Yelp but for colleges: Website helps international students picture life on campus

You’ve heard of Yelp, right? Users leave reviews of bars, restaurants, events and more… But you might not have heard of Niche.

Niche lets you view all colleges in the US by using a student-based, self-reporting technique to detail a breakdown of what it’s really like to study at an institution.

Often, when researching a university, everything seems rosy…but have you ever wanted to hear real students’ and graduate’s opinions, totally unfiltered? The good and the bad? Well, now you can.

Niche has become the Yelp for researching collegeshttps://t.co/u8K7kEcin9 pic.twitter.com/Mn85iLVDiu #money #worldnews

— ABC Crypt (@Abc_CRYPT) May 16, 2018

As an international student, miles and miles away from the reality of the university, you’re likely to just use the university’s website for reference.

You’re full of questions: How likely is it I’ll get in? How many graduates are employed after college? What’s it really like in the dorm rooms? Is the food nice? Is there designated parking for students?

Niche has answers from millions of students from all over the world, sharing their own personal experiences of studying at a particular institution.

And it doesn’t just cover universities but K-12 schools and neighbourhoods as well, so you can find out what it’s like to actually live in your university town, too.

Typing up your Niche review. Source: GIPHY

However, a word of warning: it does appear that anyone can register on the site and submit reviews as there is no verification of your student status. So maybe take what it says with a pinch of salt – you never know who’s hiding behind the screen, and the online world is rife with trolling keyboard warriors!

But if you want the low down on the good, the not-so-good and the downright ugly college factors before sending your application, this could be your chance to do some inside snooping.

The site has it all, no holds barred.

It can be fun to read students’ gripes but remember not to believe everything you read on the internet. Source: GIPHY

There’s even a section for the ‘best colleges in America’ where schools are ranked on your likelihood of acceptance among other criteria students really care about.

Data scientists at Niche dissect and evaluate endless data sets in real-time to produce their rankings and in-depth profiles of institutions.

But arguably one of the most useful – or at least most interesting – features is the section where students and graduates can leave reviews.

So, if you want to hear what the people who have been there and done that really thought of the university, you can trawl through Niche’s pages of reviews on each college of your choice.

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