<p>I'm helping my dd who is a HS senior check out colleges. As she wants a major that is at less than half of colleges, the field is narrower than it was for her siblings. At this same time, I am disappointed in the college her older sister is at. Half of her courses are online, and not by her choice. Because she is a new student at this college she was one of the last to register and had very little choice of classes that met her requirements. But since she's almost a junior, she has most of her core classes done and had to take whatever was available that she needed for her major and the few core courses she has left. Now I know to look and see what percentage of courses both in ones major and in the college as a whole are listed as being Internet based. This college is a huge state school and doesn't even have a long distance learning option. To take the online courses a student has to be a residential student. </p>
<p>Another problem she had was not being able to access the Pearson based website that one of her in person courses was based on. The quizzes and tests are based on the material on the website, so of course she didn't do well at all on the first quizzes and tests. She tried to talk to the professor but he didn't even show up to his office during the 1 1/2 hours of office hours he has listed, he wouldn't talk to her after class, and the TA was no help. These issues were not noted under his ratemyprofessor listing so I don't even know how to check something like this out to see if it's prevalent in a college.</p>
<pre><code> The senior dd needs to make good grades to get into nursing school so she really needs to avoid the same kind of experience her older sister is having.
<p>If D can, visit the school. Talk to current students ask them the best part of the school and then ask them the worst part. I am guessing most will be honest.</p>
<p>I like the college ranking guides. There is usually about three companies that do them yearly, Fiske, The Princeton Review, and the Insiders Guide to the Colleges (I found this the most accurate). Buy all three and compare - they all have different areas of information. Well worth the money.</p>
<p>I would check out the professors in the intended major. Look online and see how many are listed in the department. Are they listed as “professors” or as “adjuncts” ? Read their bios to see where they were educated at. No, I am not an IVY snob, but it helps to get a flavor for how serious a school is about supporting a department. Are they hiring the professors with the best research, or the professors dedicated to teaching undergrads? It might help to have a mix of the two. </p>
<p>Not sure how many professors is “enough” to staff a department, it will depend on the size of the student population. You do want to research how many students are graduating with that major each year. You want to see a decent size department that is thriving. Ask what the job placement rate is from the school. What are the kids in that major doing after they graduate?</p>
<p>A school can serve undergrads while also educating graduate students, but if possible, you might want to look at schools that focus on undergrad. </p>
<p>My D took dual enrollment classes at a college that was extremely dedicated to student success. It was a public university, and it required every professor to respond to a student inquiry within 24 hours, and to set up an appointment with that student within 48 hours. Now, that’s not going to happen at the huge universities, but is an example of an administration setting the bar high.</p>
<p>I agree that getting first hand information from current students (upperclassmen will have more experience in this area). Ask for a meeting with a professor when you visit campus. Listen for his enthusiasm or maybe his boredom. Are there opportunities for students to jump into research, do companies come to campus look for student interns?</p>
<p>I agree with the others, do a visit if possible. Let your D talk to the current students and a professor if possible. In almost all instances we found the students willing to talk and they were honest, gave good and bad feedback. We were also able to speak with Department Heads of interest and D was able to sit in on a class. For one school we had already done a tour, we did not want to do a full tour again but wanted to see the dorms again. The school had a student show our D the different dorms and took her into the rooms. This provided a lot of insite to the school and students. D ended up at that school.</p>
<p>it is very different from family to another. So, general tips are completely irrelevant to a specific family. For example, prestiige may be at the top for some and others would not even check any rankings at all (my own D. was the one). For some, location may be practically #1 (again, my D.), for others it may be completely irrelevant.<br>
OK, here I can only reflect on D’s ways, as I said, most likely it has no relevance whatsoever to anybody else.<br>
On my own, with no request from my kid, I have researched the program of interest (combined bs/md) for 2 years. I have complied this list into huge spreadsheet that had relatively few UGs with very detailed info for each. I have presented this list to my D. who liked it.
She visited each place. Some fall out after first visit, just did not see herself attending there.
She choose few places that she visited several times, stayed overnights, stayed with potential sport team (eventully ended up NOT doing sport at college for the lack of time), talked to current students, went to many info sessions with reps from these colleges visiting in our city. Then she applied only at places that would award her Merit awards (at this point we had a clear idea). She also apllied only to bs/md programs. Since these program required interviews at Med. Schools that were part of these programs, we went to several interviews that she got invited to. Her initial #1 fell out, she was rejected from the program pre-interview, while actually accepted to the UG in teh program with huge Merit award. Eventually, she was accepted at her #2 with the full tuition Merit award. That was no brainer at this point. She attended there and it clearly was a perfect fit. Huge opportunities, medically related ECs and many others, just everything was there for her, including organized group trip to NZ (yet on additional Merit award), which was a life long dream to visit the filming grounds of Lord of the Rings).<br>
Again, I do not think that our experience will help OP. As I said, everybody is in very specific set of circumstances and many variables will play in decision making. BTW, D. never went to check ranking of her UG, just skipped her mind, we still do not know.
