<p>This release incorporates a number of suggestions from CC members, including the ability to "pin" a school of particular interest. We have also enhanced the "ethnicity" and "organizations" areas.</p>
<p>We're continuing to add features and improve existing ones - all of your feedback is much appreciated. We think we've got the best college search tool on the web, and we know that if we keep listening to you it will only get better! Thanks for the help, hope you enjoy it!</p>
<p>Wow, this is definitely great. It was my first time using it and I was impressed. </p>
<p>I would like to see the addition of a financial aid option–there is one for tuition & fees, but one of my biggies is that a college meets full need or has good merit aid; the merit aid bit is covered but the full need option would be great!</p>
<p>I love this tool. The only issue I have is when it talks about geographical restrictions and I say “have to have” it gives me schools outside that area but places it at a lower fit. I think if it says “have to have” schools that don’t match that should not even show up.</p>
<p>I see you continue to ignore those of us that ask for a conservative leaning option in a similar manner to the liberal leaning option. That says a LOT about this site IMO. I see no reason to continue using or recommending the search to others in my circle of businessmen and parents.</p>
<p>Your next update might include a field to put in the number for scores and gpa. It’s darn near impossible to get it accurate with a touch screen like the iPad.
Great tool. Thanks!!</p>
<p>I think adding a “Student Happiness” feature would be great - I know it’s subjective, but maybe it could be based on surveys conducted on the students studying in the college. This way, we could get a general idea about the stress levels at certain colleges, and if we want to, limit our searches to colleges with lower stress levels.</p>
<p>one bad thing is that if you have higher than the avg SAT score reported, it lists you as less of a match for the school in terms of the SAT score.</p>
<p>Creekland - we have now added the ability for users to rate schools, and “conservative” is one criterion. Eventually, we should be able to cycle that data into some recommendations. (Are you aware of any sources for such data?)</p>
<p>Potentenum - the issue of “good match” vs. “overqualified” is vexing. The general assumption is that one might prefer schools where others had generally similar levels of achievement. We do offer the ability to add in schools with lower scores.</p>
<p>^To contribute to an answer to the question you asked Creekland, the book Choosing the Right College might be a helpful source. It doesn’t list schools that are conservative, exactly, but describes factors that might be helpful for conservative students to know. For example, Princeton wouldn’t necessarily be classified as a conservative college, but if I recall correctly, conservative students would feel comfortable there, according to this book.</p>
<p>As a conservative parent, I don’t necessarily require a conservative college for my daughter, just one at which she’ll be comfortable. Will she be forced to use a coed bathroom? Will RAs ignore the fact that her roommate’s boyfriend now lives in the room with the two girls? Will professors mock her views because they are different from those of the professors? Will student activity fees be used to fund Sex Workers’ shows or Sex Week, during which sex toy manufacturers are invited to campus to display their wares? Are drinking laws ignored? Is it the policy of Student Housing to try to match compatible roommates, or does Student Housing see its goal as opening the eyes of the students by placing roommates together who are as different as possible in their beliefs?</p>
<p>Roger - Having stipulated that Marching Band was a “must-have,” 14 of the top 20 schools recommended on my search have no marching band.</p>
<p>All the Ivies except Cornell, all but a handful of LACs, and many of the top universities including Stanford and Rice do not sponsor marching bands. They will often have “scramble” or “scatter” bands that are parodies of marching bands and appeal to students who are more interested in socializing than marching. Or, they may have pep bands that play at basketball games and in some cases might sit in the stands and play for football. But prospective students who check “marching band” as a criterion would generally not be attracted to these activities.</p>
<p>I was also surprised when I listed the major, chemical engineering as a must have and the top 5-6 schools/100% matches were all LACs that did not even offer Chem E! I guess the other must haves I listed took priority…</p>
<p>Anyone else find this tool just too slow to tolerate? For every little click I make it seems to take half a minute to update. And I was on quick computer with a T1 line so I don’t think the problem is on my end.</p>