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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:38 pm |
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In a discussion about the US News Rankings, Mackinaw suggested a section where we could put together a list of data resources for finding information about colleges that would be an alternative to the information provided by US News.
Leftcoast and Descartes responded with two lists of resources, some of which have been listed here before. But, I'm going to copy them over to here. Please feel free to add to them!
Carolyn
Last edited on Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:44 pm by CarolynLawrence
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:42 pm |
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From LeftCoast:
Here are my favorite free sites to check for data, in order of ease of use (my perception). Some require free registration in order to enable certain features. (Some of which are kind of cool, such as storing student stats to use College Data's automatic "chances" calculation feature. Sites #2-5 below all have features that let you store your retrieved data for easy reference later on. Princeton Review probably has additional descriptive info about college life and ambience -- very useful -- but I find their web site is slower and more cumbursome to use, which is why I use #1 or #2 if I want the data in a hurry. CollegeData also lets you enter financial data and tries to calculate a net cost of attendance based on each college's cost and projected financial aid, taking into account each college's financial aid policies. Xap.com makes data geared to learning disabled students very easily accessible.
1. IPEDS COOL:
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/
2. College Board:
http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp
3. Princeton Review:
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/default.asp
4. CollegeData.com:
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/search/college/college_search_tmpl.jhtml
5. Xap.com
http://www.xap.com/
I'm sure there are others. Once you are focused on specific colleges, it is also very worthwhile to try Googling, "college name" + "common data set" -- I'd say about half of the colleges have their common data sets posted on line, and that is the source from which most of the other sites derive their data.
Last edited on Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:43 pm by CarolynLawrence
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:43 pm |
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From Descartes:
To supplement leftcoast's, I'll add some of my favorites:
College Results http://www.collegeresults.org/
Multiple interesting pieces of data not easily found elsewhere - 4, 5, 6 year grad rates, student body demographics, graduation rates broken down by demographics, financial aid profiles. Easy to find and compare peer schools.
Economice Diversity http://www.economicdiversity.org/index.php
Similar data as above, but particularly good on financial aid breakdown.
I find rankings interesting provided none is looked at as defininitive:
Rankings: http://www.collegeadmissionspartners.com/college_rankings.htm
Links to various ranking schemes
Ordo Ludus rankings: http://www.ordoludus.com/
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Jul 2nd, 2007 03:47 pm |
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Specifically for engineering and computer science, the search engine at Try Engineering provides useful data about test score ranges, admissions rates, and other data.
Of course, another source of free detailed information are the Common Data Sets colleges put together themselves. That is actually what US News & World Reports, and other guidebooks, use for their data. More colleges are making their full CDS available on their website - do a search for "Common Data Set." If the school hasn't made it available, there's no harm in asking them directly for a copy. I've had some success with doing so.
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hummingbird
Member
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 12:20 am |
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| How do I go about finding out endowment information?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 12:41 am |
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The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) publishes an annual list of endowments for all colleges and puts the summary online at: http://www.nacubo.org/x2376.xml
It is also a good idea to search the website of any college under consideration using the term "Financial Statement" or "Financial Report" and "Endowment." The Financial Statement tells you important things like whether the school is operating in the red for the prior year, and how their fund-raising efforts are going. NACUBO's press releases can give you a good idea of what is happening at *all* institutions that can be helpful in judging information from individual schools. I also like to check each college's development office website --- sometimes you can get good clues there about a school's financial health. If the Financial Statement isn't online, ask the school directly for it. Most will give it to you if you ask, but you may have to sniff around to find out who best to ask for it (often the development office is most helpful).
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 12:43 am by CarolynLawrence
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hummingbird
Member
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 02:04 am |
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Thanks, Carolyn. So helpful, as always!!! 
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 03:57 am |
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Since it is sometimes useful to think of schools in terms of the peers with whom they associate, here are some links to associations of colleges and universities:
Association of New American Colleges (ANAC) is a national consortium of twenty-two selective, small to mid-size (2,000-7,500 students) independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. http://www.anac.org/
Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) is a group of 14 liberal arts colleges in the midwest. I remember getting literature from them when I was in high school. I've always liked the fact that the U of Chicago includes itself in this circle. http://www.acm.edu/
Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (cIcu) is a statewide association representing the public policy interests of the chief executives of more than 100 independent colleges and universities in New York State. http://www.cicu.org/about/colleges.php
News and information from The Annapolis Group, a 115-member consortium of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. http://www.collegenews.org/
Colleges That Change Lives (Loren Pope's 40 schools. Presumably Antioch will be replaced) http://www.ctcl.com/
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) is championing the cause of liberal arts education of superior quality in the public sector. (There be bargains here) http://www.coplac.org/
The Eco League is dedicated to environmental learning and the active pursuit of environmental studies. Six colleges make up the consortium, together offering opportunities to study human and natural systems from Maine to Alaska. (Looks like Antioch shows up here, too.) http://www.ecoleague.org/about/index.php
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:20 am by Descartes
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:10 am |
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Since it appears to be OK to link to CC, and since Common Data Sets have already been mentioned, here is a link to a list of CDS's (scroll to the bottom for the list start):
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76444&page=9
You'll find some strays added in subsequent posts.
