What are the best ways to navigate a college’s website?
Like anything else, too much of something can be a bad thing. College websites are the “best” source of information and most up-to-date resource about a particular college, but, you need to remind yourself once you enter the site, why you’re there! Here’s what to look for: 1. Planning to apply-then look for the undergraduate application page. 2. Read about their application plans, are they, ED, ED, REA and what are their deadlines? 3. What is required in their application, SAT/ACT, recommendations, interview, make sure you know in advance. 4. Interested in a particular major, then look into that department and glance at what their courses look like. Would you be interested in studying in that major based on their delivery model? 5. What are they highlighting on their home page, does it interest you? Do they have a facebook page, if they do, why not add it to your list so that you can follow them? Before you go into any site, determine what it is you’re looking for. We all know it’s easy to get lost.
The best way to get real statistics regarding admissions rates, academic profiles of admitted students, and the availability of financial aid is to Google the name of the school you are interested in with the phrase “Common Data Set.” The Common Data Set is “a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson’s, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.” It has all kinds of juicy information like number of applicants, number of applicants accepted, AND the number of applicants enrolled. It also provides information on how much need based and merit based financial aid a college has given each year. For more information about the Common Data Set, please see http://www.commondataset.org/. If a school chooses to share its CDS answers with the public, it will usually be part of their Office of Institutional Research. This is a great and relatively unknown resource — but it provides invaluable information without any PR spin.
The best way to get real statistics regarding admissions rates, academic profiles of admitted students, and the availability of financial aid is to Google the name of the school you are interested in along with the phrase “Common Data Set.” The Common Data Set is “a collaborative effort among data providers in the higher education community and publishers as represented by the College Board, Peterson’s, and U.S. News & World Report. The combined goal of this collaboration is to improve the quality and accuracy of information provided to all involved in a student’s transition into higher education, as well as to reduce the reporting burden on data providers.” It has all kinds of juicy information like number of applicants, number of applicants accepted, AND the number of applicants enrolled. It also provides information on how much need based and merit based financial aid a college has given each year. The CDS also provides information as to the numbers of students in various majors and degrees earned. For more information about the Common Data Set, please see http://www.commondataset.org/. If a school chooses to share its CDS answers with the public, it will usually be part of their Office of Institutional Research. If a school doesn’t provide their CDS on their website, you should ask for it or ask why they don’t share this information.
Go in and just start poking around. There is no one way to do it, but there is not a college website out there that does not have a voluminous amount of information on a wealth of subjects related to the experience the school offers. Consequently, much of your effort and approach will depend upon what you need and want to know. Look for answers about the things that matter to you—the program and majors, costs and financial aid, the make-up of the student body, the realities of the social life, freshman retention and grad school placement rates, whatever it might be. The college search process will never leave you short of information. The challenge comes in sorting through it all and identifying what is most applicable and appropriate for you for you as you try to find the places that are the best fit for you.
As yourself what you are researching first and then take careful notice if these questions are being answered. Always start with campus demographics, a virtual tour, major selection and alumni happiness. Remember, the website is a marketing tool, selling a product to a consumer and if your questions are not answered clearly then will it be the same while on campus as a paying college student?
Navigating college websites can be confusing for some students. However, most colleges today have their own admissions section of their website. Sometimes, this may be under a tab for “admissions” or “prospective students” or “future students” or “apply.” I recommend starting there. Admissions offices have put together sites that include helpful information such as application deadlines, financial aid information, student blogs, videos, campus visit information, contact information and much more. If you are interested in learning more about a specific major on the campus you can typically look under the “academic” section or do a search in the search bar for the course catalog to read course descriptions.
There are thousands of pages on a school’s website and it can be daunting to get the information that is important to a potential student. The best way to navigate a school’s website is to go directly to the admission page and then follow links that relevant to you.
There are thousands of pages on a school’s website and it can be daunting to get the information that is important to a potential student. The best way to navigate a school’s website is to go directly to the admission page and then click on links that are relevant to you.
Call the school or ask a current student for assistance.
First, remember that college websites are essentially advertisements – everyone is good-looking; everyone is either happy, studious, or both; and the weather is always perfect! with this in mind, the college sites can be helpful. Take the virtual tours. Take a look at the requirements of your major, if you’ve decided on one. Look at the core requirements, if any. And if it’s offered, chat with current students. Get what you can from the site, but also use other resources – there are some good books and websites out there which aren’t affiliated with the colleges.
