Top College Research Engines

College research engines are the best-kept secret of the 21st century college applicant. Virtually no one I know used one, yet they are incredible tools that can help guide you through the massive labyrinth that is university research. The only problem is—which one? This post was created to help you figure out just that. Keep in mind, however, that many of these websites have functions beyond simply matching students to colleges (like scholarship research, essay review services) and this post is focused only on the match and comparison functions. Also, no one paid me to place their website higher on the list (ha, I wish #collegestudent). Without further ado, here is an infographic of my top 7 picks for best college research engines, including descriptions of each of the characteristics I rated them on, and followed by a more detailed list of their best attributes. (Click the infographic to enlarge.) Top Recommended College Search Engines Why 1.  Cappex: Let me be very candid for a moment and say if I were doing my college research again I would use Cappex. It’s easy to use, and worth wading through the constant promo ads because it has the best financial aid calculator, admissions chances calculator, and % match functions that allow a non-math-savant like me understand the numbers. 2.  College Board’s Big Future: If you are completely new the college research process and have no idea where to start, this is the engine for you. It’s probably the best at creating a small (but still broad enough) range of schools based on your SAT/ACT scores. Additionally, it has video explanations for every step of the process, which can help a lot if you aren’t sure how filters affect your search. Plus, because College Board (despite popular belief) has a soul, it’s all free. 3.  College Confidential’s SuperMatch: This site is the best known among high school students, and for good reason. It has, by far, the best specific match criteria unavailable on other sites—everything from a conservative/liberal, Greek Life, LGBT-friendliness, the party scene, and disability access. It also is one of the few sites that allows students to ask questions, and actually get answers. 4.  Niche College Prowler: On a related note, College Prowler is the best for candid student reviews on every aspect of the school. The at-a-glance college comparison screen is actually a letter-grade report card on the school generated by students. It’s a by-the-students-for-the-students experience. 5.  College Insight: This site is all about the numbers. It gives you great at-a-glance comparisons, and allows you to create custom charts of statistics you hand-select. However, its not designed to be a home base of college research and doesn’t allow you to create an account, or save any of your searches. 6.  College Data: A good all-around site to use, you can go to this site if none of the other caught your fancy. Its main attraction is that it’s great at ordering your research from your desires in a college, to your chances of getting in, and the prices. The other unique aspect of this site is that the admissions chances calculator includes extracurricular activities (whereas most are either just SAT/ACT, or a combination SAT/ACT and GPA). 7.  Zinch: As with the others, Zinch is a great home-base site, but make sure you change your emails settings because they are a major spammer. The special amazing super power of Zinch is that with a click of a button it can connect you directly with colleges. It allows you to indicate your interest quickly, and request information (note: Cappex also has similar functions). Honorable Mentions CollegeXpress: They have a great blog to help with the entire applications process. Its super easy to use, and has lots of lists of resources for students with specific interests (like religious universities, athletics teams, or diversity). College Navigator: In all honesty, College Navigator is not a pretty site, nor is it easy to use. But it is the only College Research Engine created and maintained by the federal government. If you (or your parent) is worried about the validity of the statistics on these schools, you can always check here. Naviance: Many school districts have chosen Naviance as their portal between students and counselors for the college research process. It’s not my favorite website, and to be honest I found it incredibly hard to use, but it is the only one that gives you one account from middle school through senior year in high school. It also has an interest profile and suggested careers, but for the majority of students who have a general idea of what they want to do, I suggest doing the bare minimum in this portal. Unigo: While Unigo is highly acclaimed and has some great aspects to it, I found the college matches unhelpful. The entire process is based on your return on investment (which I agree with whole heartedly in theory) and the search criteria drastically changed the resulting colleges. Additionally, they really tried hard to make you buy their Absolute Admit service. I mean, really tried. Others These college search engines just didn’t stand out as having something better about them than any of your other options. I would not suggest using them. Peterson’s CollegeNet Match Education FastWeb College Results Online Using College Research Engines Because there are so many research engines, I highly suggest picking one of the best sites and sticking with it for your entire college search process. Creating lists and other notes on paper is fine, but using an online account can simplify your life exponentially when you have a billion things to keep track of during application season. Have a home base that you, and who ever else is helping you, have access to. Again, my recommendation is to choose from Cappex, Big Future, College Confidential, College Data, or Zinch. That being said, when you are using a match search be careful of narrowing your criteria too specifically. Some criteria in your search matter more than others (SAT scores and location being two of the most heavily weighted) and they can drastically change the results of your search. One important example is College Confidential’s option to search for schools where you would be well above the average student’s SAT scores, in order to be considered more highly for financial aid. When you check this box you get almost a completely different set of schools, even if the rest of your criteria are the same. Similarly with tuition costs, beware of searching only for â€Å"affordable† schools, as it might rule out schools you could potentially attend with financial aid. Do several searches looking with different points to get a good range of choices. Finally, despite the amazingness of these tools (no really, they’re super amazing) don’t let them control your life. Still ask around with trusted family and friends, and keep an open mind about what schools you look into. Technology can only take you so far. Good luck, and happy searching!