And another BTW, D. liked my UG list so much, that she asked me to compile the list of Med. Schools. This task was so much easier and ended up in another success. She was the only one who actually applied out of her bs/md program. </p>
<p>four and 6 year graduation rates are a meaningful metric in my experience. While it’s true that sometimes a poor grad rate reflects a schools mission to educate kids who are first gen, low income, and “non traditional” (i.e. older and balancing family, college and full time work), there are colleges committed to getting kids “in and out” and others where the abysmal grad rate reflects a lack of commitment to kids finishing up a degree on a timely basis.</p>
<p>The college’s policy on transfer and AP credits is also meaningful IMHO. Although folks on CC like to complain when their kid does not get sophomore standing when they show up with a boatload of AP’s, it is a rare HS where a class is actually equivalent to a full blown college class. So a college that basically allows a kid to graduate with few semesters in residence is likely a college that does not take academic assessment seriously, is very generous giving credit for “not college level” courses, takes too many Pass/Fail credits taken at what may not be peer institutions, etc. There is a college near me that has a reputation for approving anything on a transcript from another college- kids know how to work that system to a fair thee well, but I feel sorry for their employers who are hiring kids with only half a BA (even if they get their degree in full.)</p>
<p>Resources matter- career development and counseling, professionals who advise on grad school, fellowship, med school, how to get a job at the Peace Corps or TFA.</p>
<p>Look at graduation rates! How many kids in the major finished in 4 years? Some majors - esp in the engineering field - are notorious for needing more than 4 to complete. Other schools are just really tough and kids take time out to recuperate; that would be the LAC my son attended with a 4 year rate of around 60% which is actually up! :)</p>
<p>Some ideas
-Consider what your parameters are in terms of location, cost etc… Discuss them with your D in advance and do not look at any schools outside the parameters you have set.
-See if your D has any preferences as to size, location etc.
-Pull together a list of schools that have her major and that fit everyone’s parameters
-Get your hands on some college guide books (I like Fiske, Princeton Review but there are many other good ones) and start reading. .<br>
-Look at the admissions statistics. Realistically consider if your D has a chance to get in (and if you need aid if she is well above the average and may get merit aid). If your HS has Naviance, use it.
-Visit schools that look like the best choices if you can. Take the official information session and tour and sign in so the school has a record that you attended. Don’t be shy. Ask any questions you have. If you are down to a couple of schools at the end, try to visit them again (maybe have your D shadow a student for a day if possible) before making a final choice.
-For a nursing school I’d ask what percent of the students graduate in 4 years, what percent of students get jobs after college and where they end up working.</p>
<p>Find out whether the college guarantees housing for all four years. If it doesn’t, then a lot of upperclassmen will live off-campus. So you will want to take a closer look at the surrounding community than you would at a college where students stay in the dorms all four years, and you may want to ask questions about off-campus living, such as how difficult it is to get a place to live that’s within walking distance of the college. </p>
<p>One of the best resources can be a student from your high school who now attends that college, because they have no reason not to be honest.</p>
<p>I’d take a look at parts of the college that are NOT on the tour, particularly the facilities for your major. I’d also look at surrounding neighborhoods that are on the opposite side of the campus from the admissions office. This is particularly important if you may be living off-campus. Also, it can be useful for a student to simply sit in an on-campus cafe or dining hall and listen to some of the conversations. </p>
<p>Take a look at rental rates for upper class or off-campus housing. Sometimes it is much more expensive than the freshman dorms. I know of one public university where the upper class on-campus housing costs $3k a year more than the freshman dorms and you don’t even get a kitchen. That could blow some people’s budgets. </p>
<p>In either case, in addition to getting sound opinions, you may get practical advice that will help you. For example, ask how the student gets back and forth from campus to home for the breaks. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover the existence of direct charter buses that you never knew existed.</p>
<p>Pick up a newspaper from the town and from the college. See what is going on, and what is being talked about.</p>
<p>Find the college radio station and listen in.</p>
<p>Read the bulletin boards, leaflets, etc. posted around. What are the meetings about? What professional groups have chapters? </p>
<p>Eat in town. Eavesdrop.</p>
<p>Go to ratemyprofessor and see what the complaints are…obviously those are skewed and of limited value, but is everyone complaining the class was too easy, too hard, or too stupid? d</p>
<p>OP it sounds like you’ve already gained much experience the hard way.</p>
<p>As always, people are the best resource whether found online or in person. Recent alumni are best, followed by parents and students currently attending. Recent alumni are gold because they know what it took, and what it gained them. Alumni from more than 8 years ago have stale data and are just as likely to be “true to their school” for the sake of defending an old choice.</p>
<p>Much like MiamiDAP, I went research-crazy for my son’s recent choice and scoured the earth looking for both quantitative and qualitative data. The biggest problem is that the colleges are becoming as good at marketing as any Fortune 50 consumer company, so be very careful relying on the fluff they give out. It’s also crazy time-consuming to build potential schedules at each school and then try to check out all the professors. It takes time, but I did it in great detail for the 2 finalist schools.</p>
<p>By far the best way to check out a school is to hit the campus already having done your research so you can ask intelligent questions and not just “how much is room and board”. </p>
<p>When we made our campus visits, I button-holed current students all over the place and asked them the “what’s up with…” questions to see where the sore spots were. I asked about specific courses, dorms, teachers, finances, you name it. They always had an answer and it was sometimes one the university probably would not have loved. Don’t just stick to the tour and think you learned much. Make like a miner and dig.</p>
<p>I also made sure to go on LinkedIN and see if I had any alumni in my network even though their data might be out of date. Also force your kid to ask friends where older siblings have attended to see if they can be a resource.</p>
<p>In the end, there will always be surprises, but at least you’ll know you did all you could to minimize the risks.</p>
<p>Try to get in a tour with a guide in the proposed major, or as close as possible, and walk near the guide and ask questions while the group is moving.</p>
<p>Read Glassdoor and other feedback on what the school is like for its workers. Read Rate My Prof, etc. It all helps build a sense of the place, even when taken with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Look as deeply as possible into the college’s departments’ assessments into learning and achievement of the students. Schools really, really should be doing a lot on this front. How are faculty figuring out if they are effectively teaching what needs to be learned, mastered, achieved, etc.??</p>