<p>when you visit it?</p>
<p>or do you think that its all a myth and that everyone has doubts but you have to make the best of your decision?</p>
<p>When I visited my first choice school again it felt amazingly perfect. But my perception may have been influenced by my premeditated obsession with everything about the school...</p>
<p>i have the same question as morgan. What if none of them feel absolutely perfect? </p>
<p>What would you do if one of your colleges feels perfect but it's too close to home, and another feels not quite so perfect, but it's in a new far-away location like you wanted? I'm quite torn!</p>
<p>hey allie</p>
<p>If I were you, I would go with the one that's perfect but feels too close to home. I think the newness of the far-flung location would wear off eventually anyways.</p>
<p>that is true, and good advice. I will be visiting the one that is farther away later this week, and I am hoping that it ends up feeling as perfect as the one that is close to home, because I really would like to go to school out of state!</p>
<p>I always thought it was ridiculous when tour guides said they "knew" that it was the right school for them. Then, I stepped foot onto the campus of my first choice school and it just felt perfect. All of my friends that applied early felt exactly this way. </p>
<p>However, some of my friends never had this feeling. Even as they visit the schools they have been accepted to, they don't feel like any school is perfect for them. But despite this, I know that they will be happy.</p>
<p>You'll probably visit a few schools in your area, and then maybe a few top schools, or a few schools for which you have a large interest.</p>
<p>That's probably what? Maybe 10, 20 at most schools? Out of thousands?</p>
<p>So yes, it's very likely that none of them will feel absolutely perfect for you. Especially when it's only a short visit.</p>
<p>But a school doesn't need to feel perfect at all. It's just school. I'm sure if you visited your high school in 8th grade you would hardly call it a perfect high school for you.</p>
<p>I'm a believer in the concept of "fit" but only up to a point. </p>
<p>Truth is that most young and smart people are flexible and adaptable enough that they could do very well and be very happy at a wide variety of schools. Besides, the impressions you get on a one-day visit may not last much past that one day. Perhaps the weather you experience or the people you encounter after you enroll will turn out much worse (or much better) than what you observed during your visit.</p>
<p>If you keep searching for that one magical perfect fit, you will probably never enroll in college. You'll probably never get married either.</p>
<p>I agree with coureur. At a coarse level, fit is crucial. I'm a big advocate of fit, actually, while a lot of people seem to focus on "prestige" to the exclusion of anything else. But if you hate cities Columbia isn't right for you, nor is Middlebury if you can't stand being in the country. If you want classes filled with animated discussion you may not find this in the large lecture classes at your large state U. A smaller school may give you the personal attention you want in college, a faculty advisor, etc. And so on.</p>
<p>But at the finest level, I wouldn't worry about it. Some people are lucky and "know" they've found the perfect match. Others aren't so fortunate. But if your gut isn't screaming "get me out of this place!" its probably going to be ok. Just be sure you've really looked into what it's going to be like to actually attend for 4 years.</p>
<p>Of course not. We're human. No one is 100% positive that any school is the right one for them. Just visit the campus, weigh the pros and cons and what is important to you, and go with your gut. Most people have a great overall experience wherever the choose. Just don't stress and find out what school is right for you.</p>
<p>And if your gut IS screaming "get me out of this place", cross it off your list and narrow your selection that way. When my first child was looking at colleges and said "I hate this place" or "I'm not getting out of the car" when we drove up to a school, I was furious. He ultimately chose a great school for him and from what I know about the ones he had a negative gut reaction to, he was spot on as far as who he was. When my second child had a negative gut reaction to a school, I was more accepting and trusting of her reaction at the moment and we avioded the arguments I had with my son. Some people will never have that strong a negative or positive response. Others will. Whichever, the luxury of being able to take a second look after acceptances is a great thing.</p>
<p>I did have that special feeling of rightness about my undergrad school and had expected my D would experience that too somewhere. But she is just not that sort of person. We visited 6 or 7 campuses and they fell into two or three categories for her: this place is not for me; I would probably be able to go here; I would feel OK studying at this place. Form the OK category she made a list of pros and cons and picked the place with the most pros. Now that she knows where she is going, she takes a positive view of most of what she hears about the school and is looking forward to it. I don't think she could have "real" feelings about a school until it was a real possiblity for her.</p>