Caveat College · College Lists · Free tool

See more on
every campus visit.

What to set up before the visit, the questions worth asking by category, ratings while it is fresh, and a side-by-side comparison of every campus you have seen.

Plan a visitLoad the example
7question categories
35questions to ask
8before-visit steps

Your visits

One record per campus. Rate as you go and the comparison builds itself.

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Your notes and ratings stay in this browser on this device; nothing is sent anywhere.

Three stages, one record

A visit is easier to judge when the same questions get asked everywhere.

BEFORESet the visit up

Book the tour and the information session, ask to sit in on a class, run the net price calculator. Eight items, a week or two ahead.

DURINGAsk, then write it down

35 questions in 7 categories, plus your own. Tick what you asked and note the answer while you walk.

AFTERRate it the same day

Score each category from 1 to 5, add a gut feeling, then compare every campus side by side with your own weights.

What this resource is

Campuses blur together by the third visit. Asking the same questions at each one, and rating them the same day, turns impressions into something you can compare.

Part of College · College Lists in the Caveat Suite

Add your first campus
Outcome
A record of every campus visit, with answers to the same questions at each school and a weighted side-by-side comparison.
Who it is for
Families and students visiting colleges, in person or virtually, while they build a college list.
Format
A browser checklist. Print the questions to carry on the visit, print the comparison, download a spreadsheet, or save a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-up. Saved in this browser only.
Time
About 10 minutes before each visit and 10 minutes after it.
Space
College · College Lists primary space
Support
Questions or a problem with this tool: team@caveatacademic.com

Sources

  • U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, for graduation rates, retention and costs: collegescorecard.ed.gov
  • Net price calculators, which colleges that take federal aid must post on their websites (Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008).
  • Annual security reports, which the Clery Act requires colleges that take federal aid to publish.
  • The Common Data Set initiative, which colleges use to report admission factors, including whether they consider demonstrated interest (section C7): commondataset.org

The questions are written by Caveat. The example campuses (Maple Ridge University, Cedar Hollow College and Bayview State University), their notes and their figures are made up. Ratings and scores are your own judgments; the weighted score is arithmetic on them, not a ranking of colleges.