Colleges Near Me: How to Find Colleges Nearby

The growth of online college programs, as well as local community colleges and trade schools in recent years, is staggering. The stigma around alternative educational institutions is fading, and the idea that you have to go to a traditional college to be successful is going out the window along with it. The combination of evolving technology, the improvement of alternative post-secondary institutions, and the increase of restrictions around traditional education have all added to the rise of trade schools, community colleges, and other alternative school options.

As these alternative options for schooling shift more and more toward becoming the norm, the competition for your attention by those schools increases. More trade schools and community colleges are spending more on advertising to position themselves as a good option. There has also been an increase in the number of 3rd party companies trying to capture your attention and get in on a piece of the pie. So what does all of that mean for you? Well, it means finding reliable information to help inform your decision on where to continue your education is harder and harder to find. 

How to Find the Best Colleges Nearby

While more information out there might make it harder to know what sources are reliable, it also means the answers you’re looking for are out there. A quick google search will suffice to figure out what options you have nearby. Once you know the list of schools that are geographically available to you, researching those schools, the programs they offer, student testimonials, etc. will help inform your decision on which school is the best fit for you. Be sure to check multiple sources for your information, as 3rd party advertisers might have sales pages for specific schools that are designed to convince you to go there. There are also a couple of other options for prospective students to find school matches detailed below.

Top College Matching Tools

Reliable Websites for College Search Information

College matching tools are great because they do all of the work for you. If you have a decent idea of what you want, and you answer the quiz questions accordingly, you will find schools that could be a good match for you. But, sometimes you need more information to ensure you’re making the right decision. Below are a number of trustworthy websites that will help you answer the questions you are looking for. 

1. College Navigator – This site isn’t pretty, and might seem a bit outdated, but it is a federal website that contains more data on the Nation’s Colleges and Universities than anywhere else on the Web. This site also has a built-in College finder tool if you haven’t gotten to that step yet. You can search for schools based on a number of different criteria.
2. College Results Online – Another website that could use a makeover, this site is great for finding some of the final details you’ll need to plan out your personal educational map. College Results Online hosts data about graduation rates, average time to graduate, and other useful information. 
3. Cappex – Along with #4 Chegg, there is no more robust college search page and tool on the web. On both sites, students can create a profile, upload data about yourself, get matched with schools you might not have found yet, and can even contact schools via the Cappex and Chegg platforms. Both sites also have directories of scholarships that you can apply for, helpful articles, and more tools to help you figure out your future. 
4. Chegg – See above description. 
5. College Insight – College Insight is a great site to find an abundance of information on thousands of Colleges across the U.S. You can find statistics about affordability, graduation rates, diversity, and other helpful topics. 

Additional Tools at Your Disposal

The tools mentioned above are some of the top tools online for finding information about college options for you. But, there are thousands of websites and matching tools available online that can help you. Below are a few additional tools that will help those of you with more specific searches in mind. 

1. CollegeMajors101 – This is a great resource for those of you that know what you want to study at whatever College you end up going to. With CollegeMajors101, you can figure out what paths you can take with your major, and what schools will help you move toward your goals. 
2. Project on Student Debt – If your decision is based largely on your financial situation, this tool will be a great resource for you. This site is built solely to help students and their families make wise financial decisions when it comes to College. 
3. Unigo – Lastly, this is a great site to get the inside scoop about schools from past and current students themselves. This would be a great final resource for those of you that have narrowed down your search, and have to get nit-picky to make a final decision. 

Reasons to Consider Alternative School Options

There are a number of reasons why students are choosing alternative education over traditional Universities. The most attributed cause is cost. The cost of tuition at traditional colleges continues to skyrocket, and more and more students are going into debt just to finish their education. Another reason is the closing of the gap between starting salaries for University graduates and graduates from alternative institutions such as Trade Schools, Coding Schools and Online Colleges. So, University graduates are spending much more on tuition, taking longer to graduate, and not getting paid that much more on average. What other reasons do you need to consider alternative options?

Why Pick a College Nearby?

There are thousands of Colleges across the country and Worldwide. So, why pick a College near you? Well, for one, most people have ties to their city and neighborhood. Whether it’s family nearby, a job, or another type of support system, moving, especially long distances, is always stressful. Not to mention, there’s always a cost tied to moving. Therefore, it makes sense to first figure out the options available to you nearby. Be sure to exhaust all of your resources for finding college options near you before moving on to schools further away. With all of the matching tools and websites available online, almost everyone can find something for them, without having to go too far from home. 

What Programs Do Colleges Near Me Offer?

A large aspect of finding the right option for you has to do with the programs that Colleges offer. A College might have a great price for tuition, great graduation rates, and it might be right up the street from you, but what good does that do you if they don’t offer programs that you’re interested in studying? None. So when researching what Colleges are nearby, be sure to look into what programs they offer. Finding the programs offered at specific schools is easy thanks to Google, local directories, school websites, and a number of other resources online. But with a little bit of extra time researching, you should also be able to find how highly rated certain programs in specific schools are. Don’t be lazy, take the time to figure out what is best for you and your future.