Geographic location
Majors available
Admission requirements
Tuition and fees
Financial aid and scholarships
Campus housing
Campus security
Click the link below to access campus crime statistics and security measures at colleges nationwide:
http://ope.ed.gov/security
Programs for students with special needs
College enrollment
Athletics and student activities
Transfer credit acceptance policies
Academic reputation
Faculty/student ratio
Strength of support services (e.g. career services, library, counseling, internships etc.)
Accreditation and licensure issues
To evaluate college choices you should carefully research each college using a variety
of methods:
Read the college publications and examine the website.
Visit the college (see CampusTours.com for a virtual tour).
Attend open house programs and sit in on a class or two.
Talk with informed people (e.g. current or former students, college counselors and
faculty members, parents, and friends).
Meet with college representatives at transfer fairs.
Use the Internet to research colleges - e.g.:
read campus newspapers to get a perspective on campus issues
look at campus crime statistics
view college placement information
check graduation rates and percentage of students entering graduate programs, etc.
US News College Search: Search the directory of over 1,400 4-year colleges
www.njtransfer.org the statewide transfer database
Use websites designed to help you compare colleges with particular emphasis on quality indicators. Three of the best of these are the UCAN-Network which displays information about private colleges nationwide, the College Navigator which is a government website with information about public and private colleges nationwide, and the College Scorecard which was introduced by President Obama at his State of the Union address on February 12, 2013. You can access these sites with the following links:
www.ucan-network.org
Http://nces.ed.gov/COLLEGENAVIGATOR/
Http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card
- Use college rating systems carefully.
College rating systems are controversial because even the "experts" have difficulty agreeing on
how to rank colleges, and even if it should be done. A prudent approach in this regard is to use
college ratings as simply one tool to evaluate colleges. Examine several rating sources to get a
more balanced opinion. Here are a few of the many college rating sources available in the RVCC transfer library in Advising and Counseling Services:
- Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges by Frederick E. Rugg
- The Gourman Report by the Princeton Review
- The Insider’s Guide to the Colleges by the Yale Daily News
- The Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward B. Fiske
- The Best 311 Colleges by the Princeton Review
- America’s Best Colleges by the US News and World Report
Other college ratings systems are available in annual editions of popular magazines (e.g. Money Magazine) as well as rating systems on the Internet. A very helpful book on college research is The Internet Guide for College Bound Students by Kenneth Hartman of the College Board. An excellent workbook for organizing the process is Your Transfer Planner: Strategic Tools and Guerilla Tactics by Carey Harbin published by Wadsworth Publishing.
Perhaps the best advice is to start the college selection process early. An important decision should not be made in haste or unduly influenced by the opinions of external sources. The transfer counselors here at RVCC are ready to help you.
www.commonapp.orgThe Common Application is the recommended form of approximately 500 selective colleges and universities for admission to their undergraduate programs. Many of these institutions use the form exclusively. All give equal consideration to the Common Application and the college's own form.
Information on the 14 Pennsylvania State colleges as posted in the Spring 2012 can be viewed by clicking here |
