College Research

QW: When you imagine your experience at college, what do you picture?  Write a description of a day in your life in college.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a college to attend.  With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the US, how do you even begin to search?

Some things to consider, obviously, are the majors offered at the school and the quality of the professors.  You can also get a sense of the quality of the school through details like graduation rate, and what percentage of students return for a second year. In addition to the academic considerations, you should also consider the living environment.  After all, you are probably going to spend at least 4 years of your life here, and you're more likely to be successful academically if you are not miserable in your personal life.

Two large pieces of the college search puzzle are match and fit.  Match refers to academics - how does your academic ability match up to what is expected at the college, and how likely are you to be admitted?  This depends largely on grades and test scores.  College fit refers to just about everything else - does the environment suit you?  Is there a good social environment?  Do the academic support services offered meet your needs? What kinds of clubs, entertainment, and athletic opportunities are there? Will you be able to make friends and develop a support network? Does the college offer the major you are interested in?  If you're not 100% positive of your major, are there other interesting major choices if you change your mind?

For this activity, set up an account on raise.me, and print this worksheet.

Watch the slideshow on College Discovery here.  )There's a small white arrow on the right to click through the slides.) After watching the slideshow and researching colleges on raise.me, complete the worksheet.

While you're at it, enter some information into your profile at raise.me (good grades, any advanced classes you've taken, if you've taken the PSAT or SAT, extracurricular activities, etc) and see if you qualify for any microscholarships offered by the raise.me partner schools.  Microscholarships are awards you can get for extracurricular activities, community service, good grades, etc.  They are awarded by different college partners, and if you end up enrolling in one of the colleges where you have earned microscholarships, the money will be added to your financial aid when you enroll.

Turn in the worksheet to your EF.