Nearly four in 10 high school juniors and seniors report having trouble finding information when they gather information to learn about postsecondary options. And there are significant disparities when it comes to student populations.
The findings come from an ACT survey of students in Grades 11 and 12 regarding the resources they use to gather college information. The survey asked students whether they had difficulty finding information about colleges, the sources they used to learn about college, and the sources they found most helpful. It also looked at information about race/ethnicity, family incomes and parental education level.
While about one-third (34%) of white students indicated they had difficulties finding the college information they wanted, a higher percentage (44%) of Asian and Black students reported difficulties with finding the information.
Researchers noted knowing how students search for information about colleges is crucial, especially as more students explore the full range of postsecondary options, from certificates to two- and four-year institutions. Not surprisingly, most surveyed students agreed that the more information they used, the more confident they felt in making a college or major decision, said Joyce Schnieders, a research scientist at ACT who co-authored the report.
“Yet these findings also show there is a staggering information gap for today’s students that requires immediate attention from postsecondary institutions and high school staff who aid students in making the momentous decision about whether to pursue postsecondary education — and, if so, at what institution they want to pursue it,” she said in a release.
The report is based on the responses to an April 2023 ACT survey from 2,421 students in Grades 11 and 12. The survey included questions about where students get information about “college” but did not specify community colleges or four-year institutions.
College websites remain key
The ACT study looked at the sources students found most helpful and used most often in two categories: material sources (such as websites, social media and search engines) and people sources (like teachers and current college students). College websites were reported as the most used and most helpful resource, as well as other online resources, such as search engines and the FAFSA website, which is consistent with previous studies. Additionally, students reported having conversations with trusted individuals as part of their information gathering, such as a high school counselor or family member.
Among all material sources, the most used source was college or university websites for gathering all four types of college information (college characteristics, college majors, college life and college costs). About two-thirds of students (65%) selected campus visits in person as their source to gather information about college characteristics, and more than half (54%) used this source to learn about college life. Four out of 10 students (39%) also used campus visit opportunities to collect information about college majors or programs of study.
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Fifty-seven percent of students talked about college characteristics with a family member, 34% of students talked about college majors with a high school counselor, 46% talked about college life with a current college student, and 36% talked about cost and/or financial aid with a high school counselor. Although talking with a college representative or college faculty was not the most used people source, it was considered the most helpful people source to learn about information on college costs and financial aid (33%) and on college, the report says.
Students from moderate-to-high-income families were significantly more likely to talk with family members, friends and current college students to learn about college information, compared to students from low-income families. Students from moderate-to-high-income families were also significantly more likely to check a college or university website, use a search engine and visit a campus in person to learn about college information than students from low-income families.
Students from low-income families (71%) were significantly more likely to use the FAFSA website to gather information about college costs and financial aid than students from moderate-to-high-income families (59%).
Info not easily found
Even though many students used multiple sources to learn about college, some students still had trouble finding information. The top five categories of information that students reported they could not easily find included college majors or programs of study, financial aid and scholarships, campus life and extracurricular activities, college tuition and costs, and college coursework. Previous research has shown that a lack of college information may interfere with students’ college enrollment, and students may choose to forgo college altogether when they do not have adequate college information, the report notes.
