How to research a schools, its interesting points and whatnot?

<p>the research part is the part I worry about the most. On the school websites, there is simply too little information, or skewed one to attract students. There are links to associated websites, and at this point I am not quite sure what major I want to take. So how can I research a school, finding its interesting points through the internet?
Also most schools have similar majors, I'm not sure what major a school is strong at, and I don't know names of any renowned professors. How do you answer the question of @why do you choose going to this school "?</p>

<p>Correct me if I am wrong, but you are from a low income family? I am going to post a link that gives out info about subsidized college visits. Many, many colleges have programs to bring in diverse students, and this often includes low income as well as ALANA students.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/770660-fall-diversity-visit-programs-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/770660-fall-diversity-visit-programs-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There are a lot of pages but it will be worth going through them. For any college that you are interested in, call the admissions office and ask for further information or to be put on a mailing list. You may need to watch dates carefully. In the past Williams only offered these trips to people the office was aware of by late August.</p>

<p>The best way to do that is to talk to students who have had experience with the schools you are interested in. College Confidential is an excellent source for that. If you want to find out which majors are strong at what schools then look at rankings. If you are interested in mechanical engineering for example, google “best engineering schools” and you should come up with a list. Take that list and compare yourself with the student bodies at each school. You should look at how well you match academically and socially with the typical students at each school. It would help if you told us about yourself and which schools you are interested in.</p>

<p>Go to a local bookstore and look at the Fiske guide. Most will let you read it there for hours without paying anything. It’s a good way to begin the search.</p>

<p>DD picked up an older Fiske Guide at a used book store for about two bucks.</p>

<p>Fiske what to do when for college?
Yeah Im from a low income family. very low to be exact. So the diversity trip is when colleges rep come and see you personally?</p>

<p>You specifically asked about researching schools, so I meant the Fiske Guide to Colleges.</p>

<p>I believe the poster above was referring to diversity trips where colleges fly you out for free in order to recruit you.</p>

<p>Fiske or any number of other guides are big, fat books that include profiles of 300 or so schools. The guides vary in what they tell you, but may include things like male/female ratio, percentages of minority students (often broken down for you), cost, size of student body, majors, etc. Lots of the things that are available on line, but the book makes it easy to mark what you like. Additionally, it gives acceptance rates and some anecdotal information about the student body. When we were starting the process, someone recommended going through it and ripping out all the schools the student is not interested in.</p>

<p>On what to do when, you might just do a Google search on timeline for college adimissions. Something would probably pop up that would work well for you.</p>

<p>My daughter’s school at the end of junior year, had the students fill out a chart with match, safety, and reach schools. That was the framework she used to start her application process. You also will want to be familiar with schools that meet your financial need early in the process, and there is a thread on here that has a list. Look at the top of the financial aid pages. So many young people get theri hearts set on one school and then very late in the process find out that it will just require too much debt. CC is a great resource for anything you need to know.</p>

<p>The diversity programs are usually on the campuses. Depending on your school, you may have reps come visit, or there may be large college fairs in your area. Your guidance office should know when college nights are scheduled.</p>