# Need suggestions on how to get in touch with families with kids going off to college this fall **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351 "2010-07-20T15:22:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/1 "2010-07-20T15:22:02Z")
I am conducting a (paid) research study, and I need to get in touch with families who have a member going off to college this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might reach such people, given that I do not have anyone in my direct social network who knows anyone? Here are the routes I’ve tried so far: - flyering on prominent streets, buildings, grocery stores, libraries - craigslist - standing on the street with a sign - emailed my social network to see if they know anyone What else should I do? I feel that I need to target these people better, but I’m not sure how to go about it. I don’t think, for example, that a high school would direct me to people just because I asked (or am I wrong?). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/2 "2010-07-20T15:43:55Z")
Call a local college and ask when their freshman orientation dates are and plan to do the above with flyers and signs at the campus those days; many parents will also be on campus those days. You might need to check with several colleges because some are probably already done with it for the year. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/3 "2010-07-20T19:08:08Z")
Many incoming classes will set up a Facebook group for themselves nowadays (e.g. Stanford 2014). You might want to see if you can join some of those group and then see if any other members will participate in your study. ---
**Author:** ![Telcontar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Telcontar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telcontar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/4 "2010-07-20T19:23:19Z")
Two great ideas. One thing you’ll notice right off the bat is that it’s a lot easier to find the kids than the parents. How much are you offering for how long? Could you split the money between the kid and the parent? Also check local papers for lists of grads and, if you can get them, HS year books. My local library always got them for the town schools. But, really, the first two ideas are also the best I could come up with. College orientation days are madhouses and should be occurring more or less constantly from now until September, and those facebook groups exist for pretty much every sizable school. ---
**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/5 "2010-07-20T19:57:43Z")
Thanks for the help, everyone. Keep 'em coming if you got 'em. (The reward is $50, by the way. Hardly anything to get excited about, especially given that it requires 3-4 hours of their time) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-suggestions-on-how-to-get-in-touch-with-families-with-kids-going-off-to-college-this-fall/547351/6 "2010-07-20T20:31:16Z")
Contact high schools in your area and see if they will give you a list of home addresses of graduating seniors from this past spring.