I’m a junior in high school right now, and I’m wondering how I should start the process of looking at colleges. I’m not entirely sure how to start, and even if I should start right now. I have some idea of what I want to do after college(history teacher), but I’m not really sure what I should look for in a college. Please help!
Could you tour some campuses in your area to get an idea of the options that are out there? Then after that, you can look for similar types/sizes of schools in your price/stats range or geographical preference, with area of study in mind. Virtual tours are also good if you find the time to watch a few.
The Fiske college guide has a questionnaire in the front to help you think about what matters to you in a college. Could be a good place to begin, too.
Where do you live? What are your stats?
You can start by creating a college email address you’ll check at least once a week, then by filling out the “request info” form for your State Flagship(s), two public colleges you can drive to, and a few small and big private colleges in your area.
Run the NPC on your state flagship, on “meet need” colleges such as St Olaf, Beloit, Muhlenberg, or (highly selective) Grinnell, Davidson, Whitman. Are the results affordable for your family?
Do you know your EFC? That’s the minimum your family will be expected to pay. Usually it’s twice what your parents can actually afford, in which case you’ll need merit aid (work hard to get the highest test scores. Start in March and retake, practicing before each session).
We started in junior year by touring a few local universities and colleges and going to college fairs. The actual schools that were visited didn’t matter in the early stages—the point was just to become more familiar with the different aspects of universities and colleges so that you know better what to look for once you have a better idea of what you want.
At college fairs, I gave my kids a list of different types schools to visit. Small liberal arts, large public research university, large private university, tech school, medium, etc. They had to go up to the table and say ‘Hi, can you tell me about your school?’ and come up with 1 or 2 follow-up questions. I suggested questions, but I didn’t go with them to the tables. I went to other tables on my own. At this stage my kids didn’t know what they wanted in a school, so they were just trying to get a feel for what’s out there. After they visited 3 schools, we’d get back together and I’d ask what they found interesting and uninteresting. Based on what they said, I suggested some other tables to visit. The key at this stage was just talking with reps from different types of schools and not focusing on ‘finding’ a school to apply to.
After going to a college fair and touring a couple large universities and a couple liberal arts colleges, my kids had an idea of what they were looking for. Then we started researching costs and figuring out what schools were doable.
Junior year is a key year for you to do your research. Start with investigating as much as you can on the web. Attend some Fall Open Houses in your drivable area to get a feel for different schools. Make sure you always register when attending a college event or tour. Get your parents involved with all of this. You are a team. Take the SATs or ACT several times during your junior year. I had my kids do this once in December and twice in the spring (March & May) this way you can (hopefully) get a good superscore. But, only do this 3 times if you are prepping for them. You can do this independently if you get a good SAT sample test workbook and take your time (as in, figure how to get the correct answers) and practice, practice, practice. A SAT/ACT tutor or class is great too if it is in your budget. By mid-winter, early spring go on some registered tours and info sessions of schools you are interested in. With your parents run the Net Price Calculator on all the schools that you are considering to put on your list. Don’t fall in love with a school you can’t afford. Definitely aim at finding schools that are matches and safeties. Add a reach of two if you wish. Remember, it cost money to apply to schools, so don’t go crazy with a long list, be reasonable but smart too with the number of schools you apply to. Have a strategy. Talk to your guidance counselor too. You will be very prepared if you do as much as you can during your junior year. It would be ideal for you to start senior year with your list of schools to apply to planned out. This way you can concentrate on your college essay (the main one) and your common app at the beginning of senior year. Wishing you much success!
- Know your GPA and any scores you may have so far. (Before junior year is a good time to start thinking about college, but after your PSAT score arrives in the late fall will be the time when you will have the best idea of where you are likely to be a realistic candidate.)
- Get a college guide. Fiske, Princeton Review, and the Ultimate Guide are all pretty comprehensive. Start scanning and reading about some colleges where your GPA and test scores are in the middle 50% (as well as some where you are in the top 25% and will be likely to be admitted, and possibly given merit-based aid if the college offers any). Use the guides’ lists of “applicants who like this college also apply to...” and/or US News or Forbes college rankings right around one of those colleges to find others that are about as hard to get into.
