International College Counselors’ Top Five Websites for Researching Colleges

Choosing a college is one of the hardest choices in life. The below resources and their links can help students and their family narrow down the choices and make an educated decision. Some people focus on ranking/ reputation/ Ivy. Others start with campus/ majors/ activities. Words of advice from International College Counselors: A perfect college is a place where a student feels like he or she belongs.

“Selecting a college is both exciting and challenging. Making the right decision will require dedication, honest self-evaluation, research, reflection, and perseverance,” said Mandee Heller Adler, CEO and Founder of International College Counselors.

1.  LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a newcomer to the college search. This professional networking site recently launched a new section: University Pages. These pages target high school students and their parents who want to connect with colleges in the U.S. and abroad. More than 200 schools have profile pages. Besides the usual standard school information, viewers can see how many of a school’s graduates are on LinkedIn; a breakdown of the main fields in which they work; and a list of the top employers of alumni. Students can also check out notable alumni and the less famous, see where they live and work, and see what they do.

A graph shows how a user is connected to a school’s alumni. Bold students can use this information to reach out and make a connection. The University Pages are also a great place to get regular updates about campus news and activities from the schools themselves, to ask questions, and engage with both the campus community and alumni of schools.

2. College Navigator. This is a free information tool run by the government. It’s not pretty to look at but it offers more data on U.S. colleges and universities than any other site. The College Navigator’s school search engine allows users to scour the country for schools based on chosen criteria. Some schools are ones that are well-known, and others not. It’s a great opportunity to venture into unknown – and often ideal – territory.

3.  College Insight. College Insight offers detailed information on almost 5,000 U.S. colleges and universities. Find and compare statistics for each college on such topics as college affordability, racial and ethnic diversity of both students and faculty, and student success as defined by graduation rates and the number of degrees and certificates awarded.

4.  College Board. The College Board provides a list of college matches when general data and preferences are entered. It’s a good site to browse offerings, discover new names and pick up quick facts about a particular school. It’s very easy to find information on the student body profile, housing, financial aid, available majors, and more.

5.  Naviance. This source allows students and their families to manage the entire college application process from beginning to end. Naviance can be used to research college options, choose where to apply, request recommendations, deliver electronic transcripts, and track scholarship applications. It will also help assess a student’s areas of interest and learning styles, and then it will use this information to suggest college-student matches. Students may only access Naviance if their school, counselor or other college advisor uses Naviance or if they are clients of International College Counselors. International College Counselors uses Naviance to track active applications as well as milestones and historical information for each student.

For help from an experienced college advisor, please contact the expert college counselors at International College Counselors at 954-414-9986.

This year, college advisors at International College Counselors helped more than 200 students find, apply to and gain acceptance into the college of their dreams. The expert college counselors at International College Counselors are dedicated to helping students and their families successfully navigate the college application process.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS:

International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications to domestic and international students.

The college counseling and college coaching services are tailored to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Mandee Heller Adler, founder of International College Counselors, is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and also received an MBA from Harvard Business School. International College Counselors’ achievements include being recognized as one of South Florida’s Top 100 Small Businesses in 2012.

International College Counselors has offices in Miami Beach, Florida; Miami, Florida; Hollywood, Florida; Coral Gables, Florida; Palm Beach, Florida; Boca Raton, Florida; Medellin, Colombia and Caracas, Venezuela.