Although not comprehensive, I have found this remarkably accurate. Whenever I have not found a college on this list (such as Bard and Occidental), I have been unable to find its CDS on the college's website, too.
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:12 am by Descartes
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mackinaw
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:18 am |
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In the spirit of the previous two posts, here are a couple of links to art schools and programs. Not to data as such, but these are helpful in letting students know which schools offer which specializations, and at what level (bachelors, masters). They also offer good tips about precollege preparation and portfolio preparation.
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD): http://www.aicad.org/
National Portfolio Day Association (NPDA): http://npda.org/
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:22 am by mackinaw
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:31 am |
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I didn't mean to drift too far from the original data orientation of the thread. I guess I see associations as a kind of macro-data. Please delete if its not appropriately topical.
However, here is a pure data site, the Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System. It takes some patience to learn how to work it and much of the data is oriented towards research spending and resources; probably more pertinent to graduate students and faculty. However you can find out the baccalaureate institution of all the Ph.D. awardees in a given time period for a given broad or narrow discipline. I find this interesting information in trying to assess departmental strengths of undergraduate programs, especially if you add class sizes to the results (you'll have to do the division yourself, however, to get Ph.D's per student). http://webcaspar.nsf.gov
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 04:35 am by Descartes
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 03:51 pm |
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| http://petersons.com/
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 06:59 pm |
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All of these are great resources. I'll also add the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities: http://www.naicu.org to Descartes list of associations.
And, I also find that it can be informative to read through the online archives of University Business Magazine from time to time to see what's up in terms of managing colleges and universities, and individual college enrollment management strategies. The link is: http://www.universitybusiness.com/
The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed are two other great resource sfor anyone who wants to be fully informed about Higher Education. Inside Higher Ed is free, http://www.insidehighered.com The Chronicle isn't free but does put some stories from each issue up on their website for free, for others you must be a subscriber. Some public libraries, and almost ALL college libraries subscribe though, so if you find yourself with some time while your kid interviews on a college visit, check it out. http://www.chronicle.com
Also, once a year, the Chronicle of Higher Education runs a special issue on college president compensation. The main value isn't learning how much president's make (although that can be interesting) but that the database also lists the revenues and expenditures for every college in the U.S. It is very interesting to see how closely some schools cut it (including Beloit!), and also interesting to see that even some schools with big endowments are spending far less than one would think. I'm of a mind that although everyone talks about the endowment per student, the real story lies in the expenditures per student, and perhaps, to a lesser extent, the revenues coming in per student. Anyhow, the database isn't available unless you subscribe, but I'd be happy to pull together the most recent numbers for any schools of interest to people here -- PM me privately if you have one or two in mind.
Carolyn
Last edited on Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 07:12 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 07:10 pm |
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| Carolyn, I think that's http://www.naicu.edu
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jul 3rd, 2007 07:46 pm |
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Yep. You're right. I type too fast sometimes. 
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Peppermill
Member
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Posted: Fri Sep 7th, 2007 01:47 am |
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| I don't think I see this specifically mentioned here (though the NAICU is), but launching on Sept. 26, 2007 is the NAICU's U-CAN (University and College Accountability Network) initiative, and the tally of participating colleges and universities is being increased daily - now close to 500 institutions http://www.naicu.edu/special_initiatives/id.603/default.asp Also their blog has more info http://ucan-network.blogspot.com/ Last edited on Fri Sep 7th, 2007 01:48 am by Peppermill
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bumpyroad
Member
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Posted: Fri Sep 7th, 2007 11:27 pm |
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I was looking around the IPEDS site today, looking for enrollment numbers. If you go beyond the COOL part of it, you can get to all of their data using their data selection tool:
http://nces.ed.gov/ipedspas/dct/index.asp
You can download whatever fields you wish, for schools selected by a variety of criteria. This is mostly useful if you're comfortable with statistical analysis on your own - these are raw numbers.
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