The College Road Trip: Research 2 (Common Data & Navigator)

Photos from Oberlin Visits

While on the road trip, admissions always reference two tools that we actually used in building the initial list of schools. First up, the Common Data Set is a standardized data reports that all colleges and universities have to provide to the public. This detailed report covers many pieces of information that can help you choose the right school. Each school should have their Common Data Set report provided on their website. Simply search for the school name and “common data set” (ex. NYU common data set.) If you cant find it on their website, or the report provided on their website is 3 years old. Worse case you can email the admission office and request a copy of the current report to be emailed to you. It’s typicall in a PDF report. Here are some of the key items you can find on the report, and might want consider noting in your research:

Admissions info

    • Retention of Students

    • Acceptance Rate for Applicants

    • Applicant Class Rank

    • SAT & ACT Ranges

    • GPA Recommendations & Demographics

Tuition Data

    • Tuition and Housing costs

    • Average Scholarship Issuance and Assistance

    • College Board Tuition Calculator Link

Financial Aid Numbers

    • Number Student with Financial Assistance

    • # of First Year Students who completed a degree

    • Federal Loans vs. Scholarship/Aid numbers

    • Acceptance Deadline Date

Staff & Class Size

    • Faculty numbers and demographic data

    • Student to Faculty Ratio

The other great research tool is the College Navigator Site run by the National Center of Education Statistics. This federal site gathers it’s data from the submitted Common Data reports that are submitted by each college/university. The site does have some additional data. One key data detail to take look at when searching for schools, is the current Campus Security & Safety. This data set is pulled directly from federal justice agencies. This also provides detailed in formation on school athletic programs and details on the school’s accreditation. Below is some of the data we looked at for schools. To grab a picture of how the community and school look from the perspective law enforcement and community enforcement. This data is very useful for schools that have a heavy presence of greek life, or even city centered schools.

  • Rape/Fondling

  • Domestic Dating Violence

  • Stalking

  • Drug Violation/Arrest

  • Alcohol Violation/Arrest

  • Drug violation Discipline

  • Alcohol Violation Discipline

BRIAN H-KCollege, Road TripComment