Find the school and department you are interested in joining. Click on all the tabs to have all the information available. Check out the FAQs and correspond through email and phone in case any queries unanswered.
You may first want to get standardized “at a glance” information from sources that cover all the schools, such as College Board, Merit Aid, US News, Kiplinger. Then you can dig in to each college’s individual website for more in-depth information. The most valuable information the college’s website can give you is: 1. Majors and minors by school 2. Specific admission information (i.e., performing arts auditions, test-optional alternatives, early notification programs, honors college and special programs). Supplemental essay information is sometimes available, but often you can only get that through Common Application. 3. Specific financial aid and merit scholarship information and deadlines. 4. College visits (Info sessions and tours, interviews). There are no tricks to navigating a college website. Some websites are great, some are poor—with no relationship to how good the school is!
You may first want to get standardized “at a glance” information from sources that cover all the schools, such as College Board, Merit Aid, US News, Kiplinger. Then you can dig in to each college’s individual website for more in-depth information. The most valuable information the college’s website can give you is: 1. Majors and minors by school 2. Specific admission information (i.e., performing arts auditions, test-optional alternatives, early notification programs, honors college and special programs). Supplemental essay information is sometimes available, but often you can only get that through Common Application. 3. Specific financial aid and merit scholarship information and deadlines. 4. College visits (Info sessions and tours, interviews). 5. Student organizations, club & intramural sports, and community service organizations. There are no tricks to navigating a college website. Some websites are great, some are poor—with no relationship to how good the school is!
There are 4 main areas to look on a schools website… – Admissions/Information for prospective students…. information on how to apply, deadlines, FAQ’s about a school, virtual tours – Academics…information on specific majors and course offerings – Campus Life…information on campus housing, events, and activities – Athletics…information on sports teams, schedules, team members and contact information for coaches
Here is my recipe for successful navigating: 1. Go to Admissions/Future students first. Check out scholarships and financial aid. 2. Check out the virtual campus tour. 3. Read about the requirements for acceptance, including test score requirements. 4. Go to Academics, look at the majors. What interests you? Click on department websites that you find compelling and see what the program offers. 5. Go to Housing/Residential Life. Anything interesting, like learning communities? Themed housing? 6. Check out the clubs. Are your interests represented? This is how to navigate….after you do this, you can browse and look at majors, college events, speakers, etc. College websites are FULL of information.
College websites should have a mandatory format, shouldn’ t they? Each one has a different format. I navigate college websites all day long and one thing I always look for is “fast facts”. Give it to me in a nutshell. Don’t make me search for what I seek.
College websites are so different. Some are very user friendly, while others require patience. If you are writing a college app essay about a college, using the website can really help you. First, go to academics. Follow the academic links to programs that interest you. Find courses, professors, and programs that sound intriguing. If you’re not sure about academics, search first year programs and see what kinds of freshman seminars and other programs they offer. Also search for student life and find out about community service and other extracurricular activities. Look for current info as many student groups are outdated. You can also research club and intramural sports. Finally, look for blogs. Many colleges are now posting student blogs about all kinds of topics. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to explore each college’s website. It’s worth the time.
Navigating college websites can be a challenge. Everyone organizes them differently and some have so many layers that it is easy to get lost! Initially just start poking around. If something intrigues you, go with it. Before long you will find yourself circling back to the same info. Now it’s time to be purposeful in your browsing. Click on the academics field. Next, click on the admissions tab and learn what you can about the process for that school. Make notes and be organized as you explore. Before you know it, you have checked out the school inside and out.
Remember that the college’s website is a marketing tool. Many hours were put into the development of the site, especially where admissions is concerned. Take some time to check out the areas that you will use as a student. How accessible are the course catalog; graduation requirements; professor emails; etc. Spend some time navigating the site and see what you can learn about the different departments. Do they place emphasis in a given subject area? A website can be a portal into a school, so use a critical eye to see what you can uncover.
Be organized about what you want to find out from the website. I start with my major questions: does it offer the program/majors/courses I’m looking for, the sports, the arts, the activities? If it does, then I look at mission, requirements for graduation … And only then do I go to the admissions page for entrance requirements, admission contacts, how to arrange a visit.
if you are looking for admisisons information, you can limit yourself to undergrad admissions as perspective student. if you are researching majors and departments, you may go to academic departments to seek out faculties and programs. graduate school pages will offer you something else, sometimes, students learn graduate programs at school as undergrad students but apply graduate programs at different colleges.
Use it for information only. Use other sources for more subjective information.
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