Anonymous
Post 06/20/2025 23:34     Subject: Re:I need help with how to research
When my DC was deciding between their final choices they watched a lot of YouTube and TikTok videos - a day in the life on X campus, room tours, etc.
Anonymous
Post 06/20/2025 23:16     Subject: I need help with how to research
IPEDS, the Integrated Post-Secondary Educational Dataset produced by the feds has a lots of details about nearly all colleges, including useful information on how many people drop out before completing a degree:

https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/find-your-college/

If in Virginia, the State Council for Higher Education has fantastic website that goes into far more detail for nearly all local VA publics and privates.

https://research.schev.edu/enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 16:28     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Ask Chat GPT. Seriously.

Obvi he is not the final answer and needs to be verified, but could save you time and give useful info to point you in a new direction.

I am amazed at the results for all my requests.

Best advice on here.
As a test, I plugged in my daughter's wish list and stats. Here's what ChatGPT suggested: Wake Forest, TCU, Baylor, SMU.
She just graduated from Baylor

I plugged in my son. Suggestions were: Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Kenyon, and Denison. He graduated from Grinnell a few years ago.
It was incredible how the lists Chat GPT created was nearly identical to the lists we came up with.


Yes, I used the paid version of Claude last fall.
It does work, but you need to put as much detail as you can.
I put in my kids' stats/narrated profile and favorite (so far) schools. Also, the type of college environment, obviously major and desired oncampus ECs. I also input our private school's data (last 3 years for both matriculation and admissions) as reported to the parents by our school. To get a tailored idea of which schools regularly admit our students (and I asked Claude to analyze it in light of the request for a school list of 15-20 schools, heavy on the reaches).

Lastly, the kid was test-optional at certain schools, so I asked for reach schools where TO was not always a penalty (eg. Vanderbilt, WashU, SLACs) and which schools heavily overweight ECs and awards (national-level). Got a very good list. DC got into several high reaches.

Interestingly, I continued to ask/refine the prompt as EA (and merit) decisions came in, and Claude revised chancing throughout the winter. Was very accurate (got into schools with over a 40% chance, including 3 T20).

I didn't put anywhere near that much into ChatGPT. I put in GPA, test scores, size preference, and wish list - for example, DD wanted school spirit, D1 football, fun traditions, but no big state schools. That's all that I put in.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 14:44     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Ask Chat GPT. Seriously.

Obvi he is not the final answer and needs to be verified, but could save you time and give useful info to point you in a new direction.

I am amazed at the results for all my requests.

Best advice on here.
As a test, I plugged in my daughter's wish list and stats. Here's what ChatGPT suggested: Wake Forest, TCU, Baylor, SMU.
She just graduated from Baylor

I plugged in my son. Suggestions were: Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Kenyon, and Denison. He graduated from Grinnell a few years ago.
It was incredible how the lists Chat GPT created was nearly identical to the lists we came up with.


My kid has an incredibly idiosyncratic “package” and interests. After feeding the criteria, chat generated a very similar college list that my son had come up with on his own. I found it astounding. There is no way most college counselors could have known what to suggest for him. But chat was able to.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 14:24     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:Ask Chat GPT. Seriously.

Obvi he is not the final answer and needs to be verified, but could save you time and give useful info to point you in a new direction.

I am amazed at the results for all my requests.


I put criteria DD wanted into ChatGPT. The exact school she wanted turned up. But not rocket science.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 13:42     Subject: I need help with how to research
To make a school list, use one of the tools out there. There are new tools for "match-making" with schools:

Esai (school matchmaker)
Appily
Kollegio
Sups

I think even collegevine has refined its algorithm.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 13:27     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:The Common Data Set. Should be online through each college's website, or named similar. Some privates without the info which I think speaks poorly of them.

Know what's important to your student. For example: % instate vs cos, % living on campus, Freshmen retention rate, 4 or 5 yr graduation rate, number of students graduating in each major (some schools, esp small schools, have the major "they say" and yet you can see few graduate from there with the degree), % in Greek Life, stats or enrolled students


That's way too tedious, use AI to do the first cuts. Only go to CDS later in the process.
Here's a good plan:
https://grownandflown.com/using-ai-college-search-list/
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 13:08     Subject: I need help with how to research
The Common Data Set. Should be online through each college's website, or named similar. Some privates without the info which I think speaks poorly of them.

Know what's important to your student. For example: % instate vs cos, % living on campus, Freshmen retention rate, 4 or 5 yr graduation rate, number of students graduating in each major (some schools, esp small schools, have the major "they say" and yet you can see few graduate from there with the degree), % in Greek Life, stats or enrolled students
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 12:11     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Ask Chat GPT. Seriously.

