How do you know what college is best for you?

Hi Amiya,

This is a great question! College can be some of the best years of your life and its important to figure out which one is best for you. When I applied to schools, I looked at cost, location, size, and ranking of the business school (as I knew I wanted to major in business). When visiting schools I found that my best strategy was to see if I could envision myself at the school - hanging out with friends, studying, trying the restaurants in the city or town, etc. Ultimately if I didn't feel at home at the college, I decided against putting it on my list of potential schools. Hope this helps!

Hi Amiya,

This is a very important question and it is great that you are beginning to think through this big & exciting decision! Picking the right college for you is extremely important and could possibly tie into how successful you are at the school you end up choosing.

I would recommend breaking the decision down into major buckets. If you can successfully break the decision down into smaller decisions, the major decision may become a bit easier when you consider multiple factors. I would think about what is important to you and what you would ‘like to have’ as compared to ‘need to have’. I have listed a couple decisions that may be helpful for you to focus on, and you should be thinking about what is important to you personally!

The first thing I would consider is the field that you are interested in. Ensuring that the schools you are looking at offer classes and programs that you are interested in will require a lot of research that will pay off in the end. I would recommend reaching out to advisors and campus recruiters to ensure the school offers programs you will be interested in pursuing. Once you think through which programs you are interested in, you can start to understand how much it will cost and what scores & grades you need to achieve to be a top candidate!

The second item I would consider is whether you want to be close to or far away from home. Some students are better equipped to go far away for school and some students prefer to be close to friends and family in an area they know well. If there are two similar schools both offering programs you are interested in, and one of these schools is far away, you are going to want to think through which option would make you the most comfortable in the long-term. Keep in mind that where you go to school often dictates where you start your career!

The third thing I would suggest is meeting with as many recruiters and advisors as possible from schools you have identified as possible choices to gain an understanding of the class structure, class size, and any other attributes you should be considering (rank, housing situation, travel, financial implications, etc.). You should have an understanding of what you are looking for in a school before you start reaching out to these resources. You should try to sketch out a rough idea of what you are looking for (for example, a school that offers criminal justice that is close to home and within a certain price range) to help narrow your focus. Building this checklist will make sure you are not wasting time on schools that may not be the right fit for r future.

These are several steps that can help you start in the right direction when considering which school is the best choice for you. At the end of the day, you will never know if you made the 'perfect' decision - but taking all these steps, visiting the schools, and talking to alumni should bring you comfort that you made a strong choice!

Best of luck in your future endeavors!

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Collegeboard.org is a great resource for this! I poured through the pages of universities all over the U.S. when I was a senior in high school. Collegeboard was my go-to site! They put all of the information in one place and it is very easy to use. They even have various filters you can apply to see only colleges that have programs you are interested. To determine academic rigor, look at the admissions requirements, G.P.A. of past admitted applicants, SAT/ACT scores, class rank etc. This will give you an idea of what scores and grades you need to be accepted. However, don't be discouraged your application will be reviewed based on the full picture! College-board will help you get an idea of what is most important to the specific school you are applying to.</span>

This professional recommends the following next steps:

• <span style="background-color: transparent;">Chat with your Guidance Counselor</span>
• <span style="background-color: transparent;">Create a Collegeboard.org account</span>
• <span style="background-color: transparent;">Start using CollegeBoard as a resource to look up schools.</span>