APU Careers & Learning Online Learning

3 Ways to Use Social Media to Pick a School

We write a lot on here about using Social Media (along with other online tools etc.) to help with your learning.  But what about getting to that point? What if you’re not in school yet? Have no idea what to study? Or where? Or how?

Credit: http://www.mrelevance.com/

99.9% of us would go straight to Google and start Googling up a storm… “online school,” “going to college,” “online classes,” “online degrees.” The list goes on and on and on.

BUT… have you considered moving your search over to Social Media?

I was perusing the web the other day and I stumbled upon this.  The Student Advisor Blog published a post about finding the right school by way of Social Media. GENIUS! This brings a whole new spin to my column… and what a great concept to consider!

While it’s great and uber-helpful to be able to talk to admissions representatives, financial aid people, and other staff at the university(ies) you’re considering, it’s likely that talking to students and alumni of that university will give you a better, more comprehensive feel for the school, its programs, students, faculty, and more.

It’s so important to do your homework when making this kind of investment. Your education really isn’t something to be taken lightly; so take time in your decision and follow these few steps to really get a good idea of what you’re in for:

  1. Search for the school(s) you’re considering on Facebook – “Like” their pages and talk to their students and alumni, you’ll get super valuable insight this way
  2. Search the internet for review sites (much like onlinedegreereviews.org and geteducated.com) – read up on everything you can, see what people think of programs, specific courses, faculty, financial aid, transfer credit and other processes
  3. Don’t turn a cold shoulder to Google… use it! – this is still a great way to get more information; just be aware of spammy sites and the like

What other ways did you do your homework when picking a school?

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