College Raptor: How to Discover Your Personalized College Matches

There are over 4,000 colleges in the US, and it’s your job to pick just one of them to attend. Some have recognizable names, others specialize in certain majors. Some are nearby, others far away from home. How can you possibly research them all and start narrowing down to the options you can afford? That is where College Raptor can help you out.

What is College Raptor?

College Raptor is a college discovery site (and so much more) and completely free. It’s designed to help students like you find your best college matches and learn more about how much college will actually cost. Not only will you get a personalized list of colleges that fit your preferences, you’ll also see your cost estimates, potential scholarship awards, and approximate acceptance odds at every college in the US! All in one convenient place.

Let’s break down what College Raptor offers.

College Raptor’s Tools

The site is split up into sections following a student’s college journey.

• Find Colleges
• Getting In
• Paying for College
• Explore Careers

Each section has helpful resources, like matching tools, college rankings lists, details on college majors, and articles galore. No matter where you are in your college search process, College Raptor has something to help make it easier.

Find Colleges

This section’s name speaks for itself–it’s all about the college search process.

College Search

College Raptor is all about personalization. No cookie cutter methods or simple filters to find matching colleges. Once you fill out your profile and complete a college search, you’ll receive a list of colleges that match YOU best, based on things like: academic grades, potential majors, preferred locations or campus sizes, financial situation, and more.

Your search results will be filled with college options that are waiting to be explored. Each school will have detailed information—from the number of students to graduation rates to most popular majors, to how well the school fits your interests, and to how much it would cost you (yes, you personally) to attend. It’s perfect for comparing colleges side by side. College Raptor even helps you build your college list. You no longer have to search dozens of different sites; College Raptor has it all in one easy spot

Rankings

Every year College Raptor releases an in-depth college rankings, which feature the best of the best. You can discover which prestigious colleges made the cut in over a dozen different categories. There are lists like: Top 50 Best Colleges in the US, Best Colleges in the Northeast, Best Small Colleges, and Top Colleges for Women in Business among many others.

Looking for a diamond in the rough? Lesser-known colleges get the spotlight too. In the Hidden Gems lists, College Raptor highlights that may not get the national attention but are well worth considering. Who knows? You’re ideal school might be on one of the lists!

Getting In

Once you’ve found a few colleges, it’s time to apply and get accepted.

My Colleges

Here you’ll find the collection of colleges you’ve favorited or were matched with. It’s your personal side-by-side comparison list and information hub. You can see your acceptance odds, match scores, and which schools you’ve applied to right next to one another. Additionally, you can keep track of your application statuses by marking which schools you’ve applied to, where you’ve accepted, and which ones you’re on the waitlist for. No need to update massive spreadsheets! It’s an easy way to keep track of your college list.

Paying for College

Perhaps the most stressful part of going to college is figuring out how to pay for it.

Student Loan Finder

Even after exhausting all gift aid and federal loan opportunities, you may find yourself with a financial gap to fill in affording college. That’s where private student loans come in. However, not all student loans are created equal, and not all fit your situation. With College Raptor’s Student Loan Finder, you’ll discover a list of possible loan options from reliable providers and be able to compare rates and terms side by side. Loans with lower rates means they will cost you less over the lifetime of the loan — saving you money.

Explore Careers

After you’ve established a career choice (using great tools like PathwayU) you’ll need to find colleges that provide the right majors. College Raptor makes this connection easy.

Majors

Here you can look up college majors and discover the average starting salaries for certain areas of study. Whether you want to see what’s available for the major you’re studying, or if you’re browsing for inspiration, this database is helpful. You can even reverse engineer a college search! Know what you want to study? Click into a major and see which colleges are best known for programs in that area! Those schools might just be a good academic fit for you.

Articles

In each of the main sections you’ll find hundreds of helpful articles. Have a question about any part of the college journey? College Raptor probably has an article dedicated to it. With over 3,000 posts, the articles cover a broad range of topics and provide helpful tips.

Information about college visits, ACT / SAT study tricks, busted myths about college admissions, guides on building your application, breakdowns of the student loan process, advice on saving money for college, and much, much more.

Why You Should Use College Raptor!

College Raptor takes a lot of the tedious legwork out of the college search process. With personalized match lists, in-depth school information, individualized college costs, acceptance odds estimations, and thousands of articles to guide you through your journey, going to college doesn’t have to be quite so stressful. No matter where you’re at in your college career–whether you’re a high school junior just starting your list, or a graduating senior about to enter college–College Raptor has resources and tools for you. All for FREE!