Where the Details Live: Exploring Colleges Through Their Websites
If you’ve already started exploring colleges—scrolling through BigFuture, comparing schools on Naviance, or organizing your early thoughts in a Google Doc—you’re off to a smart start. In our last post, More Than a List: Turning College Search Tools Into Strategy, we explored how these digital tools can help jumpstart your college search.
But once a school lands on your radar, how do you go deeper?
One of the most underrated tools in your search is also one of the most accessible: the college’s own website.
It’s where you’ll find the stories that aren’t in brochures or rankings—what students are researching, which professors are teaching first-year seminars, and how your potential major actually works in real time.
Go Beyond the Basics
Yes, every college site includes a facts-and-figures “About” page—but the most valuable information lives deeper. Explore the academic department pages of your intended major. Look at the course catalog and the curriculum map.
One junior we worked with noticed that while two colleges offered neuroscience as a major, only one allowed first-years to assist in research labs. That detail reshaped her priorities.
Faculty profiles can also be telling. Who’s teaching the intro courses? Are there undergraduate mentorship or fellowship opportunities listed? Does the department host speaker series, publish student research, or link to recent alumni outcomes?
These are the kinds of details that matter—not just for choosing where to apply, but for what to say in your essays when a school asks, “Why here?”.
Look at Student Life, Too
Academic fit is essential—but so is the experience you’ll have beyond the classroom.
College websites often include sections on student life that go far beyond housing and dining. Take time to explore student-led organizations, publications, affinity groups, cultural centers, and extracurriculars tied to your academic interests. These pages often highlight social and networking opportunities that can be just as valuable as the major itself.
One Ivy Link student came across a podcast linked on a college’s Black Student Union page—he not only listened to every episode, but mentioned the club’s mission in his application and joined the group after enrolling. Others have discovered things like social entrepreneurship labs, environmental justice coalitions, student film festivals, and improv groups—offerings that might appear in college apps, but only become meaningful when you explore how they actually operate on campus.
This kind of deeper research helps you go beyond surface-level impressions and identify schools where you’ll feel engaged, supported, and able to grow.
And yes, colleges notice when students engage. As we explained in The Importance of College Visits, some schools track website engagement as a form of demonstrated interest. While it’s not the only factor in admissions, it’s one more reason to dig deeper than the homepage—and one more way to show that your interest is real.
So if a school has caught your interest, don’t stop at the homepage. Let your curiosity guide you a little further—into the programs, people, and possibilities that make each campus distinct. The more you explore, the clearer your list becomes—and the more specific your applications can be.
And if you’d like support along the way—whether you’re building a college list, shaping your application strategy, or simply trying to make sense of what you’ve found—Ivy Link is here to help with insight, structure, and personal guidance at every step.
