WASHINGTON ― For many high school seniors, fall means deciding where to apply for college and maybe visiting a guidance counselor. Data crunchers hope to help.
The popularity of social media sites and advancements in the ability to analyze the vast amounts of data we put online give members of the class of 2015 more tools than ever to help chart their next step, even if finding the right college is an inexact science.
The professional networking site LinkedIn has just come out with its “University Finder,” which identifies which colleges are popular with which companies. Parchment.com pools student data to predict an individual’s college admission prospects. There’s even a dating-service-like site for higher education: admittedly pairing students with colleges based on such as factors as body piercings and whether applicants go to church.
These sites are joining the game of college rankings, which has some education experts excited and other rolling their eyes.
“For many families and students, the admissions process is very opaque,” said Matthew Pittinsky, co-founder of the education technology giant Blackboard and chief executive officer of Parchment. “And what’s happing now is that they (students) are beginning to share data with each other … to bring transparency” to the process.
Lloyd Thacker, head of the Education Conservancy and a critic of college rankings, has another take: These sites are one more way to profit from senior-year angst and encourage group-think.
“Technology has no inner logic,” he said. “Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean we should use it.”
