(轉載)選大學了？請看“上大學”網

選

擇大學時可以對學校進行多種形式的考察，比如探訪校園、研究各個學校的網站。不過多年來，眾多高中學生和家長隻有購買那種大厚本且價格高昂的大學指南，才能同時獲取各個大學的綜合資訊。奇怪的是，這類指南根本沒有網上版本。

不過，現在終於出現了一個免費網站，由全職編輯負責管理，內容由在校大學生提供，真實反映了當下的大學生活。網站提供的資訊不僅僅是文字和數位，而且還有多數學校的大量相片和視頻錄影，對同一所學校感興趣或者有其他共同點的人，還可以在網站上建立起小小的社交網路。

也就是說，這是一個YouTube和 Facebook時代的大學資訊網站。

該網站的網址是Unigo.com（Unigo意為“上大學”），其運營費用均來自廣告，上網無需任何花費。雖然創立的時間隻有短短幾個月，卻已經涵蓋了 250所學院和大學，平均每所學校都有幾十篇學生創作的評論、照片及視頻。借助網站先進的搜索引擎，報考大學的人士可以仔細搜索所有這些材料，找到自己合用的東西。比如，你可以查到有關一位持保守政治觀點的亞裔美籍女考生的所有內容。

最近我一直在試用這個網站，感覺很不錯。根據我看到的那些學校介紹，我覺得該網站既保留了學生上傳內容那種直白坦率的特色，又有足夠的專業素質來剔除那些太過偏頗或不準確的言論，在二者之間取得了很好的平衡。

該網站的創建者年僅26歲，以前是製作那種紙質大學指南的，他說網站共有19名全職編輯，並有一個由300名代理人組成的網路負責撰寫學校介紹。這些代理人遍布全國各所大學，搜集各自所在學校學生提供的材料。據網站稱，首批250所大學的資訊是由1萬5千多名學生提供的。

也有一些評論、照片及視頻不期而至，這些最終也要由網站編輯把關。

每篇大學介紹的開頭都是一段編輯撰寫的概述，篇幅相當長，其中有學校的基本資訊、相關統計資料和排名，還引用了大量來自學生的評論。

不過，Unigo網站學校介紹的核心還是那些學生自創的內容，其形式多種多樣。比如，網站介紹密歇根大學的內容有92篇學生撰寫的評論，有些洋洋數千字；35幅照片；36段視頻；10篇學生撰寫的“文檔”。“文檔”通常是由校園記者撰寫，內容涉及學校的體育活動、對附近餐廳的評論，等等。

Unigo 網站上最有趣的內容要數視頻，觀者可以借助視頻看到這些學校的在校生和校園，而這在一般的大學指南中通常並未涵蓋。多數視頻都很短，有些僅僅是為了回答某個問題，比如“這所學校的強項或弱項是什麽？”。不過，也有一些會針對某個問題提出自己的觀點，比如，哪類學生在學校裏最如魚得水或最格格不入。還有些視頻可以帶你簡單參觀校園或宿舍。

我看到有一段學生視頻就是帶你走了一趟大學城的主街。還有一些視頻講了學校的知名度，或視頻拍攝者講述為什麽自己會選擇這所學校。有一段視頻講述了拍攝者在大一時犯下的最嚴重錯誤（他選了“古典神學”課程，但覺得這門課很乏味，就沒有用心學，結果拿了個不及格）。

我還無意中發現了克拉克森大學（Clarkson University）一個學生上傳的一段說唱視頻。這所大學位於紐約的波茨坦，Unigo目前還沒有該大學的相關介紹。這位學生通過說唱的形式對這所學校的學生、建築以及天氣品頭論足了一番。

Unigo網站上還有一些針對一般性問題的文章，內容包括什麽規模的大學最適合你、如何通過校園遊來充分了解一所學校，等等。

網站編輯會遮罩有關人身攻擊以及色情的內容，但是不會攔截那些負麵評論。實際上，網站還會刻意挑出那些針鋒相對的論點。很多學生對學校的評價都是正麵、熱情洋溢的，不過也有很多對於學校的社交活動、費用、夥食、師資、宿舍等等提出了抱怨。

對於創辦時間如此之短的一家網站而言，其內容的豐富程度已經是非常驚人了，不過，缺點和問題也還是有的。各所學校的介紹材料比例有欠均衡。比如，紐約瓦薩學院（Vassar College）的評論文章多達117篇，視頻有42段，而規模大得多的堪薩斯大學（University of Kansas）卻隻有45篇評論和三段視頻。找到網站的深度搜索功能不太容易，因為主頁上沒有明顯的標示。你也無法很快地對各所大學做出比較。此外，雖然學生家長可以免費使用該網站，網站中卻沒有任何針對家長的欄目。

