Online Resources: Don't believe everything you read!

It's hard to imagine that when I was searching for colleges, the internet was not yet available. Nowadays, students rely on the internet as a resource of information to help guide them through their college search. There are so many online resources out there, it is very difficult to figure out which ones are helpful and which ones are not. If you have any questions about an online resource, please come to us and we will help figure out if the website is worth your time.

I would avoid all of the sites that have "forums" where students "chance" each other and guess whether they will be admitted or not according to their profile. Admissions counselors often check these sites (myself included) and are appalled at the misinformation that is given out on these sites.

Many use these sites to simply ask a question about the college. My advice is to go straight to the horses mouth. Many schools have a feature where you can type in a question or "ask a student" and you will receive very prompt response.

Another type of site to take with a big grain of salt are the ones that have student ratings and rankings. You have to be very careful of what you read here-whether good or bad. Typically, you'll read negative reviews that really are not a good indication of what a particular community is like. Keep in mind, if a student was really happy at a school, would they really have the time to be online posting about their experiences. It typically is the unhappy student hiding out in the room posting all of the negative things about the school.

One last thing! Whenever you are looking at "selectivity," please keep in mind that you are looking at numbers that are (at the very least) two years old. There is a reason for this. Guidebooks get the information from what is called the "common data set." This information is released well after the academic year and usually makes it into publication two academic years later. I have yet to see one guidebook in 2007 or 2008 list the correct acceptance rate for Skidore, where I worked in the admissions office.