Top 10 College Search Websites
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of websites available to help a student find a college. Most out there have one goal…to get your information. Here at ScholarGeek we pride ourselves on not being one of these sites. However we realize we are not the only resource available to students, we are the best, but not the only one. If for some reason you do not find what you are looking for with use you can try these other resources.
1. ScholarGeek.org
ScholarGeek.org is the world's first and only college and scholarship matching site. Instead of presenting an endless list of colleges and scholarship, ScholarGeek only gives you the results which match your academic and personal profile. It takes only 5 minutes to complete your profile and in a CLICK! you have a complete listing of all colleges and scholarships you qualify for. Complete your profile to see all of the colleges you qualify for.
2. College Data
College Data has great data to help with your college search. There is a very unique college search tool and College Chances Calculator. The college search tool allows you to get data on average student debt, percentage of students receiving merit awards, freshman satisfaction rate, and more. The College Chances Calculator will compare class rank, GPA, test scores (ACT/SAT), number of honors courses, community service hours and more against the data pool of accepted applicants to gauge your chance of being admitted. There are many other helpful features to make this a “one stop shop” to guide you and your college-bound student through the college search and college admission processes. Visit College Data for more information.
3. Cappex
Cappex is a great multi-purpose site. You create a student profile and then you can search for schools, save schools to your list, search for scholarships, plan campus visits, read student reviews and gauge your chances at getting into a school. Visit Cappex for more information.
4. College Navigator
College Navigator is a federal government site through the National Center for Education Statistics. It houses the College Navigator search tool. This tool allows you to search for colleges meeting a good variety of search criteria. You can also get to the Net Price Calculator Center that allows you to link to the net price calculator for almost any college in the country. Visit College Navigator for more information.
5. The College Solution
The College Solution - This is a terrific blog site from a highly respected college information commentator and author named Lynn O’Shaughnessy. She has a ton of valuable content on her site. It isn’t a college search site, but it is a site to go to if you want in-depth information about a particular college search topic. You can go to the Blog tab and drill down to topics and sub-topics. Lynn gives you the “scoop” on topics and backs up her information with real examples and authorities. Visit College Solution for more information.
6. National Association for College Admission Counseling
NACAC is the site of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. It has a special section for Students and Parents with a search tool and a lot of good advice on things like paying for college, applying to college, college preparation and succeeding in college. You can find some really good information about college ranking methodologies used by the various groups that rank colleges. Visit National Association for College Admission Counseling for more information.
7. DIY College Rankings
DIY College Rankings offer great college search tools and helpful blog posts. Michelle Kretzschmar, the site’s author, is very data focused and offers an Excel spreadsheet tool to narrow down college options and create your own custom college search spreadsheets. Michelle’s tool is based on the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System which is the basis for the College Navigator website. She also offers an online class on how to use her spreadsheet tool most effectively. Visit DIY College Rankings for more information.
8. College Board
The College Board provides lots of information for students and parents on the college choice process. They have a college search feature to narrow down potential colleges to consider based on several criteria like location, size and cost. Visit College Board for more information.
9. Niche
Niche has a criteria-based college search feature, college “grades” by current students and actual current student reviews. There is also scholarship information and a college chances calculator basing your grades and test scores against what the site has compiled for comparison data. What I really like about this site is the open and honest feedback provided by current students. It gives you a whole different perspective of the school than you get from a brochure, website or campus visit. Visit Niche for more information.
10. US News – Best Colleges
US News is the “old standby” of college rankings. I know their ranking methodology is somewhat controversial, but I like to use their lists anyway. You get a broad snapshot of information for each school. You need to take the rankings with a grain of salt because there are plenty of good colleges that aren’t in the top 100 on the national lists. It is a great site to use in the early stages of the college search when you want to develop a college search spreadsheet. You will find most, if not all, of the data you want to track about a school right on the US News site. You can get even more information about each school, save a list and do comparisons if you sign up for the US News College Compass. The price is $24.95 for a year of access. Visit US News for more information.