There’s nothing like having a well-organized spreadsheet during your college application process. It allows you to better digest the information and quickly compare the colleges you’re interested in.

Rather than having pages of information about your colleges in various documents, consider creating a spreadsheet of the information instead.

But how do you create and format that spreadsheet? How do you effectively research your colleges? Here are the steps you should take when creating your college spreadsheet. I’ve also included a spreadsheet example here!

Create categories

Begin by breaking your spreadsheet down into 5 categories: basics, cost, academics, student life, and school specifics. Depending on your priorities, you may want to add categories such as school safety, honors programs, or study abroad programs.

Remember to attach the links (either as a comment or hyperlink) to the information as you input it. This way, you can easily refer to the school site to find information. It’ll save you time and allow you to stay updated should any information change. 

Based on personal experience, I’d recommend making each category their own row while putting the schools as columns. I’ve found this makes it easier to know which information I’m comparing.

You can switch it (schools as rows and categories as columns), but the categories tend to increase over time so you’ll eventually have to keep scrolling back and forth to understand what information you’re looking at. Ultimately, it’s up to you – just make sure that the format works best for you.

Now that we’ve got the basics, let’s explore each of the categories a bit further.

Basics

Include the location, type of university (public, private, Ivy League, community, women’s only, religious, liberal arts, etc.), acceptance rate, application fee, application deadline, notification date, which application is accepted (Common App, Coalition, etc), enrollment size, average high school GPA, and if applicable, the average SAT or ACT score.

When recording high school GPAs, check that the number you are recording is the weighted or unweighted GPA as this can make a significant difference. 

While you may add more sections to the basics, I do not recommend eliminating any of these pieces of information. While they are the basics, they are super important, and this will allow you to get an initial holistic look at the school.

Cost

For most students, the cost of college is a high priority factor, so you should research it in-depth to make the most accurate assessment possible.

In this category, you should include the cost of tuition, room and board, total cost, and the average aid per student. If you are an out-of-state student, ensure that the numbers you record reflect your residency. You may want to consider adding a section for possible scholarships (you can leave it blank for now unless you’ve already received admissions decisions and have information to input).

Many colleges have scholarships that they will automatically consider you for when you apply. This means that even if the upfront cost of one college is greater than others, it may have more or larger scholarships you could receive to make your final cost less expensive. You likely won’t know if you will qualify for or receive these scholarships until you’ve received an admissions decision, but it is something to keep in mind.

Academics

Unlike the statistics you’ve already researched in the basics category, the academics category will focus more on your specific academic needs and goals. Here, record if the school has your desired major and the average student-to-faculty ratio.

It’s important to note that a school may not have your exact major, but they may offer something similar. Do not immediately write off the school if your major isn’t available and take the time to research further.

In addition, you can consider adding things specific to your intended major like honors colleges, study abroad options, internships, and if they accept AP/IB credits (if they do, research further to see what applies to you). 

Student Life

In this category, you’ll focus on how the college differentiates itself from the rest. To put it simply, the vibe.

Look at things like leadership, volunteer, and athletic opportunities as well as social clubs, organizations, Greek life, and off-campus activities. Compared to the other categories mentioned so far, this one has a greater potential for customization. Focus on your priorities and don’t include anything you feel is unimportant.

School Specifics

You can think of this section as your “extra notes” area. Some schools may have programs and activities only offered there that you’ll want to note, or you can jot down your quick opinion and impression about the school.

Start your college search research

Now the question is: how do you find all of the required information? For simple things like the basics, cost, and academics categories, you should be able to find most, if not all, of the information from the official school website and Niche. 

I’ve found that tuition cost can take a bit more research than you’d expect. From my personal experience, the tuition costs you initially see are the average costs. This means that the financial aid has already been subtracted from it. Most colleges will have a tuition cost calculator that you can use which can be tailored to you and your needs and will give you a more accurate estimate of the costs. 

For the other categories, specifically student life and school specifics, look outside of the schools’ websites. Consider looking at their social media pages such as their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or Reddit as well as any blogs run by the school or by current students. To better understand the schools and what your experience may be like, you’ll need to delve deeper. Don’t be afraid to reach out to current students at schools you’re interested in or speaking to admissions officers and representatives!

In-depth research is one of the first steps to the college search process. Setting up an easy way to look at all the information you worked so hard to collect will leave you grateful in the long run.

If done correctly, this spreadsheet will become something you reference and look back to throughout the entire process and will hopefully make it much easier to compare and decide between schools. Of course, don’t forget to have fun! Color-coding your spreadsheet helps visually and is a fun way to make your spreadsheet pop.

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