What do students receive if they request more information from a college?

[shanvan]

I'm assuming most don't send catalogs any longer.  I wish they would b/c sometimes I get tired of looking at websites and I have a suspicion that print materials don't blend together quite the same way that websites do.

 

Ds and I have a list of about 15 colleges.  Should he request info from them, or should we stick with websites and visits?

[TechWife]

Phone calls, emails and a few postcards. The postcards don't have any information on them that isn't on the website. I'd stick with the websites, then do college visits. 

[regentrude]

I can not imagine any print medium having more pertinent information than the school's website.

 

All printed information we ever received from schools (40lbs worth of it) had mainly glossy pictures of pretty campus, impressive figures about degree programs and opportunities, and images of smiling students of stunning racial diversity and gender parity.

 

The websites have info about resources, course catalog, classes available a particular semester, syllabi and course information, instructor info...

 

ETA: For specific information, always contact the academic department, not admissions. Admissions people are NOT the most knowledgeable about the school - they are just good at selling their school and making it look good.

[Kareni]

My daughter wrote to about thirty Classics Departments around the country when she was a ninth or tenth grader.  She asked questions about how they perceived homeschoolers, what classes they recommended she take, etc.  She heard back from about half of them as I recall.  The responses varied from hand written letters from Department heads to brochures to campus newspapers and to suggestions she look at the school websites.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shanvan]

I can not imagine any print medium having more pertinent information than the school's website.

 

I realize that, but a printed catalog of course descriptions/major requirements would be nice to peruse away from the computer at times.

 

All printed information we ever received from schools (40lbs worth of it) had mainly glossy pictures of pretty campus, impressive figures about degree programs and opportunities, and images of smiling students of stunning racial diversity and gender parity.

 

So, was the glossy info requested by you, or were they sent without you asking?  We already get the glossy adverts.  That's why I was asking what you get if you actually request more info.

 

The websites have info about resources, course catalog, classes available a particular semester, syllabi and course information, instructor info...

 

ETA: For specific information, always contact the academic department, not admissions. Admissions people are NOT the most knowledgeable about the school - they are just good at selling their school and making it look good.

I know there is a ton of info online, but I'm one of those people who still prefers a 'real' book to an e-reader.  Websites/pages starting blending together too easily for me.  Maybe I'll have to start printing the info instead of making notes or relying on memory.  Ds also starts getting the colleges confused after spending time on their sites.  Makes it hard to have an intelligent conversation about the schools.  

[Artichoke]

I know there is a ton of info online, but I'm one of those people who still prefers a 'real' book to an e-reader. Websites/pages starting blending together too easily for me. Maybe I'll have to start printing the info instead of making notes or relying on memory. Ds also starts getting the colleges confused after spending time on their sites. Makes it hard to have an intelligent conversation about the schools.

We chose to print info from the websites that ds was interested in. Then we hole-punched the info and put it into three ring binders. It was also helpful to have this info with us when ds was meeting with a school.

[shanvan]

We chose to print info from the websites that ds was interested in. Then we hole-punched the info and put it into three ring binders. It was also helpful to have this info with us when ds was meeting with a school.

Thanks.  That is what we will have to do.  Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

[Jen in NY]

My girls have enjoyed perusing The Fiske Guide to Colleges.

 

It's by no means the first or last thing you should look at, but it seems a little more objective than the glossy stuff that you get in the mail.

 

I like Regentrude's and other pp's advice to contact the department of interest directly when you narrow things down a bit.

 

 

 

 

[Myra]

We also made spreadsheets so we could do a quick visual comparison of colleges...

 

The column headings were:  name of college...location....distance away....tuition costs...room and board costs......merit awards.....need based?....no of students.....sat scores needed.....etc.

 

 

Myra

[JanetC]

Sending in the postcard or signing up at the website sometimes gets you a tick mark in the computer that you have "demonstrated interest."