| Author | Post |
|---|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3279 |
| Mana: |    |
|
Posted: Mon Jul 30th, 2007 11:12 pm |
|
There's been an interesting discussion in an admissions listserv I belong to regarding college catalogs.
Several counselors have expressed dismay that many colleges are no longer printing paper versions of their catalogs because they feel it makes it easier for students to compare academic differences between schools without searching for the online catalog, downloading it, and then repeating the process for another college.
College admissions people have responded by saying that their "enrollment management consultants" have told them that Internet-savvy kids prefer to go online for the catalogs.
Which got me to wondering how many kids actually even LOOK at the catalogs in the first place. So, here are my questions:
1. How useful do you feel college catalogs are in your (the parent's) college research?
2. Who consults the catalogs in your family - you or your child or both?
3. Did you have to show or explain to your child what a college catalog is, or how to use it for research?
4. If you do consult college catalogs as part of the research process, do you prefer online catalogs or paper versions -- or have no preference? Why?
|
DesperateDad
Member
| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 840 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 01:09 am |
|
1. Useful, since they (try) present the college's image of itself (marketing hype and all), but at least they tell the story that college wants the kid/parent to hear.
2. both, but kids moreso
3. Heck no.
4. Prefer hardcopy since they are handier. In between ball games (or whatever), they are easy to thumb thru. Also, I noticed D sharing them to some of her friends, so the college is getting more for its mailing dollar. Have viewed and downloaded the online ver, but have not printed them out (inkjet ink too expensive). So, the online ver gets much less usage.
Obviously, there is a great cost for the college in mailing (and paper for recycling at home). And, kids only keep the ones that spark their interest, so the pile in the den is not too big.
|
Mezzomom
Member
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 01:17 am |
|
1. We never had paper catalogs on hand until we did actual visits, but I was always disappointed if we did NOT receive a catalog as part of the visit. I used online course listings as one tool to help my daughter narrow down her original list, but the catalogs contain much more than just course listings. I spent as much time reading about endowed scholarships and educational backgrounds of professors as I did reading about courses.
2. Now that my daughter's a college student, we both refer to the catalog a lot. Prior to her college decision, I read the catalogs more.
3. My daughter had no problem using a catalog and did use them for side-by-side comparisons on a few occasions.
4. I strongly prefer paper catalogs. For one, who wants to use their own paper/ink to print out a catalog? I also liked the ability to do the side-by-side comparisons of programs, and there was always some little tidbit of administrative type information that wasn't necessarily covered during a tour or Q&A session. Finally, maybe it's just because of the type of high school my daughter attended (very socio-economically diverse), but I question the assumption that everyone has access to a computer and printer. I wonder if this isn't just one more subtle assumption that puts lower-income students at a disadvantage.
I don't think any school is obligated to provide a catalog with the first nibble of interest. But if a student has shown repeated interest or specifically asks for a catalog, I think the request should be honored. My daughter definitely thought less of a school if she felt she had to battle to get a catalog.
|
Canadian
Member
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 02:12 am |
|
1. I picked up catalogues at schools we visited. Have not written away for any. Like having "the real goods' about courses, programs, other info on-hand to see if they match the online hype.
2. Right after the trips, me. I am hoping that once the fat envelopes are in, S will use them to help make final decisions.
3. No.
4. I absolutely prefer hard copy for all the reasons stated below plus also I'm a dinosaur and just feel like books are more real. I wold be surprised if S cares, but I don't know.Last edited on Tue Jul 31st, 2007 02:14 am by Canadian
|
Lderochi
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 306 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 02:37 am |
|
1. Useful. I still think that catalogs are an undiscovered treasure for most kids these days. All that information, all in one place.
2. Me. me, me, me. I'm still not sure my son even realized the colleges he looked at printed catalogs.
3. I tried, but it was pointless.
4. I like paper versions, I just find them easier to use and flip back and forth.
I'm obviously a neanderthal. I have to agree with the enrollment managment consultants. Their target audience just ain't that interested in a hard copy catalog.
|
binx
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 459 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 12:03 pm |
|
Miami U of Ohio (where D is going) is one of the schools that sent out very little promotional material. She visited there the first time by herself, and I asked her to pick up as much printed material as she could, and she came home nearly empty handed, saying that there just wasn't anything available. She is in Germany now, and before she left, we gathered up as much stuff as we could find so she could show her German teachers and friends all about her American school - there just isn't much.
Not just the catalogue -- I found it very frustrating to not have a "view book". I think that one thing the colleges are missing by not having the printed material is that "networking" function - where kids take their stuff to school or to friends, to show off. People around here are not that familiar with Miami U, and D could have been a great ambassador, had they given her anything to work with! It doesn't have to be a whole catalogue -- just give us a few glossy pages with the basics and some tantalizing photos.
|
mominva
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | DC Suburbs |
| Posts: | 334 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 12:40 pm |
|
1. I found the catalogs somewhat useful during the search process. I mostly used them to find specific information - AP credit chart for one child, whether the school had a language requirement for another, etc.
2. I am the resident college junkie; everyone deferred to me to research the important stuff.
3. I sure did try. I became marginally successful once they enrolled and needed to refer to it for academic policies.
4. Back when the first started the process, I wanted the hardcopy. Now I am quite happy with the online info; it is easier to find the most recent changes.
