WASHNGTON — For many high school seniors, fall means deciding where to apply for college and maybe visiting a guidance counselor. Data crunchers hope to help.
The popularity of social media sites and advancements in the ability to analyze the vast amounts of data we put online give members of the class of 2015 more tools than ever to help chart their next step, even if finding the right college is an inexact science.
The professional networking site LinkedIn has just come out with its “University Finder,” which identifies which colleges are popular with which companies. pools student data to predict admission prospects. There’s even a dating service-like site for higher education: Admitted.ly pairs students with colleges based on such factors as body piercings and whether applicants go to church.
These sites are joining the game of college rankings, which has some education experts excited and other rolling their eyes.
“For many families and students, the admissions process is very opaque,” said Matthew Pittinsky, co-founder of the education technology giant Blackboard and CEO of Parchment. “And what’s happening now is that (students) are beginning to share data with each other … to bring transparency” to the process.
Lloyd Thacker, head of the Education Conservancy and a critic of college rankings, has another take: These sites are one more way to profit from senior-year angst.
“Technology has no inner logic,” he said. “Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we should use it.”
Picking a college is nothing like it once was. In 1980, there were 3,150 colleges and universities, according to the Department of Education, and a primary factor for many students was location.
Now, there are close to 4,700 schools, many of which go out of their way to attract out-of-state students because of the money they bring. Students worried about getting turned down apply to lots of schools to hedge their bets.
Halle Lukasiewicz, 18, said she remembers the day Northwestern University, a private university in Illinois and her top choice, began e-mailing acceptance letters. A chatroom devoted to hopefuls was buzzing. Kids were posting their grades and test scores and whether they had gotten in.
Lukasiewicz, now a Northwestern freshman, said she’s not sure the site did much other than to stress her out. She credits her parents, guidance counselor and a company called “AcceptU” with helping her find the right school and prepare an attractive application.
