Basically, I currently have a very, very long list of schools and want to narrow it. However, I have no way to judge the schools besides things like US News Rankings, which isn’t the way I want to do it. It would be very helpful to find if a school is, for instance, geared toward science, or known for its Social Science program, or what have you. How can I tell? Please help, TIA!
One way is to look at the number of students enrolled in a particular major. If a school has a lot of biology majors compared to other subjects, it’s likely devoting more resources to that. You can also look at the schools expenditures in science vs other areas. The NCES website will provide those details.
You can also look at the rankings for the particular program you’re interested in.
Get guidebooks such as Fiske’s, Princeton Review, etc., or I’m sure you can view them online if you prefer. They will have blurbs about each college kind of giving its “flavor” or things it is noted for.
Get ready to do lots of googling.
PS to my above post, here’s the link to NCES data (for an example college, in this case USC):
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=USC&s=all&id=123961#programs
compare with UMich:
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=michigan&s=all&pg=2&id=170976#programs
obviously USC has much more emphasis on business and Mich on engineering.
Median salaries of graduates is also one way to evaluate a school’s reputation among employers (where it counts).
Use this: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov
It’s sort of heresy around these parts, but the fact of the matter is that most accredited colleges and universities in, say, the top 100, can give you a good education in pretty much any main subject area. At the top level there are some colleges that stand out for very specific subjects, but for the most part most can do a credible job.
To start cutting your list down to size, start with the big factors: can you afford it? are there significant geographic considerations? are you statistically competitive (GPA/SAT or ACT)? do you have a clear subject area that you want to study? are there non-academic activities that are really important to you, and if so, are they available?
Then look at things such as, do you think that you would prefer a large/small community? urban/suburban/rural? greek? sports?
By now your list should be getting a little more manageable, and you can start looking at the various schools with an eye to what kind of vibe, areas of particular strength and so on.
Another vote for the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Your library or GC may have a copy. A copy that is a few years old is okay, just don’t rely on the test score ranges or due dates. The descriptions will still be good.
For some good statistics on admission, financial aid, and other stuff, Google " Common Data Set" for each college. If costs are a concern, each college has a net price calculator on their website that you should run to see what the school might cost you – do this early, no point in spending a lot of time on unaffordable schools.
We couldn’t have done it without Fiske. Also, my D relied heavily on college data.com, and college niche .com. You do need to visit something, even if it local and not necessarily a top choice. And this website is also a great resource.
–Agree about Fiske. Also liked the Insiders Guide and Princeton Review college guide books. They are available for purchase but can likely also be found at your local library or in your guidance dept. office.
–Another idea is to google the newspaper of the colleges (most are online) as that can help give you a flavor for campus life.
–Looking at admission statistics is valuable and can help you seek out schools appropriate for your profile…
–You can also run the net price calculator for schools and eliminate (or minimize) researching schools that are not affordable.
Another vote for the Fiske guide.
I don’t know where you live but if you could at least visit a school in each size category (small, medium, large) that is close to your home then you can at least start narrowing down a bit based on that criteria.
Then look at which universities teach the areas you are interested in. If you are still undecided, you may want to consider a medium to large size university in case you decide to switch majors.
Also consider location (how far do you want to be from home, how often do you want to be able to come back, how expensive and convenient is it to get to and from the university.)
Of course cost and fitting in their admission profile (to gauge how likely you are to get in) need to be considered as well. If you are looking for merit scholarships you want to know if you are in their top percentage of students.
Do you have a hs guidance counselor who can help you?
Unless you qualify for fee waivers, there is a cost and time associated with applying to each college so keep that in mind when making your list.
My favourite guide is Fiske but it’s a pretty thick book so it’s good to have some criteria in mind before looking at it.
Start with the money. I know many folks on CC say that money is not a factor. Unless your parents make say $500K/year or higher they probably do not have $60K in disposable income just sitting around and you probably do not have $250K in 529 plans. The total cost to attend most private colleges in the US today is $60K/year give or take a few thousand. There are some exceptions, but not many. The total cost of a flagship state university is between $25K and $30K in-state and between $45K and $50K out-of-state. If your family income is above about $225K your chances for financial aid are not very good unless several children are in college. Your net cost varies dramatically based on family income so the advice to learn how to use a NPC above is
Try looking at some reviews left be students at College Niche. It may not be the best, but it might give you an idea as to what kind of a school it is and what kind of people are there.
I’ve found Princeton Review to be very helpful.
I’ve also used colleges.niche. It’s been useful, but sometimes it seems as if students on niche either love or hate their schools.
Choosing the Right College has been a very helpful college guide:
http://www.amazon.com/Choosing-Right-College-2014-15-Lesser-Known/dp/1610170776
Regarding the above mentioned book, Choosing the Right College, it is fair to alert you that this book is described by many as heavily favoring right-leaning, more conservative colleges.
What makes you say that? Just look at these reviews, from all over the political spectrum. 
“By far the best college guide in America” —Thomas Sowell
“Easily the best of the college guides” —American Spectator
“Indispensable” —First Things
“An essential reference” —Homeschool Magazine
“A godsend” —National Catholic Register
It is adapted from the authors earlier book: “All-American Colleges: Top Schools for Conservatives, Old-Fashioned Liberals, and People of Faith.” But they had to change the title of the book because it made the agenda too obvious.
The earlier edition had glowing reviews like this one:
"All-American Colleges is a terrific guide to help conservatives choose a college that’s not committed to left-wing indoctrination. If you graduate from one of these lesser-known schools, you might even become president of the United States-just like Ronald Reagan did.”— Phyllis Schlafly, nationally syndicated columnist and founder of Eagle Forum
PS - I have no problem with a college guide that is openly marketed to conservatives. If you are choosing between Grove City College, Liberty University and Hillsdale College, you definitely should buy this book. It’s the fact that it pretends to be a general college guide that is irritating.
In fields where graduate school is common, if not assumed, you can look for schools where a large proportion of majors go on to graduate school. If you’re not sure about grad school though, then maybe focus on schools that have good job placement figures. The best of those will still set you up for grad school if that’s what you choose. (The reverse may not always true. I can imagine that an amazing phd feeder school could be lacking in career placement for your field.)
Maybe if they’d only named it Choosing the Left College!
Anyone? Anyone?
(crickets)
Alright, it’s cool, I’ll leave and walk around for a while outside now.
A few other sources to check - if you have a LinkedIn account, type in the university and there will be lists of the companies the alumni work for, their fields and the cities they ended up in. Also, we have been looking a bit at endowment divided by # of students as a clue to alumni satisfaction. We have also been looking at the college course catalogues (usually available on the website) to see what courses look interesting and the Rate My Professor website to see what the students have to say about the profs. Also, “like” the colleges you are interested in on Facebook and check out online college newspapers.