A counselor-friendly college search built around real advising workflows

How counselors use CampusPin

Counselors keep the judgment; CampusPin handles the data

Counselors who try CampusPin often arrive expecting another rankings or "match" tool. CampusPin is neither. It is a filter-first discovery and comparison layer with the columns counselors actually care about: real cost, retention, graduation, program format, transfer pathways, campus setting.

The platform is free for students and families. Counselors can use it during one-on-one sessions, in college nights, in classroom workshops, or to assign as homework between meetings. The four workflows below cover the most common use cases.

Classroom and group settings

CampusPin in college nights, workshops, and class periods

For group settings, the most useful CampusPin entry points are /college-search (how the platform thinks), /college-comparison (what to compare), and /college-cost-comparison (tuition vs. net price). Each is publicly readable and includes tables, decision matrices, and FAQs students can reference later.

The state directory at /colleges-by-state and individual state pages are useful for "all the schools in our state" overviews, including counts, public/private breakdowns, and regional context.

Counselors are welcome to reference CampusPin guides in workshops, advising materials, and college-night presentations. We ask only that you link to the canonical CampusPin URL when you do, and that you remind students CampusPin is a discovery layer — not the official source for any institution.

Session-ready workflow

A 30-minute counselor-led session on CampusPin

1. 1Open /results with the student. Apply state, cost ceiling, and school-type filters together.
2. 2Look at the map view alongside the result list. Talk through geographic distribution.
3. 3Pin 4–6 candidate schools.
4. 4Open /compare with the four most interesting candidates.
5. 5Read net price first, then graduation rate, then acceptance rate.
6. 6Have the student articulate why each school belongs on the shortlist in one sentence.
7. 7Use /advisor to ask one tradeoff question.
8. 8Finish with: which two schools is the student visiting next?

Frequently asked questions

Answers students and families ask first

Is CampusPin free for counselors and students?

Yes. The full search, comparison, advisor, and editorial library are free. There are no paywalls on student-facing features. Some institution-side features for verified college representatives are paid; those never affect what students or counselors see.

Can I use CampusPin in a workshop or college-night presentation?

Yes. Public CampusPin pages are usable in advising materials, presentations, and classroom settings. Please link to the canonical CampusPin URL when you reference a guide, and remind students that CampusPin is a discovery layer — not the official source for any institution.

Does CampusPin replace tools like SCOIR, MaiaLearning, or Naviance?

No. Those are advising platforms with student-record features (transcripts, recommendation tracking, college lists owned by the school). CampusPin is a public discovery and comparison layer with no student-record features. They complement each other.

How can I report data issues I see during sessions?

Use the contact form at /contact and include the school name, the specific field, and a source URL if you have one. Editorial review handles fixes; source-derived corrections may need to wait for the next federal data refresh.