Have an idea of what you want to study, and start out by looking up schools that are strong in that field. This is an easy first step in your search for colleges.
College Navigator: For U. S. colleges, this college finder is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics. There are a variety of helpful search options, including distance from home and acceptance rates:https://nces. ed. gov/collegenavigator/. BigFuture by The College Board: BigFuture is a comprehensive search engine that allows you to run a very personalized search for colleges by adjusting a variety of filters. You can also adjust the importance of each filter, ranging from “Don’t care” to “Must have. ” International schools can be included in your search results as well: https://bigfuture. collegeboard. org/college-search. Cappex: Cappex is limited to U. S. schools, but it has a matchmaking feature that allows you to fill out a profile and be matched with schools based on your preferences. It also allows you to easily see what application materials are required for each school:https://www. cappex. com/. CollegeData: Again, this finder only works for American schools, but it is provides helpful financial breakdowns for each school: https://www. collegedata. com/cs/search/college/college_search_tmpl. jhtml
When attending a college fair, it’s good to have a list of the schools that you want to talk to beforehand. However, don’t be afraid of going up to schools you haven’t heard of and learning about them. You might just stumble upon a school that is a great fit for you![2] X Research source
Finances should be a huge part of your college decision. You should do everything you can to avoid ending college with thousands of dollars in debt. The average American college graduate had $37,000 of student loan debt in 2016. [3] X Research source View student loans as a last resort. If you live in the U. S. or Canada, you can find your family’s expected family contribution using College Board’s EFC Calculator: https://bigfuture. collegeboard. org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator. This will tell you — on average — how much colleges will expect your family to contribute towards your education.
For example, you probably will not want to apply to a polytechnic school if you are interested in the humanities.
Look up housing and dining accommodations provided by the school. If you are handicapped or have specific dietary needs, take this into special consideration and reach out to the student services office if you have any questions. Search to see if the college has community centers or groups for minority, first generation, low income, or LGBTQ-identifying students. This will help you gauge how much the school welcomes diversity and supports students who are different.
Alternatively, if you’re a rising high school senior looking to visit schools, many wealthier schools will offer fully-financed “fly-in” programs where they pay to bring high school students that they’re interested in to spend time on campus getting to know the school. Do some online research to see if the school you’re interested in offers one of these programs — especially if you cannot afford to finance a campus visit yourself. Many college applicants will talk about a “gut feeling” that they feel when they visit the campus of the school that is best for them. Be conscious of this, but still try to keep other factors in mind.
Business majors, for example, will benefit from choosing schools in big cities, where they can easily set up internships or familiarize themselves with environments in which they can get jobs after graduation. Medical students will want to be near major hospitals (a variety if possible, to experience different specialties). Computer science and engineering students should seek schools that are close to businesses and companies they would like to work at.
You are not letting anyone down if you do not attend a top school. Your college experience will be whatever you make it, and you can have fantastic and meaningful experiences at schools that are perceived as “less prestigious” than others.
You can ask for a course catalog or you may even be able to request to sit in on a class, if the school is nearby or you will be visiting during the correct time of year.
It’s best to reach out to someone who has a similar background as you, meaning that they have similar interests, are coming from the same region, or have a similar socioeconomic background. Always be considerate when reaching out to people you don’t know. They may not want to talk to you, and that is perfectly okay.
Your parents can be great resources throughout this process, especially if they have attended college. They are likely among the people who know you the best, so they will be able to help you figure out what you’ll need from a college.
Sometimes, application fee waivers are available for low-income students. Ask your academic counselor if you think you could qualify. Pick at least 2 “reach” schools that you are not sure you’ll get into and at least 2 “safety” schools that you are fairly certain you’ll be accepted into. Have the rest of the schools be ones that you estimate having a 50/50 shot of getting into. Again, make sure that all of the schools you choose to apply to are ones that you would be happy to attend if you were accepted![6] X Research source
If you’ve received multiple acceptances, remember to also respond to offers from schools you are declining as well. This frees up spots for other students who are perhaps on a waitlist. [7] X Research source
