Believe it or not, there are more than 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States. Our system of higher education is the envy of the world – offering a higher percentage of its population an opportunity to continue study after high school than any other country.  Our higher education system is made up of 2-year and 4-year colleges offering programs of study in hundreds of disciplines. There are independent colleges and universities (those that have governing boards that are not appointed by state officials); public colleges and universities (generally with boards appointed by state officials or elected by the voters); 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges; and universities. Less than half of all colleges have religious affiliations.  Some colleges are very difficult to get into. Others accept everyone who applies. While most colleges accept both men and women, some colleges accept only one gender.

With all of these variations, prospective students, like you, often ask, "What are the best sources of college information?"

How do I begin?

As you have probably already experienced, some colleges have made an outreach directly to you by sending you recruitment literature.  If you only look at those colleges that contact you, you could be missing out on some great opportunities.  In order to begin the process, you need to answer some basic questions.  Some of the important ones are listed below.

  1. What do I think I would like to study in college?

  2. Do I want to attend a very large (one with 15,000 or more students), moderately sized (one with fewer than 15,000 students but more than 2,000 students), or a small school (enrollment less than 2,000)?

  3. Do I want a school in a city, suburban community or a rural setting?

  4. Do I want a 2-year or 4-year college?

  5. Do I want a publicly supported or independent institution?

  6. How selective of an institution do I want?

Once you have thought about these questions, its time to start searching.

How can I find out which colleges meet my criteria?

The quickest way to sort through all of the institutions is by using a college search service Web site. While there are many such sites, you may want to begin the process by using the sites provided by either the College Board (http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp) or ACT (http://www.c3apply.org/). Both of these sites are free.  Each will ask you to respond to a number of questions about your college preferences (size, location, desired major, cost, etc.)  Once you have completed your list of preferences, the search engines will return a list of colleges and universities that meet your criteria.  You may decide, after looking at the list, to refine your criteria and to recompile a new listing.  These lists are an excellent resource to use in the early stages of your college search.

Should I be looking only at the colleges I know my parents can afford?

At this point, you should not be eliminating colleges or universities solely on the basis of price.  Many of the most expensive schools in the U.S. have outstanding financial aid programs that make them affordable to a wide range of families.  If your only concern about a school you like is cost, keep the college on your list.  

So now I have a list- what's next?

Once you have a starting list, it's time to discuss the list with three important sets of folks: your parents, your college counselor and your friends.  All three will have something to say about your selections.  Parents may be against or in favor of a particular school on the list.  Counselors may be able to give you some idea of whether or not you are likely to gain admission to some of the colleges on the list.  Friends will often know people who are attending or who have attended the school and might be able to put you into contact with a current or former student. 

At this stage, you are refining your list – adding new institutions, eliminating others.  The goal is to develop a list of reasonable size to take to the next step.

At this point, I am satisfied with my list what do I do now?

Now your real work begins. You will have to study each of these colleges to determine if you have real or passing interest. It's time to do in-depth research on each school. The first step is to go to the school's Web site.

There are many sources of Web site addresses for colleges and universities. One of the largest is found in Yahoo! (http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges_and_Universities).  This site has more than 16,000 entries and provides an alphabetical search tool that allows you to find a college site by entering the college name.  Enter the college name you want to investigate and retrieve its Web site.

Researching each college takes time and effort.  Look through the Web site paying particular attention to information describing admissions requirements, financial aid availability, academic programs and student life. Take notes and bookmark the sites you are interested in.  Print any important pages and keep them with any other materials you may have from that college.  Create a folder for all the schools you plan to apply to and put all correspondence together. If you decide that you don't have any interest in that college, eliminate it from your list.

If you put some effort into this process, you will have developed a list of institutions that offer what you want and need from a college or university. You will also possess a list of institutions to which you have a reasonable chance of gaining admission. Remember, while everyone may have an opinion about a particular college or university, you ultimately decide which institutions stay on your list.