It was a scorching, sun-drenched Saturday, and grades had been mailed out already. Unfortunately for me, I had earned a slew of disgraceful B’s that grading period. Now, I didn’t want to suffer a week of incessant nagging from my overly stringent parents, so I got up especially early that Saturday morning, snuck out onto the porch – pajama-clad, naturally – sat down and diligently waited for the mailman. When the USPS truck finally approached my house, I took the stack of mail from the mailman and ran into the backyard to inspect it: bills, bills, more bills, junkmail, a viewbook from college ABC and XYZ, and OMFGWTH, a huge envelope from Harvard! No report cards in sight. I was safe. I then gleefully snuck back into my room through an open window with the envelope tucked underneath my arm, flung the other mail underneath my bed, and quietly stole into the workroom. I anxiously tore open the envelope and found that Harvard had sent me a copy of their application. Feeling eager and extremely honored, I grabbed a pen nearby and started to fill it out. I screwed up halfway through the application and, cussing under my breath, started to scour the room for whiteout. After a few minutes of impatient searching, I found that my new box of whiteout had been wrongfully infiltrated, and at that moment I realized two things:
1) Someone (obviously) stole all my precious whiteout.
2) I was filling out this application for all the wrong reasons.
What on earth am I doing? I thought to myself. Why am I filling this out? I realized I had absolutely no good reasons for doing so. I knew I was filling it out because well, Harvard is Harvard. All I thought about was prestige. At that moment I also realized that all of my peers chose many of their colleges for the most ridiculous of reasons, and justifying their selections with poor rationale and superficial explanations. Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions one can make in life, and this decision is, regrettably, forced upon young, hormone-driven teenagers that still have yet to fully mature.
So how should you go about finding your perfect college? Most likely, there won’t be an absolutely perfect college/university that will match all of your criteria. If you’ve no idea how you should research and choose a college, read on. For those of you who’ve already found your dream college, congratulations – but I still strongly suggest you read on. Throughout this article I will be listing various sources that are chock-full of information you may find useful in your quest for finding the right college(s). Choosing a college is no trivial matter, and your decisions should be backed up by thorough research.
Important things to consider while researching colleges:
1. Acceptance rates
As you compile your list of colleges, be sure to include a couple “reach schools” and a good amount of both “match schools” and safeties. DO NOT include only reach schools. I know some excellent students that will not be able to attend college because they did not include any safety schools. Check the acceptance rates and average GPA/SAT scores of each college you consider, and label each as a “reach,” “match,” or “safety.”
2. Student body
If you’re not a party kid, don’t go to a party school. If you’re a bit of a quirky kid, stick with the quirky crowd. One of the most important things that are often overlooked in the process of college research is student body. You don’t want to be hanging with people you don’t like for the next four years of your life. An awesome site that can give you a lot of information on this is UNIGO.COM, which is a college review site with ratings and reviews written by students actually attending the college.
3. Professor-student relationships, class sizes
Are you a big fan of large lecture halls? Do you thrive in anonymity? Or do you love close, tight-knit classes driven by intimate discussions between professors and students? Consider the student body size of a college and the average number people per class.
4. Liberal arts colleges vs. Universities
Liberal arts colleges focus on undergraduate studies and student body size is usually under 5,000 students. Universities tend to be much larger than liberal arts colleges and resources are spread out among graduate and undergraduate students. Liberal arts colleges tend to be more community-oriented; universities tend to give students more freedom and opportunities to meet new people. When researching colleges, it is important to research and decide whether or not you would like a liberal arts college or university.
5. Majors and minors
Does the college offer your intended major? Is it good for the sciences? Music? Arts? Most colleges are associated with a certain field. For example, Johns Hopkins excels in medicine and the sciences. Vassar College excels in the arts. Be sure your college is an adequate place to study your intended field. If you are still unsure of your major, be sure your college can offer you plenty of opportunities to explore.
6. Rankings
Let’s face it. Rankings are ridiculous. Just because college XYZ is not in the top 25 on USNEWS does not mean it is a horrible college. Do not solely base your decision on rankings and prestige! Sure, prestige is a nice thing, but you don’t want to spend the next four years of your life miserable if that college happens to be a bad fit for you!
7. Curriculum
Are there general education requirements? Or is it open curriculum? Personally, I love open curriculum – it allows me to explore and learn what I want to learn. Be sure you are at least vaguely familiar with what the graduation requirements are at your college.
8. Extracurricular activities
What kinds of clubs and organizations are active at your college? Is Greek life prevalent? Are there honor societies you would like to join? Your college experience will not be complete without being involved with activities outside of your studies! Be involved!
9. Cost and Financial Aid
Is the college good with merit aid? How much is tuition? Money should not be a huge factor in deciding which colleges to APPLY to, but it CAN be a huge thing when you decide which college to attend.
These are the main factors you must consider when selecting colleges to apply to. One main thing I noticed when I talk to my peers about colleges is that they value prestige much more than any of the other factors mentioned here. I hear things like, “[Insert Ivy League school here] is very good for research. That is why I want to get in.” What I do want this person to realize is that there are MANY other colleges good for research. My main point is that there are often many colleges that fit your criteria. Prestige DOES matter but you should not let it limit your college options!
Other resources:
studentsreview.com – search up the college of your choice and you’ll find comments from students on what life’s like at the college, how to get into the college, etc.
collegeconfidential.com – tons and tons of articles on various topics such as admissions, Ivy League schools, teacher recommendations, and more.
talk.collegeconfidential.com – a forum full of useful information about college!
mychances.net and collegedata.com – attempts to gauge your chances of being admitted to a certain college
cappex.com and zinch.com – information about college and scholarships
Of course, internet sites aren’t the only resources out there. There are books you can read and people you can ask! Choosing the right college is an extremely important step in your life – don’t treat the matter lightly. I wish you all good luck.
