Students & Parents

Information for Students, Parents, and Counselors

Thank you for your interest in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, pronounced " nessie"). Our agreements with schools that participate in NSSE prevents us from reporting the results for individual colleges and universities. However, individual schools may provide their NSSE results if asked. In fact, many institutions have posted key findings from their students' responses to the survey on their institution websites. To learn more about a specific institution's NSSE results, we encourage you to visit their website or to directly contact the school’s admissions office. In the meantime, please explore our website further for valuable information on the college student experience.

“I have given the Pocket Guide to my 10th and 11th grade students for years. I keep copies in the office as well. I know from experience that the questions included are really useful.”
—Karen Miller, Director of College Counseling, The Park School of Buffalo, NY

“No other ranking or guidebook offers the depth of analysis for prospective students and their families found in NSSE. <”
—Stephanie Fabritius, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Centre College

Who can benefit from NSSE information?

Students currently enrolled at colleges and universities who have been invited to complete the survey
Parents, students, high school counselors, and college admissions staff involved in the college search and decision-making process
Professional education and career counselors

About NSSE

What does NSSE do? Who is surveyed? How are the results used? Find answers to questions about the ways NSSE helps colleges and universities understand how their undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.

FAQs for Parents and Students Exploring Colleges

More detailed information in question-and-answer format targeted to parents and students on how NSSE survey results can be used in the college search process.

FAQs for Students Invited to Participate in NSSE

College and universities participate in NSSE because they want to learn more about what their students think and how they can improve the undergraduate experience at their institution. Find out what students need to know when they receive an email invitation to participate in the survey.

Additional Resources

READ NSSE’S LATEST ANNUAL REPORT

For Parents and Students Making College Decisions

A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College: Questions to Ask on Your College Visits

Our newly revised pocket guide for parents and students is provided through school counselors, college admissions offices, educational organizations, and is also available for download on the NSSE website. The guide suggests questions students and parents might ask when visiting a campus or exploring colleges online that can help them make the difficult choice of the institution that best fits the student.

The Spanish-language version of our pocket guide Una Guía de Bolsillo para Escoger una Universidad: Qué Preguntas Hacer en Tu Visita a una Universidad , is available for download. Free copies are provided to high schools, colleges, and nonprofit educational organizations.

Since June 2011, NSSE has provided 263,000 Pocket Guides and 14,000 Spanish language versions of the guide for use by prospective students and their families
37,200 English and 750 Spanish Pocket Guides were distributed during last year alone

Learn more about the NSSE Pocket Guide in this short YouTube video

Order Copies of the Pocket Guide View the Mobile Version

A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College: NSSE Answers from Students

A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College: NSSE Answers from Students provides a snapshot of the level of student engagement on campus and is based on student responses to selected questions from the pocket guide. The pocket guide brochure and report were designed primarily to aid prospective students and their families during the college search process, but institutions may also find the report a valuable resource for a variety of on- and off-campus constituencies.

View a sample of the Pocket Guide report.

What Educators are Saying about the NSSE Pocket Guide:

"I plan to give a copy to each junior and senior. We will discuss the survey, the colleges who have participated, and how to use the questions in the booklet. I teach a class called 'Senior Seminar,' which spends significant time on college research and application strategies. I also meet with juniors and their parents in the spring to officially open the college search process."

- Director of College Counseling, private school, Snyder, NY

"I will distribute them to the entire junior class when I make presentations to them in the spring. I would also like a few to have available for parents who drop in to my office and for younger students. I also intend to put the link to your website in my Junior/Senior Planning Handbook so that families can become familiar with NSSE."

- College and Career Advisor, high school, Pleasant Hill, CA

"I am very excited about getting these guides. They will be so helpful for our juniors and seniors who are beginning the college application process. Thanks!"

- High School and College Program Coordinator, youth program, Chicago, IL

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