Researching Colleges

"Researching" in the colleges that you are interested in is probably something that you have heard all too often, but dont brush aside its importance. I think that "research" is really 1 of the most important steps because you can then gauge if you like the feel of the college and see if you are a right fit for it.

What schools should you research into, what do you look out for and how do you use that research? As with all posts, use the following advice at your own discretion!

1. Any school that is on your shortlist radar should be researched upon.
After you have a list of schools that you have shortlisted, start researching on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Yes I said EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Why? For a few good reasons, assuming you are applying there:
a) You are paying ~USD$70 or $60 pounds to apply there, that's about $100, which is quite a lot of $$ and I dont think you want to be paying that $$ to a college which you dont know much about. Would you pay $100 for a product which you know nothing about? (okay maybe it doesnt hurt you cos it's not your $$, but think for your parents! Trust me it's a lot, especially when you start working)
b) You will end up in one of those colleges, and you dont even know if you will be happy there. Why take that gamble on your happiness for the next 4 years of your life? (And why waste the $$ on a school which you dont want to go?)
c) If you find that you dont like a college, another college goes into the list to replace it. The more research you do, the higher your odds at being happy at the place you eventually end up in.

Are those compelling enough reasons? If not I will give more.

So now that you are convinced of the need to research...
2. Go to the school website to find out as much as you can. Talk to seniors who are studying there, or the alumni who have already studied there. Ask about the culture, the atmosphere, or whatever just to get a feel of the place. Go to forums to see what people say about the school.

Sidenote: One thing that made me convinced that Stanford was the right place for me was that everyone loves it there. It's hard to find a student who doesnt like being at Stanford, in contrast I have heard a number giving negative reviews about Harvard.

Anyway, even after you hear positive/negative reviews about the place, do a final check to validate your decision to put it/drop it on your list of colleges. You'd be surprised at the cues that the school websites tell you - MIT gives the impression that it's a fun and caring place by its layout and tone of writing, while Caltech gives the impression that it's a more academic place with its strong emphasis on academic areas, etc. Go figure. Research as much as you can until you can be somewhat sure that you dont mind going to that school.

3. Visiting the school campus?
You will notice that on the school's websites, it often tells you to visit the school campuses. It's not a must/norm for Singaporean students because we are international and it doesnt make sense to buy a plane ticket of ~$2000 just to visit schools. There are, however, alternatives:
a) Requesting a yearbook/bulletin from the schools. Most schools have that and will gladly mail it to you for free if you give them your address.
b) Sign up on their mailing list, if they have one.
c) Look at photos from the campus - some people post them up. (Personally though I never bothered too much about it because I felt that all schools have their scenic shots anyway and they all look the same to me)
d) If you are planning a trip to the US or UK, take a day off to visit! For e.g. when I was in London, I got to visit Imperial and UCL in the span of a few hours because you could just take the Tube around and it was very convenient. If you are in the East Coast in the US, that's quite a few schools that you can go to already. :) Check out the googlemaps (http://tinyurl.com/qkd5l3) to see what schools you can go visit in your holidaying destination.
e) Check out college profiles. (see May 12 post for url)