Google unveiled the new cards in a post on its recently launched company blog, The Keyword, today. It comes just in time for college application season in the U.S., a period when tens of millions of students are researching universities to attend in the next year. For most of these candidates, Google is the gateway to the education providers. Until today, the search engine has revealed very little about individual universities though, making students click through to a new page.
Google now surfaces information including graduation rate, applicant acceptance rate, undergraduate tuition fees and average salary after graduation in a card on each university or school’s search page. Typing “howard admissions stats” or “uc-riverside admissions stats” will show detailed information for the respective university. The card includes a map of its location and a short description of the establishment, provided by Wikipedia.
The information is presented in a much clearer format than many university comparison sites provide. It’s also quick and easy to access with a single Google search. The feature could cut out a lot of time spent browsing the web for university stats, helping students make their important decisions. Google is sourcing its information from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scoreboard.
“By surfacing this information directly in Search, people will have access to detailed information and data as they approach decisions about higher education,” said Google. “Now whether they’re looking for average tuition costs with financial aid, searching for a school with a high acceptance rate, or projecting how long it will take to pay off student loans based on average salary after graduation, Google can provide that first step into deeper research online.”
Google has been expanding its selection of search cards recently, helping people do more without leaving its search page. The longer it can keep users on its site the more money it makes. Adding new features such as education information helps Google to be more useful, attracting new people to the Google app on mobile and ultimately saving users time.
This college application season, Google will be well-placed to serve the “hundreds of millions” of searches it receives each year related to educational institutions. Whether it’s information on fees or the latest post-graduation stats, the cards will make this valuable information more accessible to the people who need it most, making the application process a little simpler.
