There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States. The estimated number worldwide is roughly 51,000. With these staggering numbers, a student who has the option to go anywhere and everywhere will have a difficult time narrowing down their school choices.
Even if a student knows the state or region in which they wish to study, the sheer number of choices may remain overwhelming and thus difficult to research.
There are two popular online methods to research schools. They provide an in-depth overview of the schools’ advantages and disadvantages.
The first site is the College Board’s BigFuture program, which allows students to research colleges using a variety of categories, including size, location, selectivity, and many more. Each school’s profile provides key information, as well as helpful graphics to provide details about the school.
The second site is Niche, which provides more than basic information about higher learning. Visitors can also find information about primary and secondary learning institutions. Niche’s most valuable feature is that a user can read reviews of the schools left by students and parents. Each school is given an overall grade, as well as a grade in specific categories.
These sites are very helpful resources to help students narrow down their colleges choices.