaged in projects that interest you?
• If you haven’t decided what you want to study yet (which is totally normal and fine!), then you may want to use the college’s website (typically under a section called “Academics”) to investigate answers to these questions:
  • Does the university have core general education requirements? If so, what are they, and how do you feel about them?
  • Does coursework at this school focus more on practical experiences, lectures, or group work? 
  • What are the average class sizes? And what are average class sizes for first year students?

Assessing Social Fit:

It can be challenging to get a clear sense of the “vibe” on a college campus, but using a college’s website and data available in Naviance, you can often find information about housing, Greek life, clubs and activities, and other components of student life that may tell you whether a college is a good social fit for you. Consider:

• What clubs and student organizations exist on campus, and can you see yourself joining some of them? 
• How do students contribute to the community where the college is located?
• Is there a Greek life presence on campus? What percentage of students are involved in fraternities and sororities?
• What percentage of students live on campus during their first year, and thereafter? How is housing assigned, and how many roommates might you expect in your first year?

Assessing Location:

You likely won’t know how you feel on a college campus until you visit in-person. But there are a few ways to get a sense of whether a college’s location makes it a good fit for you.

• Google Maps: Take a look at where the college is located. How far from home is it? What cities, landmarks, etc., are nearby? Google Maps can also give you a sense of what restaurants, public transportation, etc. is near campus.
• Investigate transportation: If a college is far from home, take a look at sites like Expedia to get a sense of what it would cost, how long it would take, etc., to get to and from campus.
• YouTube: Most colleges have excellent, short virtual campus tours on YouTube. This will give you a sense of what the campus buildings and surrounding areas look like.

Assessing Cost:

You can use Naviance or College Kickstart to find out the cost of attendance at the colleges you are considering. Note that the cost of attendance includes tuition as well as housing, food, transportation, books, and fees. However, a college’s cost of attendance may be very different from what your family would actually pay to attend a university. This is because colleges typically award some combination of need-based and merit-based financial aid.

• Net Price Calculators: Each college is required to have a net price calculator on its financial aid website. Filling out a net price calculator with your family’s financial information will allow you to see what type and how much financial aid you might qualify for at any given school. This is probably the best way to assess the financial viability of the schools you are considering, and gives you a very good idea of what kind of need-based financial aid your family qualifies for.
• Big J Resources: This website allows you to see up-to-date data on the percentage of financial need a college can meet, as well as what percentage of students who do NOT qualify for need-based aid receive merit scholarships (and the average dollar amount of those scholarships). This gives you a sense of whether it might be reasonable to assume that you could be a candidate for merit aid at a given school.

As you are researching colleges, it can be a good idea to take notes about what you liked or didn’t like about the four key elements of each school.

About Liz Jackson

Liz Jackson serves as the director of College Guidance at University School of Milwaukee. She has more than 15 years of experience helping students and families find the right college. With experience in counseling, higher education research, and school leadership, Liz enjoys getting to know students and matching their interests to the unique offerings of each college.