另外，還有很多學校未被網站收錄。首批250所大學是通過數月的調研和向學生征稿“篩選”出來的。Unigo網站有信心收攬更多的學校，但這一點尚需拭目以待。

盡管有這些缺點，Unigo網站還是堪稱典範，它表明，用戶提供的內容能使一個人們關心的重大問題變得更精彩，而同時仍能讓網站保持其編輯水準。

轉自：http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20090305/ptk090915.asp?source=blog by Walter S Mossberg

Research on choosing colleges takes many forms, including visiting campuses and studying the schools' Web sites. But for a lot of high-school students and their parents, finding a centralized resource containing information about numerous schools still means buying one of the thick, costly printed guides to college that have been around for years. The Web versions of these books are surprisingly dry.

But there's a new, free Web site that, while overseen by paid editors, is built on lively content submitted by current students at the colleges. The information isn't just words and numbers, but includes numerous photos and videos for most schools. You also can create a small social network of people interested in the same schools or who share other common traits.

In other words, this is a college-information resource built for the age of YouTube and Facebook.

The site, Unigo.com, costs nothing to use and supports itself with ads. Although it's only a few months old, it already covers about 250 colleges and universities, and claims to average dozens of student-created reviews, photos and videos for each college. Its sophisticated search engine lets applicants comb all this material to find just what applies to them. For example, Unigo would let you see all content relevant to an Asian-American female applicant with conservative political views.

I've been testing Unigo, and I like it. In the sampling of college profiles I read, the site seems to have struck a good balance between the immediacy and candor of student submissions, and the professionalism needed to weed out wildly biased or inaccurate claims.

The site, founded by a 26-year-old who formerly created printed college guides, says it employs 19 full-time editors. This team uses information from a nationwide network of 300 representatives on campuses to create each college's profile. Each representative rounds up contributions from others on campus, so that the site claims that over 15,000 students contributed to the profiles of the first 250 colleges.

Reviews, photos and videos can also be submitted out of the blue, and these are also eventually reviewed by the editors.

Each profile starts with a fairly long editor-written overview, liberally sprinkled with comments from students and accompanied by basic information, statistics and rankings.

But the heart of Unigo's look at each college is student-created, in multiple forms. For instance, the site's section on the University of Michigan includes 92 written student reviews, some running to thousands of words; 35 photos; 36 videos; and 10 student-written 'documents.' The latter are often by campus journalists and cover things like athletics or critiques of nearby restaurants.

The videos are the most interesting part of Unigo, because they provide a look at current students and at the campus that isn't often captured in standard guides. Most of the videos are fairly short, some only containing the answer to a single question like 'What's the best or worst thing about this school?' But others include opinions on issues like what kinds of students fit in best or worst on campus, or minitours of the campus or of typical dorms.

One student video I watched was a walk down the main street of the college town. Others are reflections on the school's reputation, or on why the student chose one school over another. Another was about a student's biggest freshman-year mistake (he took Classical Mythology, found it boring, didn't do the work and flunked the course.)

I stumbled on a rap video submitted by a student from Clarkson University, which doesn't yet have a review on Unigo, in which the rapper comments on the alumni, the architecture and the weather at the Potsdam, New York, school.

Unigo also contains articles on general topics, such as how to decide what size of college is best for you, and how to get the most out of a college tour.

While the editors ban personal attacks and nudity, they don't bar negative comments. Unigo deliberately seeks out pro and con opinions. Many of the student submissions are enthusiastically positive, but plenty are negative comments on campus social life, the costs, the food, the faculty, the dorms and other topics.

The site feels surprisingly full for such a young venture, but it has some quirks and issues. Coverage is uneven. For instance, Vassar College in New York boasts 117 reviews and 42 videos, while the much larger University of Kansas has only 45 reviews and three videos. Finding the detailed search feature can be clumsy, because it's not obvious on the home page. You can't generate a quick comparison among colleges, and the site lacks any parent-oriented sections, although parents are free to use it.

Finally, there are just loads of colleges that aren't yet included. The first 250 schools were 'seeded,' with months of research and solicitation of student content. Unigo is confident it can get more schools, but only time will tell.

Still, Unigo is a good example of how user-generated content can do a lot to enhance an important topic, and still keep editorial standards.

ZT from ：http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20090305/ptk090915.asp?source=blog by Walter S Mossberg