- Talk with your parents about costs. What can they afford to pay? Then, run the net price calculator on some colleges’ websites and see how much you would have to pay at each college (they base it on how much need-based financial aid they are likely to give you).
- Now that you know about cost, delve more deeply into the guide books and start figuring out what attracts you in a college. Look for others like it.
- If you have a school guidance counselor, meet to talk about colleges. If your school has Naviance, look at how applicants like you do at some colleges that interest you.
- Narrow the list and explore the colleges in more depth. Read through their websites. Request brochures/ information from the colleges. Read about students’ reactions to the college on this website and similar review-oriented websites.
- If you can visit, go to some during this year, maybe over school breaks like April break. If not, no worries; plan to attend college fairs and events where the college may be present, or communicate with an admissions officer who can help answer your questions.
- A year from now, as you begin your senior year, narrow your list to a reasonable number of applications. Maybe 8-10, or less if they are not super-competitive colleges? Be sure to have a mix of targets where you are in the middle 50% by grades and GPA, and safeties where you would be one of the stronger applicants, as well as any reasonable reaches for which you might want to try.
Good luck! Enjoy the search! It is indeed exciting to start to figure out what you want from your college experience and to start imagining yourself on campus.
People gave some good advice up top, but from a senior applying to college right now:
-
Money really matters. Most people are probably gonna want a good list of safeties that will offer a lot of merit/ financial aid. If you are upper middle class and won’t get much financial aid, merit scholarships are really important. Most privates at full price are $320k in total! (as stated on the WashU website). It takes a lot of time to look for colleges that will offer you merit scholarships… so I’d advise looking for those first.
-
The size and feel of the college is REALLY important. Earlier, I didn’t care… I just put whatever school was good and whatever school would give me money.
However, after taking a class at Drexel and UPenn this summer, I discovered how different two colleges can be… At Drexel, the teacher graded the finals during class in front of whoever wanted it and she didn’t have the key. I saw her mark things differently on separate tests and people literally texted their friends for answers during the test. One day she said she was tired so she was not gonna teach two lessons and she graded our projects based on the percentage that turnitin gives them, even when everything was cited. (She was a nice person, but obvi the school did not hold their teachers or classes to the highest standard). Not only that, kids I worked on the project with offered to take me to their dorms so I could smoke weed with them and “get hammered”. I said no… On the other hand, Penn had a dedicated professor and students that challenged me to think; however, it was not glam. It’s kinda like you get what you give kind of deal. I had determined I would not be happy at Drexel and although Penn was great, some other schools could be a better fit. -
Distance from home matters. My sister goes to college in Florida (PA resident) and even that is a huge hassle with moving. She’s 15 min away from the airport so its relatively easy, but there is a huge difference between going to a school like Drexel and Penn 45 min away than a school in Cali.
-
Look at whether you need to go to the fanciest school if you are looking to be a history teacher. Research whether schools like graduate degrees or if the interview is more important than the degree (my former Wall Street finance teacher got a job as an English teacher when he first moved to the school, go figure). The money and stress really isn’t worth it probably.
Now: Understand what’s affordable.
Get a Fiske guide and browse through the descriptions of the schools at leisure.
See what’s appealing to you. As recent grads come home (Thanksgiving), ask them about their experience so far. While it’s only one person’s experience, it’s a person you know, so it’ll be easier to understand their perspective. And compare this to what’s in the Fiske guide.
After New Year, visit a couple of different types of schools near you. Even if they’re not on your list. See what’s appealing. You might be able to do this in conjunction with an EC, like MUN.
Spring break, with your scores and preliminary research, visit some of your targets if finances allow. Make sure that if you want to teach in a particular place, your degree will permit that. If a school has interviews, schedule your visit so you can do that. (Some don’t talk to juniors before April or May.)
The “feel” is important. You are not simply a consumer of academic content at school but a member of a college.
This sounds daunting, but it can be quite fun. You get to think about what you want your college years to be as and how to make that happen. Enjoy!
With regards to budget, don’t let your parents go with a vague “let’s wait until you’re accepted to figure it out.” If they are hesitant to share financial details with you, provide them with links to several colleges’ net price calculators and let them do it on their own. Many first time parents are surprised by the cost of college and what they might be expected to pay.