You can't beat the paper version for course 'window shopping' which hubby likes to do.
|
lfm
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jul 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 113 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 03:10 pm |
|
Someone was trying to talk my son into MIT over Caltech because there would be more choices for math classes. My dh got a bit worried about that, and went to the online catalogue to check the options at CIT. He felt better after that, and was able to confirm that there would be plenty of options (not that my son likes to actually make many decisions).
|
Wstrdg
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 401 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 04:36 pm |
|
1. Useful when it came down to picking between the last 2 acceptances
2. I bought a paper copy of the cats for the 2 schools. Had to hunt them down in a dusty corner of the bookstore over the clerks's protests: "you don't want those -- the updates are all online!"
3. I used it first, then showed him relevant parts. He plans to use the paper catalog at online registration, just to make sure that he's found everything online. I'm sure he'll never use a paper one again, after the first registration.
4. I prefer paper, because I sit down in front of the TV, and I flip thru every page, idly, while I'm watching the news. I always find something that I wouldn't have looked for if I was browsing online. But I'm a dinosaur, too.
|
mackinaw
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Michigan |
| Posts: | 784 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 05:28 pm |
|
As the amount of information on the net has grown, I've found the catalogues to be less and less useful in general. But this depends in part on how well organized and searchable the internet sources are. Often it's not all that easy to find some basic things on the web such as a full description of the curriculum and how it's structured from the particular major, up to the college and university levels.
The main reasons that my university gave up on producing catalogues were (a) the availabiliy of the web, and the ability to update things constantly on the web; (b) the production and printing costs of the catalogues, which were fully renewed in any case only every 2 or 3 years; and (c) the fact that owing to the publication (updating) schedule of the printed catalogues they received numerous complaints that the catalogue was out of date, even for the "latest" version.
|
entomom
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 362 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 07:29 pm |
|
1. I usually didn't have hard copy catalogs in the college search, so I used the websites. During the search, I had a spreadsheet and recorded specific information about admissions, majors, clubs, etc. for many schools, so searching websites online worked well.
2. My d consulted the catalogs and she preferred hard copies that she could write in and refer back to without logging into the computer. However, this was after the acceptances were in and trips were made to the schools she was most interested in.
3. no
4. For me, I prefer online versions, if I want to save something for further reference, I just print out that part. For planning her classes, my D definitely prefers hard copy.
|
Pye
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Germany |
| Posts: | 114 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Tue Jul 31st, 2007 10:45 pm |
|
As a student my D prefers doing everything possible online. But in the college search phase we both found paper catalogs helpful--for example in preparing for campus interviews--we mostly traveled on Amtrak and could browse the catalogs en route and compare offerings at several colleges with each other. Also many catalogs list the entire faculty at the end and tell where they got their degrees. I found this somewhat helpful in judging academic quality of faculty members in various departments.
|
CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3279 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Wed Aug 1st, 2007 01:51 am |
|
| Thanks, guys. That was very interesting and helpful. I guess I too am a dinosaur. I get annoyed having to wait to download the .pdf file of the catalog and find it difficult to flip around .pdf files as well. And, when I'm working with kids, it is much easier to grab two paper catalogs for comparing differences off the shelf rather than having to go to different websites and download different files.
|
WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1188 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Wed Aug 1st, 2007 09:45 pm |
|
Definitely a paper catalogue as .pdf files are very slow to navigate. If not a complete catalogue, then a smaller version that has the GE requirements listed. There were some schools that had none on the internet, or they were so well-hidden we never found them.
|
dufay
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 41 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Fri Aug 3rd, 2007 12:18 pm |
|
How useful do you feel college catalogs are in your (the parent's) college research?
1. Very useful
2. Me primarily, daughter occasionally
3. No, but she has looked through online course lists. Hasn't done much research about distribution requirements, AP credits, grad requirements.
4. I prefer paper, but have learned to navigate web sites fairly well.
4. Prefer paper, but only have one catalog. Daughter prefers online, and we are trying to save a few trees here and there.
After discounting the need for a university calendar at McGill, I had to explain to my daughter that in Canada a university "calendar" was actually a catalog.
|
jocelynDAD
Member
|
Posted: Sun Aug 5th, 2007 05:30 am |
|
Paper versions are much better in all respects.
Remember they are the rules for the attending student. View books and cherry picking throught the on line course schedules are fine but the paper catalogs have everything from Professors BG to all the courses given by a department etc and the rules for the 'core classes'
when comparing schools it cannot be beat IMO
Once you are attending, then yes the on-line would be easy to get updated etc.ut in the hunt process, paper catalogs are a must!
|
rhumbob
Member
| Joined: | Mon Mar 20th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 66 |
| Mana: | |
|
Posted: Mon Aug 13th, 2007 07:54 pm |
|
Aren't graduation requirements locked in when you enroll? Back in the dark ages when I attended college I believe that was the case. I used that old catalogue as a checklist throughout college.
Maybe its generational but I much prefer leafing through a catalogue. On a website you only see info on a page you have selected. In a paper catalogue you notice things on pages as you leaf through that you otherwise may not have considered.
|
Current time is 06:37 pm | |
|
