<p>I made a quick one in Word (well, not Word but InDesign, as I hate Word, but Word would work fine, or Excel). I included: # of students, M/F ratio, % in-state, % international, Other distributions (e.g. % West Coast, %East Coast, etc.), Rankings (I listed USNR, Princeton Review, and other lists but said, take these with a grain of salt), mid 50% SAT (V/M), size of campus, notable facilities (music, theater, art, other?), size of nearest town/proximity to town (bus/car/foot/schedule of transport), distance to nearest city (size of city), ease/cost of air travel, % returning Sophomores (this is a VERY interesting stat to me), % grad rate 4yrs/6yrs, student/fac ratio, % full-time faculty, type of calendar (semester, trimester), advantages/disadv. of each type of calendar, calendar: school starts when, how long orientation, when are breaks, academic/distribution requirements, average class size, music lessons in what instruments/cost, music offerings (radio station, ensembles, facilities), living: % on campus, percent Greek, describe dorms and living options for four years, off-campus study options, clubs/ECs, finances incl. endowment amount. </p>
<p>I started listing number of faculty and classes in the areas of my kid’s interest, but he’s interested in practically everything (a perfect LAC candidate) and that took too long, and he spent a long time doing that during the application process. He’s already determined that these particular colleges are academically up his alley, hence the focus on non-academics above.</p>
<p>Of course, most of this was to keep me occupied and to give me an “impartial” platform for making a few suggestions…In any case, the upcoming visit to the one as yet unvisited college will make the decision, spreadsheet or no spreadsheet. May 1st is fast approaching…</p>