The Real Way to Research Colleges

(MoneyWatch)  I heard a few whoppers yesterday when I attended San Diego's biggest college fair, which annually attracts thousands of students and parents to the downtown convention center.

Here's one that I heard when I stopped to talk to Purdue University's representative: Ninety four percent of Purdue's freshmen return for a second year. The number struck me as awfully high. Harvard's freshmen retention rate, after all, is 96 percent.

Here's another claim that made me pause: The average merit award at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is $20,000. "Wow. Is that really the average?" I asked the rep.

Here's yet another: Students at California Maritime Academy routinely graduate in four years. Students typically take 18 to 20 credit hours a semester at the state school so they can graduate on time.

When I got home, I did my own fact checking by heading to the federal College Navigator, which is a wonderful resource that provides statistics on individual schools in such areas as financial aid, freshmen retention, graduation rates, admission figures and more.

Here is what I discovered:

1) Purdue's actual freshmen retention rate: 85 percent. That's still much better than most state institutions, but far short of the Purdue rep's claim.

2) Rensselaer's average institutional grant: $16,779. That's a very impressive figure, but still $3,221 short. I also learned that all but 2 percent of RPI students receive some type of financial assistance.

3) California Maritime Academy's four-year grad rate: 43 percent. Not exactly the picture painted at the fair. On the other hand, it's vastly superior to the average grad rates that you'll find within the 23-campus California State University system.

So what's the take-home message? Don't believe everything you hear at a college fair.

You can't make the best decisions if you don't possess accurate information. So when researching schools, check the facts. A great place to start is with the College Navigator.