Are you stuck at home because of Coronavirus fears? Or concerned about the high travel cost of college tours? Whatever the reason, more and more students and families are turning to virtual college tours and college research to learn about different universities from the comfort of their own homes.

But how can you get a feel for a school without being able to walk around the campus and interact with the people there?

Here at Insight, we believe that by doing your research correctly, taking extensive notes, and approaching your college research with the same amount of thoughtfulness you would for any other big decision, you’ll certainly be able to make an educated choice about which college you should attend!

Read on below for our tips on how to learn all about a college — without ever visiting.

Insight Tip #1: Go to The School Website

Where can you learn all about a particular college? On the college’s website, of course!

Be sure to learn about the different majors and classes offered. This will help you to distinguish between the offerings of each college. You can also find helpful resources tailored to your exact needs at Student Support Centers, which might include:

• Career Services
• Disability Services
• Cultural Affinity Services
• Women’s or LGBTQIA+ Services
• Student Wellness Centers – for both physical and mental health support
• Student Success Centers – for free tutoring and academic support

You’ll be surprised to learn what support centers are available and what services they offer.

So whether you’re hoping to pursue study abroad, internships, academic research with a professor, join a club or looking for other unique opportunities, be sure to do the research about all the exciting opportunities available at your college.

Insight Tip #2: Visit Their Social Media — and Interact with Actual Students

Another great way to learn all about a college is by visiting their social media sites.

You can learn almost everything about a particular school by researching their Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook pages. Here you can also get a better sense for the college’s brand and what really makes them unique.

However, an even better way to learn all about a college is by talking with current and former students!

That’s why I love interactive forums like Facebook groups for university students or specific university clubs, forums like Reddit or Quora, and even LinkedIn, to connect with current students and alumni. Connecting with groups is generally easier when you share something in common with them like a hobby, major interest, or even a shared hometown.

Challenge yourself to ask at least five questions, and don’t be shy to post a question or to even reach out to a particular student or student group!

These forums are all especially helpful to understand the student experience at a school. However, if you’re unable to connect with any students, watching YouTube videos of current students or alumni talking about their experience at a particular school can also be a great way to learn more.

Insight Tip #3: Go to The College Review Sites — But Read Them Critically!

Another great resource is online college review forms like Niche, Unigo, or even sites like RateMyProfessor.

These review forms are great places to find both amazing qualities of a particular college — and also learn about areas for concern! Every college has its positive and negative qualities. That’s why informed students are aware of all these before they make their college decision, and before they show up for their first day.

Think of college websites like a glossy brochure. They’re touting all the positives of a school, but it’s on the review sites where you can find the real, nitty-gritty truth and both the positive and negative qualities of a college.

That said, these websites can also be forums for students to air their complaints (whether real or imagined!) and so you should be sure to read them critically.

From college review sites, you’ll find areas of concern, such as discovering that a college might have less-than-responsive professors or impacted, hard to get classes.

That’s why by doing research ahead of time, smart students can recognize these challenges, how they compare across their schools, and then take proactive action. If professors are hard to get in touch with, they’ll take actions like being persistent and visiting office hours. Or if classes are impacted, they’ll plan ahead and take a class over the summer to get ahead.

By doing college research, you can know before you go to college.

Insight Tip #4: Get in Contact with School Officials

Whenever possible, get in touch with college officials by emailing or calling the Admissions Department, the department of the major you’re most interested in, or even career services.

That’s because there is no better way to understand the specific benefits of a college than by talking to those who work there. Prospective students can even reach out to ask school officials to be connected with current students or alumni to learn about their experiences.

So if you are having trouble deciding whether to become a business major at ABC College or XYZ University, one of the best ways to understand the differences between these two schools is by talking to those with first-hand experience.

Most college officials are happy to respond to your questions via email or phone. So if you want to understand what services you can get at the career center or the most popular classes for your major, directly contact the people in the Admissions Office, Career Center, Disability Services, or Student Success Services to gain great insights into your universities.

Insight Tip #5: Don’t Forget to Research the College Town Too!

It’s easy to forget to research the environment around the university. However, where your school is, what resources are available there, and other local cultural factors will greatly impact your college experience — and should not be overlooked!

So be sure to research the town that you are considering moving to, particularly if it is a place quite different than what you’re familiar with.

Do this by looking up the town on Yelp and TripAdvisor to see what the local attractions are and get a sense of the community. Additionally, consider that where you attend college could impact your internship opportunities. So don’t forget to research opportunities ahead of time by going to job-search sites like LinkedIn and Indeed to see what jobs and internships would be available to you in this town and region of the country.

Even if you’re not able to visit a college in person, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make an informed college decision.

