Personal visits are the best way to find out what a college is really like. Since Covid, however, colleges have expanded their online offerings significantly, offering options that range from virtual campus tours and admissions information sessions to panel presentations by faculty and group or individual chats with current students. In addition to visiting in person, visiting virtually, and scoping the vast amount of information available on college websites, students can use a combination of objective college guidebooks (The STA College Handbook), subjective college guidebooks (The Fiske Guide to Colleges and The Best 389 Colleges by the Princeton Review), and college publications. Form V students have also received a free login to SCOIR, which is a good site to use for researching colleges and organizing your search.

It is important for each student to determine his own set of priorities or essential questions. These questions may revolve around the academic life (What do English majors do after graduation? Will I be able to participate in substantial research as an undergraduate?), the extracurricular life (Will I be an impact player on my team of choice? How many freshmen write for the school newspaper? Are students actively involved on campus?) or any other aspect of the school (Is the student voice heard on campus? Do students get involved in the community? Is the student body diverse?) Every student will have his own set of important questions, and he should make sure that he asks these of the people on a campus best able to answer them. Try to research beyond the admissions office—contact current students or, when appropriate, professors or coaches.
 
The National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) is an excellent tool to seek out as you are researching colleges, as is data from the Common Data Set. Many schools will publish their NSSE results, which examine integral aspects of the college experience: academic challenge, active learning, student-faculty interaction, campus environment, and enriching educational experiences. Surveys are administered to freshmen and seniors. Many colleges will publish their NSSE results on their websites, but if they don’t, you can ask for them! Search, too, for information from the Common Data Set: google the name of the college + “CDS” or “Common Data Set”; if a college publishes their information (not all will), jump on in—there is a lot to discover!
 
Another great source of information are college publications. Look for the student newspaper online, and you will get an interesting view of what is going on on campus!