College · Family Resources

Picture February
before you choose

You will live in that town for four years, through the gray months and the long trips home. Rate each college on distance, weather, the area, travel and cost, enter the miles and the January low, and see what each place asks of you.

Start a comparisonWhat you get

Comparisons

The worked example is made up: three colleges at 90, 640 and 1,150 miles from home, for a student who counts weather as a must-have. Use initials or a code.

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What you get

College · Family ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A saved comparison per decision: how much distance, weather, the area, getting home and the cost of living matter; each college rated 1 to 5 with miles from home and the January average low; seven questions such as break housing and climate normals marked answered or still to ask; and a next step. The flags rank the colleges, turn miles into driving hours, note when a trip home likely means a flight, call out January lows of 20°F or colder and flag a must-have rated 2 or lower. A side-by-side table prints.
Who it is for
High school students choosing between colleges near and far, and the families who will help them get there and back.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per decision. Prints a side-by-side table with the scores, the full record, every comparison in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each college and its town.
  2. Look up the miles and the January low.
  3. Weigh weather, distance and cost.
  4. Rate each place.
  5. Print the side-by-side table.

Start a comparison

Reading a place from a distance

Five looks at a college town1Climate normalsMonthly highs, lows and rainfrom NOAA, September to May.2DaylightHours of sun in December,which shrink as you go north.3Getting thereNearest airport, train or bus,and the ride to campus.4Cost of livingRent and prices against home,from regional price parities.5BreaksWhether housing stays open andwhat trips home cost.Five looks at a college town1Climate normalsMonthly highs, lows and rain from NOAA,September to May.2DaylightHours of sun in December, which shrinkas you go north.3Getting thereNearest airport, train or bus, and theride to campus.4Cost of livingRent and prices against home, fromregional price parities.5BreaksWhether housing stays open and whattrips home cost.
The driving hours in the flags assume an average of 55 miles an hour; real trips depend on the route and stops.

Thirty years of weather

NOAA publishes climate normals: 30-year averages of temperature and precipitation for thousands of U.S. stations, the current set covering 1991 to 2020. They tell you more than a sunny visit day does. Look at the months you will actually be there.

What a place costs

The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes regional price parities, which compare price levels across states and metro areas against the national average. A college with the same sticker price can cost more to live near if rent off campus is high.

Sources

  1. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. U.S. Climate Normals, 1991 to 2020 (ncei.noaa.gov).
  2. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area (bea.gov).
  3. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. College Navigator: campus setting (nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator).
  4. U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Cost of attendance, including travel (studentaid.gov).

The worked example, its colleges and its temperatures are made up. Driving times are rough. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.