Chapter 3: Researching Colleges

Written by Kaasvhi, Dartmouth College

Welcome back to The College Countdown! For those of you who are joining us for the first time, hey, I am Kaashvi, your friendly neighborhood college admissions enthusiast and your guide through this series. Whether you’re a series regular or a newcomer, I’m super excited to have you join us for this wild ride. In this week’s episode, we are diving head first into uncovering the process of researching colleges and starting off your admissions process.

You probably have always heard people say things like, “Finding the right college is all about fit” or “Make sure you deeply research the school you want to go to”. That’s really good advice no doubt, but no one really tells you how and where you even begin to do that. How do people know that Northwestern has an excellent digital communications program or that Columbia’s core curriculum is oddly perfect for students looking for community while studying in an urban campus? The simple answer to these questions is plain old research.

For most students, research begins and ends with a few quick Google searches, but that barely scratches the surface of all that’s out there. This guide is here to help you as you go about figuring out qualities you’re looking for in a school, making your college lists and writing your supplemental essays, telling you exactly how and where to find all the correct information.

1. Campus visits:
   The trusted campus visit is the oldest method in the book to get a good feel of the college. Walking around campus, attending a class, dining in the school cafeteria can all help you emulate what your life would be as a student at that college. However, realistically, visiting all campuses on your list isn’t exactly practical because of the associated costs, including flight tickets, hotel rooms, meals and taking time off from work and school. Fly-in programs like Dartmouth Bound and Johns Hopkins Overnight Multicultural Experience are a great workaround to this where you get to visit college campuses for free or at a minimal cost. When you do visit, be sure to check out the events happening on campus to get a sense of student life and don’t forget to keep a little notepad with you to write down all the little things you observe.

2. Virtual tours:
   If traveling to every campus on your list isn’t in the cards, virtual tours are the next best thing. They’re a super convenient way to explore colleges from the comfort of your own home. Websites like YouVisit, CampusTours and eCampusTours offer interactive 360-degree tours that let you ‘walk’ through academic buildings, dorms, and even the student center. Many schools also have virtual tours on their YouTube channels. Moreover, these are available at any hour of the day and can be accessed from any time zone.

3. Websites:
   College websites are absolute gold mines of information. You can find everything from academic programs and student organizations to housing and life in the nearby area. Some colleges like MIT also have admissions blogs which are very helpful for prospective applicants to understand what kind of a student the school is looking for. As someone who didn’t have the means to tour colleges, the college’s undergraduate website was my go-to resource. I would start by bookmarking the main website and then create a document with all the hyperlinks of the pages that caught my eye. After compiling these links, I’d explore each page thoroughly, jot down my notes and often, fall into a rabbit hole of opening ten more pages from each link to read more about something that interested me.

4. Information sessions:
   These are like mini virtual open houses where you can learn everything about the school and the application process from your regional admissions officers themselves.

5. Emailing lists:
   Don’t underestimate the power of email communication. Taking the time and signing up for the university’s emailing list is like having a direct line to all the latest updates and insider information. Sometimes, colleges also send out fee waivers for applications to people who are subscribed to their newsletters. Though be prepared to deal with the influx of emails you are bound to receive. A simple solution to this caveat is creating a separate email for all your college communication. So, don’t hesitate to hit that subscribe button (granted you’ve made a spare email for it).

6. Social media:
   I religiously followed all the different social media accounts schools on my list had for different departments, including the very important meme pages because they are student-run. These platforms which highlight the students’ voices feel like your backstage passes to college life. Just looking up hashtags like #yalestudent will get you a sea of results.

7. Vlogs:
   Now, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite way to procrastinate—vlogs! No, but seriously, watching ‘Day in the life’, ‘Dorm tours’ or ‘What I eat in a day’ videos filmed and uploaded by students gives you an unfiltered take on college life which goes beyond the glossy brochures meant to market to you. You get to see how students interact with their classmates, what dorms look like and it feels like having a personal tour guide showing you around campus.

8. Current students and alumni:
   Nothing can give you a more honest picture about the school more than talking to a current student or recently graduated alumni. Ask them about their favorite memories, secret study spots around campus, their favorite professors and classes—sky's the limit. Most current students love engaging with high schoolers because we’ve been in your shoes. So, don’t be shy and reach out.

9. Reddit:
   Reddit threads on communities like r/ApplyingToCollege and r/college are how I learned most things I know about applying to colleges in the US. It is another way to find genuine opinions on any topic you can think of because the advice comes from anonymous users. You can find subreddit threads going back a decade and covering a wide range of topics and questions. You can connect with students who are looking at similar schools as you, stay updated on deadlines and ask any and all of your specific questions to get tailored advice from people who are professionals in the field.

10. Common data sets:
    This is the most underrated and overlooked source of college information in my opinion. It’s not as flashy and obvious as tours but it is truly the MVP in terms of giving you all the technical information you need. It is a standardized questionnaire filed by the institution specifying things like the demographics of the incoming class, graduation rates or how the university weighs different components of the application. It can be found through a quick browse on the internet.

I know that doing research like this for every college on your list might sound exhausting but I have some news for you: this is exactly what you need to do. Remember, the efforts you’re putting into the process right now will pay off in the long run when you find yourself having the college experience of your dreams, the one that truly aligns with who you are. This is the easiest way to end up with college essays that sound assertive because they are written by someone who is confident about what they are saying. Keep pushing forward and trust the process. Thank you for joining me today and stay tuned for the next article in the series where we’ll tackle the question that’s probably on a lot of your minds right now: should you apply in the early or the regular round? Until next time, keep dreaming big!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hey there, college-bound crew! I’m Kaashvi, an undergraduate student at Dartmouth College from India. I’m the brains (and heart) behind the College Countdown series here at The Ivy Institute and I am stoked to be your guide through this process.

So, a little bit about me: I was a STEM kid through and through in high school and all my classes were the highest level ones offered at my school and graduated at the top of my class for three consecutive years. Outside of class, I was involved in activities that let me nurture my love for inventiveness, responsibility and storytelling. From designing a vehicle to aid oil spill cleanup to working as an elected representative for the youth advisory council to volunteering at the local deaf school—I devoted a lot of my time to projects that were true to my values.

When I’m not typing away at my keyboard, dishing out college advice to people in my inbox and on this blog, you can catch me exploring new hiking trails, whipping up some questionable (but oddly delicious) desserts at my bakery or getting lost in a gripping mystery novel.

As an international student, the application process wasn’t just about finding a spot at a prestigious university but also about finding a place that felt like a second home. Now that I’ve made it out alive to the other end (with a boatload of stories to tell), I'm here to spill all the tea on how you can do the same. With some guidance and a whole lot of oversharing, together we’ll crush this admissions game like absolute pros.

Catch you on the flip side,

Kaashvi