How to Search for Colleges

A good recommendation for all students is to utilize a computer-based search process. In addition to access at home to the Internet, most high school Guidance Offices have a College and Career Center or Library that offers Internet access. Several excellent search programs are available. You can also make an appointment to visit the Invest in your Future Resource Center by calling the Invest in your Future Hotline at 1-866-PLAN-4IF. By looking at the criteria and selecting from multiple choice responses, students can develop an initial list of colleges to investigate. A computer-based search allows students to change their responses and to find new or other colleges that may have what you want. For example, you may want to find a college that has volleyball along with a radio station in a rural location. By entering those characteristics, you can find colleges with those requirements. You may then add other criteria or change them and see another list of colleges. This may be harder work than asking someone for a list but ultimately you will find the colleges which "fit" you best. That is the final goal, finding a good "fit" or "match".

Once you have developed your first list of colleges to investigate, there are a number of steps to take to gather more in-depth information. A good recommendation to follow would be to read the general college descriptions available in guidebooks such as Barron's Profiles of American Colleges or The College Handbook. These guidebooks may help you in narrowing your list to some degree. Many guidebooks are available in school guidance offices, your school or public library, and are available to read at the Invest in your Future Resource Center in Rocky Hill, CT.

The next step is to call, write, or email the colleges for their own publications. Most colleges have extensive websites as well. Colleges publish viewbooks and course catalogs, which are available to prospective students. These must be read carefully and thoroughly. Take care to read the statement at the beginning of the catalog under the heading, Philosophy or Mission Statement, which will tell you how they view their goals and how they intend to deliver their programs to students. It will tell you a great deal about the college so that you won't be surprised when they ask you to take a specific course or complete a project.

At this point, you will be well on your way to developing a list of schools that makes sense for you. Note the emphasis on the word you, since this list should represent you, your interests and needs, not your friends' interests. Arranging for campus visits, with possible interviews and information sessions, should take you to the point where you can work on creating what is often called your short list. By the time school starts in the fall of your senior year, you should have a list of colleges and universities that have the characteristics that are important to you.

While it is easy to find colleges, it is challenging to find colleges that have the features that are important to you. Once you have identified those colleges, the next step is to see where they fall in terms of admission standards. Remember that some colleges are very selective and others are less so. Three commonly used terms can help define admission selectivity for individual students. They are reach, good match or target, and safe. One word of caution is needed here. One student's reach school may be another's safe school. It is vital to be realistic in this assessment and your school counselor's experience can assist you in determining where the colleges on your list fall in terms of difficulty in admission for you.

For a more thorough discussion of these terms, please visit the Narrowing Your List: An In-Depth Discussion page in the Applying to College section.