<p>Hi all! With D1 happily halfway through her college freshman year, D2 (now a HS sophomore) has started thinking about where she'd like to go for college. It seems that because I know more the 2nd time around, helping her start to build a list is more daunting. </p>
<p>What criteria did you use to build a workable college visit/app list out of the 3000+ colleges in the US? Here's what I've suggested so far:</p>
<p>1) Start with colleges that are familiar & appealing
2) Use Rugg's Recommendations to find schools noted for her "intended" major
3) Look on CC under the areas she's interested in to see what schools people talk about.
4) USNWR-not so much for the overall rankings but to see what the chatter is about certain schools & programs
5) Colleges that Change Lives (CTCL)
6) Use the reported SAT/ACT ranges to see where child fits into the school's profile.
7) Location </p>
<p>Cost is of course a consideration, but I'm not including it at this time since right now it's about having conversations about what D2 is looking for in a school. Plus I'm sure she remembers our talks with D1 about college costs ;)</p>
<p>Any other things y'all recommend for uncovering some hidden/cool schools that might other wise get missed?</p>