Here are some alternative ways of working through your search process.

Forbes reports.

Four Power Searches For The Best College

You have to crunch a lot of numbers to find the right college. You have to do even more homework to find a school that won’t land you in debt.

But most college seekers are going to the wrong places to find the most important information. To find a debt-free degree, you have to search for information that counts.

According to the New America Foundation, which recently published a “college decisions” survey, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they “feel lost” when searching for college and financial aid information. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was one-stop shopping for this useful data?

I’m not going to pretend that you can find everything you need in one site, because it’s not all in one place as it should be. When looking for colleges, those surveyed by New America said the most popular routes for college background were college web sites, online searches and friends. College visits, high school counselors and parents also proved useful. So let’s say you had your list of “dream,” “acceptable” and “safety” schools. This is the holy trinity for most college seekers, identifying highly selective, mainstream and sure-to-accept colleges. It’s not a bad way to start.