Yet another aid to finding the 'right' school

I've been browsing in the National College Databank (Peterson's Guides, Princeton, New Jersey, $7.95) and I've found some information that may be of use to students thinking of going to college for the first time.

Were you thinking of going to another state's state college? The Databank will tell you just what percentage of undergraduate out-of-state attend each state institution. I noted the following: Virginia Military Institute 46% University of Alabama 14% University of California, Berkeley 5% University of Colorado, Boulder 40% Florida International University 8% Central Texas College 31% Eastern Wyoming College 40% Western Wyoming College 5%

Once you discover an institution with a good out-of-state enrollment percentage, you next need to look in a good descriptive guide to determine not only what the out-of-state tuition is, but entrance requirements and course offerings.

If you're Hispanic and you want to attend a college where at least 5 percent of the student bodyis also Hispanic, you'll find a list of about 250 such institutions in the Databank.

Now, Eastern Wyoming College is on the list of schools enrolling more than 5 percent Hispanic and has reported that some 30 percent of its students came from out of state. I also found that Eastern Wyoming College has more than half of its students receiving financial aid. Futhermore, athletic scholarships for men are given in the following: basketball, golf, track, and equestian sports. Women are included in all but golf and have an additional sport -- volleyball.

The next question that pops into mind is the size of Eastern Wyoming College. The Databank lists it as between 500 and 999 students.

I was not going to tell you much more, since all I'm doing is browsing and inviting you to browse along with me, but I have become fascinated with the intercollegiate athletic listings. For every sport, the Databook lists the schools that compete. Here are some totals as reported by the schools themselves for 1978.

Excuse me for intruding one more piece of data about Eastern Wyoming College: It's on a list of more than 1,000 colleges that forbid Alcohol on campus.

And now for the sports and the approximate number of colleges that have active intercollegiate athletic programs in each. You may be as surprised I was how many schools have a certain sport and how few have another. Too bad no such statistics were kept so thoroughly 25 and 50 years ago -- comparisons would be interesting. Baskeball 2,000 Tennis 1,600 Baseball-softball 1,500 Golf 1,300 Volleyball 1,200 Cross-country running 1,000 Track and field 1,000 Soccer 850 Football 800 Swimming 600 Skiing 125 Sailing 100 Crew 75 Squash 30