HOW TO CREATE A "BALANCED" COLLEGE LIST (Slides)

MAJOR IMPACT?

Ever wondered how a major affects your future career pathway? Many graduates find different pathways from their major (or minor) in college. Check out this cool graphic that shows University of Michigan alumni reported career fields matched with their corresponding degrees. Data was collected through over 8,000 interviews of alumni with grad years spanning back to 1942. The visualization below represents a segment limited to graduates from 1942–2021.

The value of this visualization is its ability to clearly show the pragmatic value and flexible nature of an most degree — grads from each major find employment in nearly every career field, and each career field is comprised of grads from almost every major. And while each career field has some expected paths, there are also many surprises. 

WHAT IS NET PRICE CALCULATOR?

Net price calculators are available on a college’s or university’s website and allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.

• Search for School's Calculator here!
• College Board's Calculate your Cost Tool
• How to Estimate your Family's Financial Aid
• Complete list of “Need Build” colleges
• Colleges that offer complete financial aid
• Quatromoney - help you understand your college costs, find the best financing options based on your family's unique financial situation, and assess each college's ROI.

THE COLLEGE PLANNING WORKSHEETS AND DATABASE

• College Match - Fillable Worksheet to Discover "College Fit" for You (PDF)
• College Match Self-Survey (PDF)
• Big J Spreadsheet - Universities list for Need Based and Merit Aid
• College Match Surveys

A RESOURCE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR COLLEGE PREFERENCES