what resources helped you locate lists of schools?

[Anonymous]

Besides US News and World Report school rankings list, what sites or references helped you and your kids even identify schools of interest?

[Anonymous]

I bought the big "288 best colleges" book at the book store.. Also, my kid was being recruited so she looked at the schools that were elite and had DI in her sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Besides US News and World Report school rankings list, what sites or references helped you and your kids even identify schools of interest?

Kiplinger
Money
US news
Times of London world
Shanghai academic world
QS world.

[Anonymous]

The Fiske guide.

[Anonymous]

You can also do various searches based on your preferences. Naviance has this, I think CC does, even the college board.

[Anonymous]

Unigo.

[Anonymous]

If you are moderate or tilt right, "Choosing the Right College 2014-15: The Inside Scoop on Elite Schools and Outstanding Lesser-Known Institutions" by John Zmirak might be helpful. If you are far left, you won't find this book helpful.

[Anonymous]

Freshman retention rate and six year graduation rates are important measures of student satisfaction and college success. Every top 25 national university has a freshman retention rate above 95% and a six year graduation rate above 90%, but the top SLACS seem to have lower stats. At what point do low outcomes create a red flag? I’d say a 6 year graduation rate below 80% (1 in 5 students NOT graduating on time) is a clear red flag. Freshman retention below 90% (1 in 10 freshmen leaving) is also a red flag for a top school.

[Anonymous]

Fiske, Naviance, Big Futures on the College Board Website

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Freshman retention rate and six year graduation rates are important measures of student satisfaction and college success. Every top 25 national university has a freshman retention rate above 95% and a six year graduation rate above 90%, but the top SLACS seem to have lower stats. At what point do low outcomes create a red flag? I’d say a 6 year graduation rate below 80% (1 in 5 students NOT graduating on time) is a clear red flag. Freshman retention below 90% (1 in 10 freshmen leaving) is also a red flag for a top school.

#25 Carnegie Mellon has stats of 95 and 88 so the top 23 National Universities on the USNWR rankings (2 schools are tied for #23) have stats above 95% and 90%. Here are the freshman retention rates and six year graduation rates for the SLAC through #23:
Williams - 97% and 95%
Amherst - 98 and 96
Swat - 96 and 93
Wellesley - 96 and 91
Bowdoin - 96 and 93
Pomona - 98 and 96
Middlebury - 96 and 94
Carleton - 97 and 92
Claremont McKenna - 96 and 93
Haverford - 97 and 93
Davidson - 96 and 92
Vassar - 96 and 94
Naval Academy - 97 and 88
Washington and Lee - 95 and 90
Colby - 94 and 93
Hamilton - 95 and 93
Harvey Mudd - 98 and 91
Wesleyan - 96 and 92
Bates - 93 and 93
Grinnell - 94 and 86
Colgate - 94 and 91
Smith - 93 and 86
Oberlin - 93 and 88

I'm not seeing much difference between the National Universities and the SLACs.