<p>Here’s what I did too weed out my colleges, if you haven’t done them already.
- Too pricy? Make that college **** of your list.
- Do the school’s political views (ex: conservative, liberal) agree with yours?
- Would you prefer the huge city or a small town? Choose colleges with your preference.
- Is the retention rate low? Because that probably means that the college sucks and its students don’t like it enough to stay.
- Do the schools actually have a renowned program for your major?
- Is the graduation rate low? That’s not good.
- Do you like large student bodies or small class sizes?
- Are student reviews of that school positive?
- Do the professors have positive ratings? (ratemyprofessor)
- Does the school have cool traditions? (I heard of one with an annual pickle festival.)</p>
<p>Then there’s some more shallow reasons.
- How does the college rank for cute boys/cute girls?
- Is the food good?
- Is the campus pretty?
- Does the college have high rankings on Forbes or whatevers?
- Are your friends applying?
- Does the school have cool clubs? (Quidditch and dance ftw)</p>
<p>I honestly feel like you haven’t done enough research into your colleges, because they’re all so drastically different. Don’t go for the rankings alone. Go to a place that you know you’ll love.</p>