by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Choosing where you want to go to college is an extremely personal
-- and frequently stressful -- decision that teens and their
families have to make. So, how can this article help you? This
article's intent is to give you a framework that will help you
choose the college that is right for you.
One piece of advice before we begin: It's best to start this
process as early as possible, ideally in the junior year of high
school (although some experts say to start even earlier). If you're
a senior, go to our
College-Bound High School Senior Planning Calendar.
Step 1: Determine what you might like to study or major in at
college. Yes, many students enter college as “undecided,” and
that's fine, but if you have some idea of a career or a major, that
information can help in finding colleges that offer (and even
specialize) in that field. You might like to try some of these
career
assessment tests to help you with this step. You could also read
our article,
Choosing a
College Major: How to Chart Your Ideal Path.
Step 2: Develop a list of criteria you want to use to evaluate
and weed out colleges. Do you want to live close to home, or far
away? Do you want a large university or a small college? What about
costs? Here's a list of common criteria:
- degrees offered
- majors/minors
- location (rural or urban setting)/distance from home
- size of the student population (from small at 1,000 to large
at 35,000+)
- public vs. private
- costs (tuition, room and board, etc.)
- financial assistance packages
- campus resources (labs, libraries, computer access, etc.)
- graduation rate/time
- placement success/internship and co-op programs
- accreditation
- class size
- faculty contact/classes taught by full-time doctorally
qualified faculty
- quality/reputation/ranking
- degree of pressure to excel
- safety (campus, community)
- student body (diversity, gender, etc.)
- social life (Greek organizations, sports, school spirit,
etc.)
- religious affiliation/independent
- housing options (dorms, apartments, living at home)
- realistic entry expectations (based on typical student
admitted)
Step 3: Compile a list of possible colleges and universities.
With at least some idea of the criteria that are important to you,
begin the gathering phase. You can find college information in
books, such as The Fiske Guide to Colleges, which you can
find among other college books in our
Teen Books
section. Another resource are college-related Websites, such as
TheAdmissionsOffice.com. Find that Website, as well as many
others, in our
College
Planning Resources for Teens. You will surely also get
suggestions from family, friends, and high school teachers and
guidance counselors. You should also consider attending college
fairs, where you can actually meet representatives from the schools,
as well as gather important literature.
Step 4: Gather all your resources and information about each
school you're considering. If you don't have all the information
you need on a particular college, you should consider visiting the
college's Website. And most colleges offer some sort of virtual
campus tour, so you can get an early taste of the look and feel of a
college from your PC.
Step 5: Use the criteria from Step 2 to narrow your list of
colleges to a manageable number. This number will vary widely
among teens and their families, depending in part on how many you
and your family can realistically visit. Most experts suggest
narrowing the list to 10 or fewer, but we have known some students
who had close to 20 colleges after completing this step.
Step 6: Visit the colleges on your list from Step 5. The
best way to really get a feel for a college is by visiting the
campus, taking a tour, meeting with students, attending a class,
reading the campus newspaper, eating in the cafeteria, and spending
the night in a dorm (if possible). You have to feel “at home” at the
place where you will spend the next four years of your life, so
visiting is important.
For more information and strategies, read our article,
How to Make
the Most of Your Campus Visit. If some schools on your list are
just too far away to make a trip, then at least take a virtual tour
of the campus and try to talk to people who have attended the school
to get a feel for it. CampusTours.com (listed on our
College
Planning Resources for Teens) is a great place for links to
virtual tours and college Webcams.
Step 7: Apply to the schools that made the cut after the first
six steps. How many schools should you apply to? Of course, this
decision partly depends on your financial situation (since most
colleges have application fees), but most teens generally apply to
one or two dream or “reach” schools (where they have a small chance
of getting admitted based on a realistic appraisal of admissions
criteria), two to four schools where they want to go (and can expect
to be accepted), and at least one “safety” school (where they are a
shoo-in for admission). But you need to choose the number and type
that are right for you; some people don't apply to safety schools,
and others apply to only the best schools that have made the cut
from the first six steps.
Step 8: While you're waiting to hear back from the colleges
you applied to, start hitting the books or the Web to find
scholarships (if you need them). We list some of the best of
both in our
Teen Books section and in our
Financial Aid
Resources for Teens section.
Step 9: Make a final choice among the schools that accepted
you. If you applied for financial aid, take a close look at the
offers. If the school you really want to attend gave you a low aid
offer, you should consider contacting the school and making a
counter offer and see what happens; many schools have become more
willing to negotiate in this area.
