Comparing college comparison sites
There are some new tools to help with college selection, developed by various groups in response to a request from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings' commission about a year ago. USA Today has a story comparing some of the pros and cons of the new sites:
College Navigator enables users to search for colleges based on location and program of study. But the new site requires fewer steps “to produce the same results and allows users to factor more criteria into their initial searches, including tuition and SAT or ACT scores. Users also can build and save a list of favorites, tweak criteria without having to start anew and view side-by-side comparisons of up to four institutions. In a nod to adult and working students, users can search for schools that offer distance learning, weekend and evening courses, and credit for life experience. The site design, based on feedback from 90 people in 11 focus groups nationwide, remains a work in progress. Improvements are ongoing, and plans call for a Spanish-language version and campus crime statistics.
Here's the USA Today story.