Developing a US College List

Self-Reflection

Why are you going to college? What are your priorities? Education Overall Experience

In what type of classroom setting do you learn best?Better challenged or as a big fish? How intense do you want it?

Lecture vs. discussion What are your academic interests?

What courses do you enjoy the most?

How do you want to spend your time?What do you do for fun? What are your passions/interests?

What type activities do you want to access?

Self-Reflection

What kind of social environment will suit you best?Diversity/Variety Spirited Major Athletics Small/Intimate

Greek Intellectual Liberal Political Party Spectrum

What kind of people do you want to spent time with?

Do you have a geographic/physical preference? Family Familiarity Weather Distance Home Urban—College Town

Campus—Open Architecture

Do you have special interests?Study Abroad Co-Op Entrepreneurship Alumni Network

Student Services Academic Flexibility/Design/Options ROTC

Finding Fit

• Academic

• Student Life

• Financial

Survey

• Alumni Network• Cost• Diversity• Endowment• Location• Rank• Reputation• Size (# of Students)• Social Environment• Strength of Major (and Professors)

Survey

1. Reputation2. Strength of Major (and Professors)3. Location

Rank5. Social Environment6. Cost7. Diversity8. Size (# of Students)9. Endowment10. Alumni Network

Are rankings fact, fiction or somewhere in between?

Gaming the System

• Universities have falsified data

• Reporting academic information only for certain demographics

• Universities use unfair admissions practices

– Huge numbers on waitlists

– Part I of an application

Unscientific Methods

Universities A B C

Stanford 2 6 9

MIT 7 6 1

Notre Dame 8 17 57

Duke 13 8 12

Boston College 14 31 72

Tufts 15 28 51

Dartmouth 17 10 34

Cornell 26 15 9

NYU 41 32 18

US NewsCriteria

Academic Reputation

Selectivity

Faculty Resources

Graduation/Retention Rates

Financial Resources

Alumni Giving

What Would You Use?

• Number of citations by university researchers?

• Number of alumni winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals?

• Academic-athletic balance?

• Proportion of international faculty?

• 6 year graduation rate?

• Salaries of alumni? Salaries of faculty?

• Acceptance rate?

Quality?

• Quality cannot be quantified

• Rankings measure how an institution grades out for specific criteria

• When publications change their criteria, the rankings noticeably change – sometimes drastically

• They can tell you, in general terms, about the academic credentials of the students they attract

One Size Fits All?

• Institutions are so different with different missions. Aren’t we unfairly comparing institutions?

• Are rankings really personal for you? Aren’t they generic?

How Can You Use Rankings?

• Read the methodology. Know what you’re looking at.

• Group universities (and colleges) together

• Use a variety of publications

• Use them as one small factor in your search

SO WHERE DO I BEGIN?

ACADEMICS

Reputation

• Tends to be cultural/geographic because of familiarity (or lack thereof)

• In addition to rankings, seek input from:

– Counselors

– Alumni

– Employers, if possible (who do they like to hire)• Google Search: Claremont McKenna Job Placement

– Graduation rate – Forbes

– Freshman retention rate – Forbes

School Size

• Student-to-Faculty Ratio– misleading at research universities

– % of classes of 50 or more – US News

• Large universities– Greater variety of courses, majors, research opportunities

– Pre-professional programs (e.g. engineering, business)

• Small colleges– Guaranteed small classes with prof as instructor

– Less competition for research; more access to profs

– Less lecture, more discussion

Common Data Set

Curriculum

Requirements Format

Special Programs

Interdisciplinary

Special Programs

Co-Op

Strength of Major & Profs

Department Website

Strength of Major & Profs

• Rankings

• College Confidential

• Rate my Prof

STUDENT LIFE

The Vibe

• Is it? – Intellectual

– Intense

– Competitive/Supportive

– Sporty

– Liberal/Conservative

– Religious/Secular

– Greek

– Political

– Green

The Vibe

Niche (formerly College Prowler)

The Vibe

• Unigo

• College Confidential

• Counselors

• Alumni

• College Visits!!!– Both at ISM and on college campuses

– Check out the school newspaper

– Ask current students tough questions

Activities & Opportunities

Alumni Network

ISM Alumni

Diversity

FINANCIAL

Financial Aid

• Need Blind

• Guarantee to meet full demonstrated need

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

Financial Aid

Website– Net Price Calculator

Financial AidCommon Data Set

Merit-Based Scholarships

IB Credit

STRATEGY

Application Volume

Selectivity

• Work backwards – find a true safety first

• Focus on where you will thrive, not where you’d be luck to be admitted

• Think about how much you’re willing to struggle

• Know that you’re almost guaranteed not to be admitted to a true “far reach”

Final Points

• Know yourself.

• Spend time. Do your research.

• Be thorough and open-minded.

• Use rankings responsibly.