<p>I went to students review . com and was very disappointed by what I read. The reviews ( I read them for Guilford and Mary Washington) were almost all negative. What do you think of this site?</p>
<p>It is primary data… that’s valuable. It is not edited, which is valuable.</p>
<p>I love the site. I find that unfavorable comments normally edited from books and other online review sites come to the fore quickly. </p>
<p>First, understand that dissatisfied students participate much more often than satisfied students do, on ANY review website… perhaps by as much as 5:1. </p>
<p>My only advice regarding that student reviews themselves is to understand how to read them in context. I don’t put as much weight on freshman, 1st semester reviews as I do those of Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. I also put more credence in well written, well reasoned reviews than poorly written, unorganized, or emotional rant reviews.</p>
<p>thank you, DunninLA, you have a point about putting different weight on different reviews. Also, I didn’t consider the fact that the satisfied students don’t put reviews up as often as the dissatisfied ones.</p>
<p>On that site anyone can leave a bogus review of anywhere; reviews do not have to come from an institution’s email server. If you look at the comments on Harvard for instance, you’ll see dozens written in mock hip-hop street slang, all giving negative ratings and bashing the university. Many purport to slam majors such as Aerospace Engineering, Finance and Business Administration, that Harvard simply doesn’t offer. One of them states “Wow. I’m in high school, and I literally had to do nothing to write this review. I wouldn’t believe much on this website if I were you . . . I only put this in negative so more people would see it.”</p>
<p>I think they skew awfully negatively, and over and over you read things like, “It’s so expensive-- not worth the money!” This is always regarding a private school. Well duh, they’re all expensive. There’s a lot of bitterness about cost from currently enrolled students, who don’t seem to understand that comparable private colleges all cost more or less the same (what’s the diff between $48K and $50K?).</p>
<p>You also have to take into consideration what, exactly, they are complaining about. Often it is that there is “nothing to do” or “the people are snobs” etc. If these things are of particular importance, then the complaints carry more weight. If you are in high school with the same type of students who attend this college, and they are all your best friends, then you would probably not consider them snobs, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p>I never heard of it. It’s just like any on-line site. Negative folks will be more likely to post. Those that are happy don’t see much of a need to post.</p>
<p>I don’t place much store in it. As DunninLA pointed out, people are more likely to respond to it if they have negative opinions of their schools, skewing the data. I was really worried when I read some of the reviews of my own school this past summer, but as a freshman I’ve found that they more or less aren’t entirely true. People commenting about the stress of the workload, for example, should just deal with the fact that it comes with the school. Don’t let it worry you too much.</p>
<p>I take it with a grain of salt. I do agree that people who have a complaint are more likely to get on and post than people who are satisfied. And there’s no way of telling if a poster is really a student there or just making stuff up.</p>
<p>That being said, I do read through comments to see if there is a common theme. If the same complaints comes up regularly, I do file it away in my memory.</p>
<p>
exactly.</p>
<p>If I read a dozen times over 40 reviews that not having a car is a real issue, that means something. Or if I read that the surrounding neighborhood is sketchy several times, again that means something. If I read several times that Professors really take the time to help and guide students, well, you just don’t make that stuff up.</p>
<p>I might also point out that after I have somewhat discounted any freshman review, I focus on the reviews that are categorized “advice” and “neutral”. In those two categories, I usually find balanced, impartial descriptions of things both good and irritating about a school.</p>
<p>In case the reader does not know where these reviews are located, click on CLICK TO FIND OUT WHY link under the big red/green pie chart showing the % of students who would return if given another chance.</p>
<p>P.S. out of curiosity I read the reviews on Mary Washington. Sounds like a great school. The really negative reviews came from one freshman expecting to find more gay socializing opportunities and did not, and at the opposite end, a freshman who thinks all the guys at MW are gay. weird juxtoposition of reviews.</p>
<p>The one thing most reviews agree on regarding social life – you need to join a club or team.</p>
<p>S has used it to narrow the focus for fall/spring visits. He is a junior, and the list is currently quite ling. For those schools that he liked from a couple of college fairs, he read up on a few of them, especially the safeties on the list. He is looking at tiny schools in the Midwest, so he needs to figure out what makes DePauw different from Denison. It helps for vibe, and gives him things to look for on the trips.</p>
<p>It’s great — but just as one of many data points you can collect about colleges.</p>
<p>You need to read it with a discerning eye. Never take every word as literal truth. Look for common themes. Verify that what is being written makes sense compared to what you know about the school. It’s called critical thinking.</p>
<p>Also realize that what some students think of as a negative, another student may be looking for in a school!</p>
<p>And also realize that while there are negative reviews posted by people who never attended a given school, there may also be positive reviews posted by people who work for the school! Just reading the way these are written can give you clues.</p>
<p>Use that site as one of many factors. I found that a couple disgruntled students will try to push down their college’s ratings with repetitive complaints.</p>
<p>I use it to get the feel/atmosphere of the college. “The Common Truth!!!” I found it useful to a degree.</p>
<p>As everyone has said, you have to know which reviews are good and which are bogus. For Drexel, I found out that the administration was a bit unorganized and that they would “shaft” you. I heard the same story many times at many websites.</p>
<p>There are quite a few good ones which honestly tell the pros and cons. So… just extract the information you need and ignore the outliers.</p>
<p>A great resource for narrowing down your application list.</p>