Almost 80% of juniors and over 90% of seniors said they had conducted college searches on the Web.

"Students are seeking out their date with destiny by initiating their own stealth Web search to find a perfect match," Steve Kappler, Stamats’ executive director of consulting, said in a statement.

Mr. Kappler suggested colleges target sophomores as heavily as upperclassmen to get the best prospects over time.

Over three-quarters of teens said their parents were the major influencers in their college decision making. Guidance counselors were a distant second.

Only one-quarter of seniors found out about colleges by social networking, compared with 30% of sophomores.

Stamats made the data public in an August 2007 news release. 

Via eMarketer