The College Board is best known for a standardized test that promises to quantify college applicants’ potential. Last week, the organization introduced a Web site that’s long on the qualitative elements that also define the college-search process, so often reduced to numbers—grades, test scores, and rankings.
The Web site, called Big Future, was designed with this fact in mind: Some applicants know a lot about applying to college and some applicants know little. The site includes a college-search function, information about majors and scholarships, and an “action plan” that guides students through the many phases of the admissions journey. Under the “Get Started” menu, the first button is “Know Yourself,” which links to big-picture advice.
Big Future’s certainly not the first Web site of its kind, but it’s heavier on counseling content than others. Heavy enough? You can check out one observer’s skeptical take, as well as thoughts from several commenters, here.
Clearly, this portal was built for the YouTube generation: Users can watch more than 100 short videos in which college students and admissions experts share thoughts on a range of topics. Carolyn Lindley, Northwestern University’s director of financial aid, discusses whether financial aid covers all four years of college. Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explains what students should do on a campus visit. Earl Johnson, associate vice president and dean of admission at the University of Tulsa, describes the path from a two-year college to a four-year institution.
And there’s Marty O’Connell, executive director of Colleges That Change Lives, who explains why she advises students to ask those around them about where they went to college: “There are people who they will know in their communities, in their churches, or connected in school—some of their teachers—who are going to come up with lists of schools they’ve never heard of. If they admire these people, if they think they’re happy, successful people, some of those colleges might be a good place to start.”
Big Future arose from a partnership between the College Board and Lloyd Thacker, founder of the Education Conservancy and a former college counselor. Back in 2010, I asked Mr. Thacker to elaborate on his decision to team up with the College Board, and to describe his hopes for the Web site. Read the Q&A here.
