Picking a college could come easier for students, parents - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Macie Wheeler's search for the perfect college began before she attended her first homecoming dance - for good reason.

"Freshman year I came up with a list of about 25 schools of just possibilities that I wanted to go to," says Wheeler.

Turning that number into one took all for years.

"I remember sitting at my computer for hours, just to send out letters to schools" says Wheeler.

So having a resource like 'College Choice Reports' could have saved her a lot of time.

Especially since High School counselors are saying the process is beginning earlier than ever.

"We're talking to freshman, so we are saying the day you walk into high school if you haven't thought about it ahead of time," say Carbondale Community High School Counselor, Erinn Murphy. "Every student that comes into our office, we are saying what are your plans after high school and how do we help you get there? And I think the process has just sped up."

Because when you do begin your search, it's information overload.

Tuition costs, job placement information, admission standards, and degree completion rates.

"When you float around to all of the different sites, you forget what you just looked at another school, you are spending x number of minutes just trying to navigate around to where you need to be," says Lori Koester, a CCHS counselor. "You get distracted and hit other links, it's a very time consuming process."

For future students and their parents.

"Those parents desperately seek that information, they don't know how to advise their students, their children," says Koester.

Copyright 2012 KFVS. All rights reserved.