If you are planning to attend college, you may have already noticed that your mailbox, inbox and voicemail are quickly filling up with college, credit card and student loan offers. If this hasn’t hit you yet, it will eventually, and you’ll probably ask yourself: How did all of these companies get my name? Unfortunately, companies can find you through many avenues —marketing lists, social networks such as facebook and mySpace and even through the companies that administer the SAT and ACT. It may be late for you to protect yourself from some of these companies, but there is one major avenue you may still be able to block off – College Search Sites.
If you haven’t decided which colleges and universities to apply to, you may consider searching the internet to find your dream school. There are several college search sites that allow users to conduct their own search or complete a college matching process to find prospective schools. These sites can be extremely helpful and are certainly better than sifting through those giant college directories in your school library. However, there are a few things you need to before you dive in to the World Wide Web:
1) What is your contact information worth?
This year, colleges and universities will spend an estimated 1.8 billion dollars to search for students online and are currently paying 15-100 dollars per name to purchase the contact information of a prospective student. Because of this, there are now thousands of companies trying to collect and sell your contact information. The bottom line is….WATCH YOUR BACK.
2) When is it alright to give your contact information?
Although you need to be careful, there are certainly times when you should give your contact information. For instance, some college search sites only sell your contact information to schools you objectively match with and others allow you to opt out to prevent colleges from contacting you. In these situations, it is probably fine to give your contact information and in fact, it might be beneficial to you. However, it is always wise to read the privacy policy before you sign your life away.
3) Which sites should you stay away from?
As a general rule, you should be skeptical of any sites that ask for your contact information upfront. Although there may be some helpful sites that do this, I don’t actually know of any. If you find one, just make sure to do your homework before you jump in. Additionally, any sites that are full of advertisements from colleges and universities are often not worth your time. Most of these sites will just ask you a few questions and give you a list of recommended schools that have little to do with your needs. These sites only recommend colleges that have paid for a listing.
4) What sites are worth my time?
My three favorite sites are myUsearch (admittedly I am the co-founder, but I honestly think it is one of the best sites out there), Petersons and Collegeboard. Our site, myUsearch, matches students honestly and accurately by providing the names of matching colleges regardless of the schools’ willingness to pay for a listing and it gives students the opportunity to opt out to prevent any school from contacting them. Both Petersons and Collegeboard have extensive data on thousands of schools and for the most part, they offer an honest match. There are a few other decent sites, but these are by far my favorite. If you can’t find what you are looking for, your high school counselor may be able to help you as well.
If you would like more information, you can check out my post about choosing a college website, but just to recap, I recommend following these tips:
- Avoid sites that ask for your contact information upfront
- Read the disclaimer to see who they will be selling your contact info to
- Ask your high school counselor for a site recommendation
- Visit a few sites to see if you get the same answers
- Try sites that offer reputable services other than search engines such as publishing, test prep, etc.
- Try my recommendations: Petersons and Collegeboard are much more unbiased than most, and myUsearch has a completely unbiased process.
Contributing author Elizabeth Kudner is the co-founder of myUsearch, an unbiased online service that matches students to colleges and universities.
