New guide to researching colleges from Consumer Reports

Our new guide to finding the best college can make researching schools more efficient and less stressful by directing students to the best resources for finding the information that matters most.

The free guide, Find the Best College for You, is based on research incorporating feedback from more than 2,500 individuals, and includes worksheets that can simplify and support the research and evaluation process. The guide is also available in both English and Spanish.

Not meant to replace a college directory or ratings, our guide provides a list and clear definitions of about 20 pieces of information needed to make good decisions about where to attend school. That information revolves around the following questions:

1. Does the college offer what you want to study?
2. How much will it cost and can you afford to go there?
3. What is the educational quality and experience offered by the school?
4. What type of environment does the college offer?

"We found that students need a consistent and straightforward process for researching colleges," said Elena Falcone, project director. "Too many students only considered schools they had heard of from friends and family, potentially missing out on a variety of good alternatives."

We reviewed college directories to identify where prospective students could gather information, and while many provided profiles of schools, no one resource addressed the core elements identified as important by experts and students.

"Experts were concerned that students would be superficial in their research interests," said project analyst Sambhavi Cheemalapati. "But in fact, counselors and educators should be gratified to hear that students expressed significant interest in substantive information about the quality of schools and programs. This highlights the need for all schools to make this information accessible and comparable."

A lot of data on colleges is not publicly available. If the information isn't available, the guide has suggested questions prospective students can ask admissions counselors, such as how many internships are available, how do students spend the majority of their time, how many computers are in the lab, and how many books are in the library.

Partners in this work included the Lumina Foundation and the Education Conservancy.

—Maggie Shader