Popular Culture Patriarchy and Sexism - Free Essay Example

When thinking about patriarchy and sexism, one may think of examples of the mainstream family. Just as any typical family would do, the woman would change her last name when married, and the children would take their fathers last name. Furthermore, the woman would stay home to raise the children while the male figure of the house would work everyday in order to financially support his family. This lifestyle is not as abnormal as you might think, with consideration to the way popular culture has shaped us. Unfortunately, popular culture has instilled these gender roles into our minds starting at a young age, making these sorts of responsibilities an obligation to the woman and man of the house. With this being said, advertising, music, television, and social media have all shaped our views because of how they portray men and women as well as patriarchy and sexism both shape the idea of women being inferior to men. Advertising is a major influencer of sexism and patriarchal power in popular culture. Almost every commercial shows women being portrayed in a sexual way. However, it rarely shows men being portrayed in the same manner. It has been made clear that â€Å"sex sells† in advertising. An example of sexual advertising would be Carls Jr. commercials. In almost all of their commercials there is an attractive woman eating a burger in a very sexual way, which is very appealing to men. This sparks up the issue of sexism because of the way women are being portrayed as sex objects. In other commercials, men are seen as wealthy and powerful, for example in car commercials. Most car commercials show the men driving the nice cars and the women driving minivan ‘mom cars.’ This shows that men are normally the ones to have more expensive and fast cars, and women have cars to drive their children around. In an article researching consumer attitudes towards sexist advertisements, it f ound that â€Å"sexist advertising was shown to influence consumer attitudes of a company negatively.† (Andersson and Schytt) This shows that companies don’t realize that most people don’t like the sexist ads, and it doesn’t persuade people more to buy their products. Sexist advertising may help some companies, but not everyone enjoys them. They often show hidden signs patriarchy and sexism, that not many people think about in their daily lives. Another major influential source of sexism and patriarchy in popular culture is music, especially gangsta rap. An issue with gangsta rap is how most of the songs are very misogynistic. These songs portray women as sex objects and men as powerful, which brings up patriarchy, since the songs explain men making the money, and women not having power. An article titled â€Å"Misogyny in Rap Music,† stated that the rap music’s â€Å"messages are thus both essentialist and normative—portraying men and women as inherently different and unequal and espousing a set of conduct norms for each gender’s proper behavior toward the other and sanctions for those who violate these norms.† The way men and women are portrayed in rap music creates unequal norms that have a large effect on the people who listen to the music. Television is another important part of popular culture that portrays men and women in stereotypical ways. It starts as early as young children shows and continues to adult only shows. It can have heavy effects on children when they watch because men and women are being portrayed in stereotypical ways. A popular children’s show â€Å"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,† portrays the male characters as independent and adventurous. The female characters stay home and do housework everyday while the male characters get to leave the house. These shows depict the males as strong and powerful, and the women as motherly and focused on their physical appearance. These gender stereotypes are taught to children at a young age and can have negative effects on the children who watch them. After young girls watch these shows, they think that they can only stay home and have babies, and the men can go out and have jobs. The stereotypes also influence the children’s future career choices because the shows portray women as being nurses, teachers, and mothers; men are portrayed as firefighters, doctors, and police officers. Some children shows, such as Doc McStuffin defy the typical gender stereotypes because it has a female character as a doctor. It is extremely important that parents are aware of the shows their children watch because it can affect them drastically. Social media has major influence on sexism with the way men and women are portrayed. When women post, their pictures are normally edited to perfection, and its kind of a â€Å"popularity contest.† Whereas for men it’s more important to post their cars, or show that they have money. Men aren’t normally the ones who edit their pictures or care about what they post. Works Cited Andersson, Hanna, and Emilia Schytt. Sexism in Advertising: A Qualitative Study of the Influence on Consumer Attitudes Towards Companies. Jà ¶nkà ¶ping International Business School. May 2017. Jan. 2019 . Weitzer, Ronald, and Charis E. Kubrin. Misogyny in Rap Music. Sage Journals. Oct. 2009. SAGE. Jan. 2019 .

Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act - 1365 Words

As the nation moves in the direction of practical application of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, understanding the capability of change will require tremendous uplift of the American human services conveyance. Keeping that in mind, the new law looks to reinforce the country s essential care establishment through upgraded repayment rates for suppliers and the utilization of imaginative conveyance models, for example, persistent focused medical homes. Evidences recommend that these methodologies can return considerable advantages to both patients and suppliers by expanding access to essential care administrations, decreasing regulatory limitations and loads, and encouraging coordination over the continuum of care (Davis,†¦show more content†¦It is proposed to address three primary zones: access to medical coverage, social insurance costs, and the conveyance of care. Certain components of the law got to be distinctly dynamic not too long after its entry in 2010, yet most arrangements produced results in 2014. 2010 In this year, for those retiring between the ages of 55 and 65, ACA provided funding to the employers. For small businesses, having less than 25 employees, tax credits are provided by the federal government to cover a part of the contribution. A new Patient’s bill of Rights has been established. Coverage to children under 19 with pre-existing health conditions cannot be denied by the insurance companies. Parents’ insurance covers for the young adults until 26 (French, 2016). 2011 For 5 years, a 10% bonus payment has been provided from Medicare to the PCP’s (French, 2016). 2012 A new annual fee has been imposed on the pharmaceutical marketing sector to create a value based purchase program for the Medicare (French, 2016). 2013 An initial enrollment program has been initiated for individual health insurance marketplace. To test the models for reimbursement, Bundled Payments for Care Initiative have been created. Medicare Reimbursement rates have been enhanced for the primary care services provided by the PCP’s. 2.3% excise tax has been imposed on any taxable medical device (French, 2016). 2014 Based on the pre-existing conditions, pricesShow MoreRelatedThe Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act1057 Words   |  5 PagesMaureen Omondi Patrick Gilbert Govt 2305 5 February 2015 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Patient Protection and Affordable care Act also known as Affordable Care Act, Obama Care and ACA is an act signed into law by the current president of the United States, Barack Obama in March 23, 2010. Beginning in 2014, any failure to purchase minimum coverage will result in a person being fined. 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The main purpose of this complex legislation is to provide Americans with affordableRead MoreThe Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act16 36 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Julie Pham and Serena Ellison University of Mississippi  Introduction The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) frequently known as â€Å"The Affordable Care Act† (ACA) or â€Å"Obamacare,† is the United States decree authorized into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 (Group, 2014). The principle of the Affordable Care Act was to strengthen the quality and affordability of health insurance and decrease the uninsured tariffs by magnifying public and private insuranceRead MoreThe Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act756 Words   |  4 PagesProblem Statement It has been almost six years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was enacted. Before the ObamaCare Act many people living in the United States didn’t have health insurance. 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Apple s Vision Apple Inc. - 935 Words

Introduction Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and personal computers. It was established on Apr 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod media player, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Its online services include iCloud, iTunes Store, and App Store. Apple s consumer software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems. Its products are sold in more than 120 countries in which India, China, US and European countries like Germany, Italy, France, Spain etc are major user of Apple’s†¦show more content†¦Business Strategy Company’s has always been a goal of providing the best user experience through technological advancement and innovation in various product segment like computer, OS, iPad, iPhone, Music store etc. As a part of strategy, company is providing a single platform - itunes stores to provide third party’s digital content and application. Through iTune store, customer can easily download music, apps or books directly on their Mac Book or iPhone. Company also support a community to develop third party software, hardware and digital contents that are offered in the complement of Apple’s products and services. Company’s strategy involves expansion of retail and online stores and third party distribution network to reach more customers. Apple is highly committed to research and development and it is always being a part of its business strategy. Form 10-k Key points of Corporate Governance Apple is committed to do business ethically, honestly and in full compliance with laws and regulation. While dealing with third party for business Apple has always put zero tolerance approach against corruption. It encourages a creative, culturally diverse and supportive work environment for its employees. It doesn’t tolerate any harassment or discrimination based on factors such as race, gender, religion, color, marital status, identity characteristics or expression. Apple gives the highest value of any invention of

