Explore colleges on the Web
Where to find it: Campus Explorer
– www.campusexplorer.com
Who runs the site: Jerry Slavonia founded the site and now
serves as the CEO. He was inspired to start the site by his first
stint in college at Gonzaga University, where he thought the
broadcasting communications program would be perfect for him.
Unfortunately, the cold Washington state winters were not so great.
He eventually ended up at San Francisco State University, and has
worked for Web sites such as FoxSports.com and Rent.com. Brian
Hartnack, a co-founder of the site, based his first choice college
decision on aquatic acreage. Both take a standpoint that choosing
the perfect college is about a variety of factors.
Explore colleges on the Web
Where to find it: Campus Explorer – www.campusexplorer.com
Who runs the site: Jerry Slavonia founded the site and now serves as the CEO. He was inspired to start the site by his first stint in college at Gonzaga University, where he thought the broadcasting communications program would be perfect for him. Unfortunately, the cold Washington state winters were not so great. He eventually ended up at San Francisco State University, and has worked for Web sites such as FoxSports.com and Rent.com. Brian Hartnack, a co-founder of the site, based his first choice college decision on aquatic acreage. Both take a standpoint that choosing the perfect college is about a variety of factors.
Who is likely to use the site: The site is set up for students and their families to search the 6,000 schools in the database, but it can also be used by guidance counselors, and college admissions staff.
Pros: The site allows students to explore a variety of colleges without visiting them all. For a basic search, visitors can choose the type of school they want to attend – four-year public or private school, a community college, or a professional school. From there they can choose the region or state where they want to go to school, majors they might be interested in and the type of city or town they want their college to be in.
The list of schools that shows up tells students if the school is a “safety,” or one that they easily qualify for, or one where gaining admission might be a challenge. When students click on one of the schools that comes up in the list, they can see the url for the school and some quick facts about the school such as its location, town setting and the type of institution it is, for example is it private or public. The site also includes a link to a map, photos of the campus and some background information on the school.
Once students find schools they are interested in, they can add them to the “my schools” list so they can easily find them in the future and compare them.
Cons: When students click on a school, a sidebar lists other schools near the school selected. This is actually a bit of a trick because these are “sponsored links” that are paid so they are not necessarily schools that would meet the students’ criteria.
