I’m starting on applying to colleges this month, but I’m completely torn on which colleges to apply to. I have a list of over 30 schools I’d be happy to go to, but I can’t seem to narrow it down. How did you minimize your list?
Think about an environment that will work well for you. That’s how I narrowed my list down!
First, I took my big list of schools, like you have right now. Then, I tried to differentiate which ones I was drawn to just because of the name, or that didn’t fully match who I wanted to be (aka not well aligned with my major).
Then I looked at more emotional factors. Did I think that I could work well on a humongous campus, or did I need a small to medium sized campus? Was I okay with rural campuses? Did I want west coast or east coast weather, or did I think I could handle both?
After that, I was left with about 15 colleges. I’ve set that number pretty firmly for myself- I only allow myself to add a college if it replaces one already on my list.
Beyond that, I’ve really tried to get a feel for how well my personality matches with the school. I look at stereotypes for the schools, I look at the “view books” on school’s websites to see how they sell themselves and what they pride themselves on, I read what I can find on Niche and Princeton Review (especially when people have negative things to say).
It’s also a good idea to ask your friends and teachers if they can recommend schools for you. If you find it hard to see who you are, they’re often quite good at pointing that out for you. I’ve had teachers reccommend me schools that I never would have applied to otherwise, but are now some of my top choices!
One suggestion:
- Divide into categories-- reach, match, safety.
- Within each category, compare two schools at a time. If you were admitted to both, which would you choose? Pick the ones from each category that “win” more often.
That is assuming you have researched each thoroughly and visited if possible.
If you have a predetermined major, you might want to apply to schools that offer the top program on the major of your choice.
Don’t forget, college costs money, a lot! Affordability had a huge impact for my daughter (and her parents).
Start with what is your college budget: Will you need financial aid and/or merit aid to afford the schools on your list. I am sure you will be able exclude many just based on costs. Run the Net price calculators on any of the schools of interest.
Then follow the above advice ^^^^^^^.
Run the NPC on each college’s website to make sure it’s affordable. Talk to your parents so you know what the budget is.
Edit: Ha! The moms all posted at the same time.
@ShrimpBurrito: Great minds think alike.
I just graduated and went through this process and I decided on Lehigh University. I would suggest that you think about cost and how realistic each school on your list is. I would then do my best to visit every school possible, because a visit really tells you a lot about the school. Personally, I was deciding between Lehigh and Binghamton and when I visited Binghamton I was overwhelmed by the size. Also, it is good to get a feel for the people and students you meet there and the vibe you get from the school. Honestly I fell in love with my school from the first visit, so the best thing to do is honestly just visit as many campuses as you can. I probably visited over 15 before I found the right one. Good luck narrowing down your list!
Another mom. Make sure you can afford the school before you start to fall in love with it. Mark off those you can’t afford. Make sure the college has the major that you want. Look up any ratings on that program to see if you see any red flags. Look at the location, could you live and be happy there? Make sure you have colleges you know you can get in to on your list. Think of your priorities, is a highly competitive school what you want, is the research the school does more important, is the campus size most important, etc. Don’t feel forced to apply to schools because of their name. S chose not to apply to any reach schools because he didn’t see any that he really wanted to attend. The schools he chose had great success in placing his major and great opportunities for him. Next visit as many as you can of what is left. We visited and crossed off a couple. It also helped with his final decision. Good luck.