You’re always told to find a school that is your best fit. How do you do that? I’m a first generation and have very little experience with college. How do I do it, what guidelines do I follow?
Consider some of these questions: 1. What do you plan to major in? You want a school with a reasonable number of profs and courses offered in your areas of interest.
- What are your stats (test scores/grades)? You want to be challenged, but not buried by college and your peers. So picking a college where you fit academically is important. You can Google the Common Data Set for most schools to get an idea of this at a given school..
- Size and location. How do you and your parents feel about how far from home you are? Do you prefer a city or a more rural location? Do you like small or larger schools? (Visit a couple nearby if you aren’t sure).
- Are there ECs you want to be able to continue for sure? Do you have a political leaning that might make some schools uncomfortable for you?
- Cost is huge for most students. Run the net price calculators on all the schools you are interested in on the college website).
A book like the Fiske Guide to Colleges can be helpful. See if your library or GC has a copy.
@intparent I have nothing to add at this point, I just wanted to point out to you that on #5, your typo looks very appropriate - “studebts” indeed 
Caught it during the edit window. 
But certainly talking thought finances with your parents, including discussing debt, is a good idea. General rule, do NOT take out more debt than your federal loans ($5,500 freshman year, slightly more every year after).
What grade are you currently in?
Does your school offer field trips to local colleges? If so, I’d start there, even if you don’t think you’re interested in those particular colleges, a visit will still give you ideas about similar colleges. You’ll (likely) discover if you like differences such as large or small, urban or rural, etc. That will narrow things down a little bit.
Do you have SAT or ACT scores? If not and a junior, sign up for a test this spring. In the meantime, see if your library has test prep books and take some practice tests to see your likely score range and any gaps in your memory that you can brush up on. Once you notice a pattern of test scores you can use that to start looking, only adjusting if necessary once your real scores come in. Also consider your high school GPA. Google Questbridge to see if you might qualify to try for that (academics and finances). Otherwise, these will come in play a little later in your searching.
Consider location. Do you care? Do you want to be close to home or feel adventurous and want to try another location further away? Further can be a few hours or on the other side of the country or anywhere in between. If you have areas you like, google “colleges in _____” and see what names come up. Go to a place like College Board and check out their admissions requirements to see if your scores are in the top half of theirs (ideally, you want to be in the top half). College board also has a search engine where you can put in some of your parameters and see what they suggest (or at least they used to - I haven’t used it in a few years). Start adding or eliminating colleges based upon the preferences you have from local visits, location, and your stats.
What fields do you think you’re interested in? Look at each school still on your list to see what they offer in that field. Cross out any without it.
Look on their financing college page and put numbers into their NPC (Net Price Calculator) to see if they are likely to be affordable for you.
If you find any you like, google “Colleges similar to _____” and see what names pop up. Consider those too.
When you get your “I like these and can afford them list” delve more into the courses offered and any research being done (if research appeals to you - it doesn’t to everyone). See if you can find where recent grads have gone to see if their destinations appeal to you.
Colleges range from 2 year community colleges that can be used as a starting point for a 4 year school or an end destination for various programs themselves to tippy top 4 year schools requiring a super GPA and really good SAT/ACT scores, but offering terrific financial aid if needed. No single college is right for every student. Finding a good fit for each individual is worth putting time into. Some things like finances can really cull a list - other things are helpful with narrowing down a wide list if you get one.
Best wishes on your search. If you have someone at school who has BTDT (a favorite teacher maybe?), they can often be helpful for some advice, but doing a bit on your own with google can be really rewarding.
One last thought - don’t fall in love with any school. You never know if you’ll be admitted or if you can afford them. Wait to fall in love until after you have an acceptance and financial page in hand. The majority of kids love where they end up. It didn’t have to be #1 on their list. If you don’t end up loving your freshman destination, remember transferring is an option.
I would put cost considerations first. What have your parents told you that they are ready, willing, and able to pay each year? Do they have any money saved specifically for your education?
Sit down with your parents, their favorite adult beverages, and a couple boxes of very soft tissues, and run the Net Price Calculators at the websites of the closest big public university in your state, the closest private college or university, and a couple more places that you have friends attending or that your parents have heard of (e.g. Your home state U’s big football rival, the college your mom’s boss went to). Look at the results together. What changes would your family need to make in order to come up with those amounts of money?
If you have very good grades and ACT/SAT scores, your chance of admission is better at the colleges and universities that meet your full financial aid need (as those places define it). You also would have better chances at places that offer significant merit-based aid. For more spcific advice along those lines, visit the Financial Aid Forum.