The Self Regulation Must Be Added By Laws - 1421 Words

In my estimation I think that the self-regulation need to be added by laws, because it is built on a pure-market model to preserve consumer privacy, consumer confidence, and raise business’ owner revenues. However, it is uncertain whether the competitive market model, utilized as an argument in favor of industry self-regulation, is applicable, due to the fact that, some consumers lack of basic understanding of Internet privacy. I don’t think it benefit for businesses to protect their privacy, if consumers do not understand the basics of online data collection and privacy. If they cannot make the difference, they will not definitely prefer a site with a stated privacy policy to another site. There are many problems with this system. First,†¦show more content†¦The European Union consider data privacy as a basic right that is best preserve by legislation and federal policing. The United States, in contrast, relies largely on a self-regulatory approach to effectiv e data privacy and protection. The provisions of the European Union law require businesses to accumulate individual data only for clearly stated purposes and prohibit data revelation to third parties unless consumers agree to give permission to do so. European consumers have the authority to sue companies that don t follow the practices of these regulations. What is your general assessment of cookie and spyware technologies? Should there be some legal limits on how these technologies are used? There are some tiny data files that are being put on your hard drive by Web sites when you visit them called cookies. Basically cookies are not bad. Cookies have been used to store login information about a user in order to perform authentication, to identify you as a distinctive visitor by identifying your Web browser software, to track a user’s behavior. When your go back to the Web site that has keep in reserve a cookie, it will try to find your computer for those cookies, and they will know what you were doing in the past. This way the site can customize its contents depending on previous activities. In theory, a cookie only transmits information back to the Web site that put it there and can’t be accessed by other parties. But some Internet advertising companies had

The Counterculture Of The 1960s From The Anti...

Several factors contributed to the counterculture of the 1960s from the anti-authoritarian engagements of preceding decades. The post-World War II ‘baby boom’ produced an extraordinary number of disaffected young people as potential partakers in a rethinking of the direction of American values. Post-war success permitted many of the counterculture generation to divert their attention from the benefaction of the material necessities of life that had preoccupied their Depression-era parents. People started to recognize that they could get what they want if they work hard enough for it, and if their voice is loud enough. The era was also distinguished in that a great portion of the range of conducts and ‘causes’ within the larger effort were quickly assimilated within the public. John Lennon, member of The Beatles and a model hippie, once said, â€Å"When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game.† Ken Kesey w as a big believer is this notion and used his writings as a way to introduce people to this concept. Through the use of a 1950s mental ward, Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest draws inspiration from both the philosophy of Beat culture and the personal life experiences of the author. The novel’s setting reveals not only the devastating effects of enduring hardships on patients’ mental states, but also symbolizes the suppression of individuality by the establishment. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest illustrates the impactShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesarrived, and there were several points both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008) when one could quite plausibly argue that a new era had begun. A compelling case can be made for viewing the decades of the global scramble for colonies after 1870 as a predictable culmination of the long nineteenth century, which was ushered in by the industrial and political

Central problem of an economy free essay sample

Economics is the branch of social science which studies the human wants and their satisfaction. Human wants are unlimited and resources to satisfy these wants are limited . The problem of allocating the scarce resources to satisfy the infinite wants is the central economic problem. In economics, the term ‘scarcity’ means that wants are greater than resources. The resources in an economy refers to the factors of production ie, land, labour, capital and organization. The producers have to decide how factors of production shall be employed and the consumers have to decide which of their wants are to be satisfied. Thus scarcity and choice are the central problems of an economy. Basic Economic Problems or Decisions Since there is the problem of scarcity of productive resources in every economy, it has to take certain basic decisions regarding the production and distribution of goods and services in the economy. These decision making process is otherwise called as the Basic economic problems of an economy . We will write a custom essay sample on Central problem of an economy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The basic economic problems faced by any country are the following. 1. What to Produce? What to produce refers to what goods and services and in how much quantities are to be produced by the economy. The millions of people living in a country require many goods and services. But due to the scarcity of resources, the economy is not capable of producing all these goods and services. Increase in the production of one commodity will limits the production of other commodities. 2. How to Produce? How to produce refers to the method/technique of production. Techniques /methods/choice of production There are mainly two methods used in production; a) Labour intensive method and b) Capital intensive method. 10Method of production in which more labour and less capital are used is called Labour Intensive method Method of production in which more capital and less labour are used is called Capital Intensive method . Labour intensive method is suitable for developing countries and capital intensive method is suitable for developed countries. E. g. ; Cloth can be produced on hand looms or power looms. If hand looms are used, relatively more labour and less capital is employed. In the case of power looms, more capital and less labor is required. 3. For whom to Produce? For whom to produce refers how the total output is divided among consumers. Since goods and services produced are limited, all wants of the people cannot be satisfied by a country. 4. How to achieve Economic Growth? The attainment of rapid economic growth is another basic economic problem. Economic growth refers to an increase in the real per capita income of a country. Rapid economic growth can be attained by fuller utilization of the available resources. Economic growth of an economy can be represented by an outward shift in the Production Possibility Curve.