If you do your research, take detailed notes, (and don’t forget to connect with students, administrators, and alumni!) you’ll be certain to find which college is best for you. And always remember, your Insight counselor is available to answer your questions about colleges.

Best of Luck,

Team Insight

This week for #CollegeFactsFriday, we’re talking about San Diego State University! 

1. San Diego State has a strong statement of ethics: “Leadership starts here”. The statement is a fundamental principle that guides the actions of the school.

2. The school is ranked No. 60 among public universities, and in the top 130 overall. Learn more here. 

3. The college colors are black and scarlet

4. A very cool event at San Diego State is the Student Research Symposium, an annual forum for SDSU’s graduate and undergraduate students to present their faculty-mentored research. 

5. Notable alumni of SDSU include Jim Sinegal (Costco founder), Ellen Ochoa (Astronaut) and Tony Gwynn (Baseball). 

6. The school dates back to 1879, when it began as the San Diego Normal School, a training facility for elementary school teachers. 

7. Interested in learning more about what it would be like to be an Aztec? Visit the “Experience SDSU” Instagram page! They post student tips and events happening each week to help students stay involved. 

8. You can also learn all about the student traditions, including the “Good Luck” tradition where students rub the left foot of a 6-foot, life-size statue of Samuel T. Black, SDSU’s first president. Read more here. 

9. “100 years, 100 stones” is a very cool monument on campus celebrating the 100th anniversary of the school. It was put together using stones gathered from within a 100-mile radius of campus. See the monument here. 

10. Learn more about San Deigo State on social media! Visit Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for more. 

Question: I am a freshman in college right now. I chose the school I am attending because I wanted to go to a big school in another part of the country for a new experience. I thought I would love this school, but it turns out that I am really unhappy here. Is it possible for me to transfer this year or do I have to wait until next year? Should I go to community college first? I really don’t want to stay here any longer than I need to.

Answer: People often believe that college is made up of four magical and blissful years. The reality is that school is hard and adjusting to a new environment can be even harder.  So my first piece of advice to you is that what you are feeling is something that most college students feel at some point during their freshman year. For many, that feeling goes away usually after the December break. Before you make the decision to leave school, try to pinpoint what you wish was different:

1- Are you homesick and miss your family and the lifestyle you had last year?

2- How are the academics? Do you feel that your classes are challenging and interesting? Is your course load to difficult or too easy? Are the classes too big and impersonal?

3- Do you feel like you have made some solid friendships?

4- Have you started to get involved in some extracurricular activities or organizations on campus?

Building relationships can be the hardest thing to do in a new environment but also the one act that can help you feel like you are part of a community. Try to get to know your professors, classmates, roommates, and dorm mates. Get involved in activities you love or want to explore. The easiest way to connect with others is through shared interests.

If you are absolutely positively sure that you cannot stay at this school, there are certainly options. Few schools give the option of a Sophomore Transfer. This means that you apply to transfer this year to then begin in the Fall of your Sophomore Year. In these cases, the colleges will likely want to see your high school transcripts and test scores since you will only have one semester or quarter of college grades to show. Other schools only give the option of Junior Transfers. This means that you apply in the Fall or Spring of your sophomore year and begin at the new school in Fall of your Junior year.  This would mean that you would need to either stay on campus at your current school for the next year and a half or transfer to a community college for that time.

And there is one slightly riskier option. You can decide to drop your current courses. If you do that, you can then apply as a freshman applicant. In this case, you should contact the school you would like to attend and ask for an admissions officer’s best advice. If it is a school you were previously admitted to, that is a good sign but definitely not a guarantee that you will get in this year. Do not rely on where you were accepted previously since admissions changes every year. The risk involved here is that if you drop your courses and you are not admitted as a freshman, you will likely want to transfer two years down the road. The courses you are taking now can help you to fulfill some of the transfer requirements. Dropping the courses mean that you will need to retake them. 

Think hard about why you want to leave your school. If you are willing to ride it out for the remainder of the year, you will have given yourself the best opportunity to get adjusted. If there is some deeper issue happening and you need to get out, research your options. You are not stuck at any one school. But you want to be wise about your move. Bouncing from one school to another may set off some red flags. Making one move can signal maturity. Making two or more may mean that you are inflexible.

Remember that college is going to be filled with ups and downs no matter which school you attend.

All the best, 

Team Insight 

We’re back with another #CollegeFactsFriday! This week, we’re taking a closer look at Penn State, located in … you guessed it, Pennsylvania! 

1. The history of Penn State dates back to 1855 when the school had a focus on agricultural science. More on the history of the school here. 

2. Penn State has a diverse student body, with first-generation students making up one-fourth of the student body, and over 17,000 adult learners. 

