Using Blogs in College Planning

By taking the time to read this blog, you are using technology to plan for college. If you are a novice in the search process, welcome! If you are helping your 189th student complete their common application, congratulations! You are taking part in the digital college admissions process.

Search

The role of technology in college admissions is growing each year. From virtual meet-and-greets to video applications. Your goal is to learn how to use technology to help your students.

Today, let’s focus on blogs. During your planning period next Thursday, you can start reading the 30,400,000 college admissions blogs available on your preferred search engine! Or you can search for “college admissions blogs” to narrow your results down to 2,610. Wait, did you notice the difference? Look closely one more time. That’s right, quotation marks could save you thousands of hours.

Searching for the right information quickly is a part of our technological world. We cannot afford to waste time reading and applying dated information from unqualified sources.

Source

When you are searching for local, regional, and national blogs that offer quality, truthful information about career and college planning, pay attention to the details. Here are a few things to consider:

• Who is the author? People with varied backgrounds will offer unique perspectives. However, credentials matter. Consider where they attended college, what they majored in, if they have graduate degrees, what professional organizations they belong to, and what certificates they’ve earned. Some blogs may be written by college admissions officers, college student journalists, former admissions officers, financial advisors, or college planners.
• What is the topic? If you are looking for specific information like finances, career planning, campus life, or testing strategies, include those topics in quotes on your search bar. Also consider if you want to get college financial advice from someone who is still paying off their student loans.
• When was the post written? Is the information shared timely? Since so much can change from year to year, check the dates to see if the blog offers relevant information written within the past few weeks vs. few years. Remember that once something has been posted online, your results may include posts from 2010. While some information is timeless like general college admissions process, specific college information relating to the cost of attendance is specific. In January 2015, we’ve heard proposals about taxing 529 benefits and going to community college for free.

If you are hesitant or question the validity of the post or article, you may be right. You can verify the source with a fellow guidance counselor or college planning consultant.

Success!

Now that you’ve read about how to search for quality sources, you can successfully find and read college admissions blogs. Although I focused on college admissions blogs, you can apply this same process to college scholarship websites, career assessments, social media outlets, college planning websites, and more.

Your success will be contagious! Eric Stoller wrote a blog titled Digital Leadership for Inside Higher Ed. His challenge centered on having a willingness to learn. We are successful as educators if we are learning how to learn and sharing that knowledge with others. As you embrace technology, your confidence will be felt by your students.

Eric shared that “our ability to learn and experiment is often connected to our internal sense of bravery.” Being brave means you are facing your fear of technology. You may make few mistakes if you are just getting started, but you’ll eventually become a “digital leader” for your students.

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