Obvi he is not the final answer and needs to be verified, but could save you time and give useful info to point you in a new direction.

I am amazed at the results for all my requests.

Best advice on here.
As a test, I plugged in my daughter's wish list and stats. Here's what ChatGPT suggested: Wake Forest, TCU, Baylor, SMU.
She just graduated from Baylor

I plugged in my son. Suggestions were: Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Kenyon, and Denison. He graduated from Grinnell a few years ago.
It was incredible how the lists Chat GPT created was nearly identical to the lists we came up with.


Yes, I used the paid version of Claude last fall.
It does work, but you need to put as much detail as you can.
I put in my kids' stats/narrated profile and favorite (so far) schools. Also, the type of college environment, obviously major and desired oncampus ECs. I also input our private school's data (last 3 years for both matriculation and admissions) as reported to the parents by our school. To get a tailored idea of which schools regularly admit our students (and I asked Claude to analyze it in light of the request for a school list of 15-20 schools, heavy on the reaches).

Lastly, the kid was test-optional at certain schools, so I asked for reach schools where TO was not always a penalty (eg. Vanderbilt, WashU, SLACs) and which schools heavily overweight ECs and awards (national-level). Got a very good list. DC got into several high reaches.

Interestingly, I continued to ask/refine the prompt as EA (and merit) decisions came in, and Claude revised chancing throughout the winter. Was very accurate (got into schools with over a 40% chance, including 3 T20).
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 12:05     Subject: I need help with how to research
I’m not sure what about my saying “read the student reviews but ignore the statistics” makes me a Debbie Downer. I think the stratospherically incorrect statistics are hysterical.

By all means, read the student reviews. Ignore the statistics. Or don’t, if you need a chuckle.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 12:03     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:Ask Chat GPT. Seriously.

Obvi he is not the final answer and needs to be verified, but could save you time and give useful info to point you in a new direction.

I am amazed at the results for all my requests.

Best advice on here.
As a test, I plugged in my daughter's wish list and stats. Here's what ChatGPT suggested: Wake Forest, TCU, Baylor, SMU.
She just graduated from Baylor

I plugged in my son. Suggestions were: Grinnell, Carleton, Macalester, Kenyon, and Denison. He graduated from Grinnell a few years ago.
It was incredible how the lists Chat GPT created was nearly identical to the lists we came up with.
Anonymous
Post 06/19/2025 11:58     Subject: I need help with how to research
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Unigo college reviews by students:
https://www.unigo.com/colleges

I have never heard of Unigo. I suppose the actual comments by students might be helpful, but as a factual resource, all it has going for it is humor value. Here’s what it has to say about Mary Washington, for example:

“Admissions at UMW are considered Selective, with ,48% of all applicants being admitted.
In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 16 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.
0% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 0% were in the top quarter, and 0% were in the top tenth. ”

Or Willam & Mary:

“Admissions at W&M are considered More Selective, with ,67% of all applicants being admitted.
In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 10 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.”

So maybe read the student reviews but ignore any actual statistics. 😂😂


You aren't in the studen tlife reviews. I learned about Unigo here a few years ago. Maybe its been taken over by AI? But the actually kid written reviews were helpful (you have to dig into the site to get the scroll down). Example for Cornell:

Cornell University is a school that attracted me through its rigorous academics, its vibrant student body, and its competitive nature. I specifically was drawn to its computer science program that is boasted to be one of the best in the nation. It has the tendency to over-prepare their students in terms of skill sets needed to succeed in a STEM space. This has definitely enhanced my visibility in regards to opportunities which I am extremely grateful for. As for the student body and campus culture, there are always so many events and clubs for students to connect with one another. Furthermore, despite Cornell's student population containing only 10% black students, there are so many organizations and connectivity that increase my feeling of belonging on campus. On top of that, Cornell has a party school reputation, so it's really good at allowing you to find time to decompress and have fun outside of your studies.


Like when you click on "Tell us about the food and dining options" it takes you to these kinds of reviews?
It was helpful for my kid.
But you can be a Debbie Downer if you need to, in order to make yourself feel better.


"Food at Cornell is FANTASTIC. Look up rankings of best food at colleges, and we're usually up there in the top 5 or so. There's food being sold in practically every building on campus, whether it's soup at the Temple of Zeus, sandwiches in Duffield, and all the delicious all-you-care-to-eat options. All of the buffet-style eateries are pretty fantastic, especially on west campus. Stay away from Okenshield's . . . that one gets a little iffy. It depends on the person, but I'll attest that it's the worst food on campus. Everything else is great and tasty and wonderful, though. If not for all the walking I do on campus, I'd have gained my freshman 15 in the first month."