3. The mascot for Penn State is the “Nittany Lion”. It is an eastern mountain lion, the “Nittany” forename referring to the local Mount Nittany, which overlooks the university

4. The Penn State values are Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence, and Community. Learn more here. 

5. Statistics your thing? Check out the “At a Glance” section of the Penn State website for many interesting numbers, such as since it’s founding, Penn State has conferred more than 863,636 degrees,

6. If statistics aren’t your thing, maybe Ice Cream is a little more your speed! Did you know that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, took a course on ice cream making at Penn State’s creamery? 

7. Ever heard of a 46-hour dance-athon? The “THON” is a Penn State student-run dance marathon and is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. THON is a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer. All dancers in the THON are Penn State students. Learn more at THON.org. 

8. Penn State’s original school colors were pink and black, which was originally submitted by the student body at the time. They are now blue and white.

9. Penn State is in the top 1 percent of universities worldwide. It has the largest alumni network in the nation. 

10. Learn more about Penn State on social! Visit Facebook, Instagram, Twiter and YouTube. 

Writing about oneself is not an easy task, but a necessary one when it comes to college applications. Too often students and parents scour the internet looking for the secret to the best college essays, or devour past essays as clues to getting in. But there is no gaming the system when it comes to writing the essay.

Let’s take a step back and think about the importance of the personal statement. In a mass of thousands of applications, the personal statement is one of the few key components of the applications where the student has freedom of expression – both in terms of style and content. In an era when the average GPA of college applicants is above a 3.5, test prep has boosted average standardized test scores, and resume padding is an extracurricular in an of itself, admissions officers are hungry for more information. They want to know who you are, what is important to you, and what makes you tick. With this information, they will get a better sense of what you will contribute to their college campuses and what role you will play in the overall collegiate community.

So don’t waste time reading the 1000 most successful college essays or mimicking the essays your neighbor wrote last year. Your essays need to be uniquely yours!

The first thing you want to do is to evaluate your application. Where are its strengths and weaknesses? What are the important experiences and qualities that are not fully discussed in your transcript, test scores, list of activities, and letters of recommendations? What are the success and failures that have made you stronger? What are the moments that have influenced you? What do you want an admissions officer to know about you when they finish reading your application?

Once you have a sense of what you want to convey, sit down at your computer and just write and write and write about a given experience or thought until you have nothing else to say. Don’t get limited by structure or style. Don’t get bogged down by word counts and “hooks”. Somewhere in your meanderings probably lays the basis of your college essay. Go through these drafts by yourself or with someone that you trust to pick out the most salient and impactful ideas.

Remember that you will likely have at least two essays to write for each given college. Try to balance ideas and experiences. If you want to talk about a failure in one essay, use the other essay to show your strengths. If you want to be a doctor or engineer or teacher want to discuss those interests, pick one essay topic to convey your future goals and use the other to discuss something unrelated to career choice. If you had one really amazing summer experience, relate its meaning in one essay and use the other to discuss one of your hobbies.  If you need to discuss why your grades slipped in one semester, be concise and to the point. No need to draw out this explanation over multiple essay topics since your high school career should not be defined by it.

Every essay is an opportunity to share something about yourself that is not easily evident. Writing about being a hard worker when your grades already show it is too easy. Saying that you want to be a doctor because you like helping people is almost obvious. While you might love dance or music because it offers you the ability to express yourself has already been written about. The same is true for art. It is not that these experiences or sentiments are not important. It is that these ideas don’t even scratch the surface. Do not waste the opportunity in front of you. Think deeply about what you want to convey.

Writing may not be easy, but it is much easier if you write honestly and sincerely. 

All the best, and happy writing! 

Team Insight

This week we’re taking #CollegeFactsFriday to the capital and learning more about American University, located in Washington DC! 

1. American University was founded by John Fletcher Hurst in 1893, and first took on undergraduate students in 1925.

2. There are 250+ student organizations at AU, you can learn more about them here. 

3. The Mascot for American University is one you can probably guess – an Eagle! For the history of “Clawed Z. Eagle”, you can watch a video all about it here.

4. American University has eight schools and over 170 programs including bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

5. Sustainability is a big focus at AU, and electricity on the campus comes from 100% renewable sources! 

6. American University boasts a 90-acre campus in Washington, DC. and offers students the chance to enrich themselves with the history and culture found in the very famous streets around them. AU was ranked #4 for most beautiful urban campuses in 2015! 

7. AU is certainly more than a “sleepy college town” – watch a video about campus life and spirit here. 

8. Famous Alumni from American University include Goldie Hawn, Paul Ryan and Judy Sheindlin – AKA, Judge Judy! 

9. New students to AU take part in the “All American Welcome”, a two week celebration that welcomes new students to campus with over 70 events! Interested in learning more? Click here for the website. 

10. Learn more about American University on social! Visit Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.