<p>You have come to the right place for information! Here are a few ideas to get you started:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Looking through a book of colleges with your daughter is a good way to get an idea about what a lot of different colleges are like. A lot of people find the “Fiske Guide to Colleges” to be a good starting place. They give you a lot of different information on colleges, and you can see how your daughter’s SAT scores match up to their students.</p></li>
<li><p>There ARE a lot of criteria to consider for a college. Some things to consider that can help you narrow down some choices:
o Does she prefer a city, suburban, or rural area?
o Does she know what she wants to study?
o Is there a certain distance from home she prefers? Some kids can’t wait to get out of Dodge (although they sometimes change their mind as graduation nears!), and some kids don’t want to go too far from home.
o Does she have an idea what size college she is looking for?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You should consider visiting a few nearby colleges of different sizes and types just to get a flavor for some of these questions. Go on a tour and an information session if it is offered, ask to have her attend a class if school is in session, eat on campus if you can.</p>
<p>It is true that a lot of students go to state schools, and if they do very well can go on to good graduate schools. Especially if finances are an issue, this can be a good option.</p>
<p>It sounds like affordability is an issue for you. So you need to keep that in mind as you look at schools. You will want to fill out a FAFSA calculator to see what schools might expect your family to pay. Here a link to one: </p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>
<p>Most colleges now also have a calculator on their website you can use. However, they are not a guarantee of what it will cost you to attend a school. The financial aid forums here on CC are also a great source of information.</p>
<p>Also, consider how much you want your daughter to take out in loans. Fewer/smaller loans (and definitely take Federal loans if she needs loans) are obviously better.</p>
<p>Most students apply to several schools in fall of their senior year (most apply to at least 4, and 8-10 is not uncommon). Some that are harder to get into (for them), some that they are pretty sure to be accepted to. Be sure you have schools you know you can afford on your list; if you let your daughter apply to more expensive schools, be sure she know what kind of financial aid package you would realistically need for her to attend for all four year. Once she identifies school she likes, go read through the posts out here (there is a forum for pretty much every college). If you go back in time (look at older posts), you can find a lot of interesting information.</p>
<p>If there is a college counselor at her high school, see if you can schedule an appointment to talk with that person this spring. That counselor probably knows your daughter and might be able to suggest some schools for her.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>