How to Research A College or University Using Their Website
Updated: Apr 16, 2024
Learning about a college or university is about more than picturesque campus photos – it's about navigating the wealth of information these colleges already offer on their website. Use the F-O-C-U-S method – Fact Book, Objective and Mission Statement, Curriculum, Undergrad Life, and AdmissionS - to uncover crucial insights and the most interesting information about colleges that you are thinking about.
NOTE: this post inspired by the great content and guide at https://magellancounseling.com/researching-college-websites/
Five Steps to Success: How To Research a College or University Using Their Website
Colleges put an amazing amount of helpful information on their websites. Your goal: figure out whether or not the school is interesting and a potential fit; don’t get distracted by pretty marketing pictures of campus architecture complete with fall foliage and students sitting in the quad.
Use the F-O-C-U-S method.
F = Fact Book
O = Objective and Mission Statement
C = Curriculum, e.g. academics and what you would study
U = Undergrad Life
S = Admissions and yes, this is intentionally the last thing you should look at
F = Fact Book
Sometimes called “factbook”, “fact file”, “fact sheet”, or “fast facts”, a fact book contains a roll-up of data on the college and answers most of your high-level questions, making it an ideal place to start. Want to know how many undergraduate students are enrolled? Fact book. Want to know how many freshmen return for sophomore year and the graduation % after 6 years? Fact book. Want to know the student:teacher ratio and average class sizes ? Fact book.
You can search for this document on the college’s website. Or, use Google by searching [school] [fact book], e.g. “whitman college fact book”.
O = Objective and Mission Statement
A college’s mission statement succinctly describes why they exist and what purpose they serve. You ideally want the mission to align with what you’re looking for in an undergraduate experience.
These mission statements can admittedly be a bit dry, but they help you later on. If you choose to apply, for example, you’ll likely use this information when answering the typical essay question: “why this college?”.
C = Curriculum (academics)
The best way to find out about the curriculum is to explore the course catalogue. Again, search for this via the website or google it e.g. “whitman college course catalogue”.
The catalogue tells you the majors and minors offered by the university, info about each program, and typically links to deeper information elsewhere on the website, making it an excellent jumping off point.
Take a look at the field(s) of study you are most interested in. If you’re undecided on a major, that’s OK - review the majors and minors that are available and pick a few to explore.
Pay close attention:
Is there a common curriculum that freshmen / many students take? This can be the case at many liberal arts colleges so it’s worthwhile to learn more about these requirements.
How many classes outside of your major will you have to take to graduate? Look carefully at graduation requirements, which might include papers, a thesis, or presentations.
Do the courses in your major sound interesting and are they the sort of classes you want to take? Keep in mind that requirements differ greatly from school to school, even for the same major. For example, one biology program might require more chemistry classes than another.
Who are the faculty? What do they teach and what are their interests? Many websites show the faculty’s current research projects and/or publications.
U = Undergrad life
Most college websites have a top-level navigation bar that leads to information about student life. Explore this section to learn more about:
The dorms and living arrangements
Meals and food plans
Clubs and organisations
Greek life
Because of pandemic impact to in-person campus visits, you’ll find that many schools now offer a ‘virtual tour’ option. Watch these videos to get more of a feel of the campus and students.
S = Admissions
Yes, admissions is intentionally last. Most of your research should focus on determining fit, i.e. is this college interesting to you, is it the sort of place where you could potentially succeed, and should you explore it further?
Once you’ve completed your understanding of the college, take a look at the requirements to apply and the typical student profile. This will help you understand how your academic achievements match up with the sort of applicants the school accepts.
A good source of information for this can be found on admissions FAQ pages, where colleges tend to give you more of the “real talk” about what they are looking for in candidates.
But Wait, How Am I Going To Remember All of this Info?
To help with your research, I’ve created a simple research guide and template in Google Docs that you can use. Link to download.
Take basic notes as you go. It should take you about 15-20 minutes per college. After you research a few schools they can start to sound similar, and it is hard to keep track of the finer details. Don’t trust your memory and don’t make yourself repeatedly look up the same info on a school’s website over and over.
How to research a college or university using their website? Follow the F-O-C-U-S method. Write key info down and refer back to your notes later.
Happy researching!
