<p>I don't want to apply to a college simply for prestige--I want it to be right for me. But it's as if I need to know my major in order to choose the "right" school for me and therein lies the problem: I don't know what I want to do! So how do I choose the college I want to go to, and after that, how do I convince the admissions people that I should be accepted if I'm not aiming for a specific program? I'm so confused and any help is appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Right, you should also ( if you have any ideal) know what you would like to major into. As I’ve been constanly being puch from pre-medicine etc… my interest ( which I’ve always had, just never knew right major… or knew they all went under the same major) in Political Science is high, higher or more equal to my interest in majoring in a science. Knowing political science better, many universities on my list ( such as Purdue University) I now question ( according to USNEWS the university is not ranked for a political science). Though overall you should look at your intended major, university respectivity, and your overall interest and preferences as living wise etc…</p>
<p>(When USNEWS ranking political science universities, are these 4 year programs… like normal undergraduate school, or is this something like 7 + years, where you don’t have the choice on a graduate school?</p>
<p>Bookworm, do you have a general idea which area you want to go into? Fine arts, arts, science, business, engineering etc? Would you know which college/school you would apply to within an university (ex. College of Arts and Science, School or Business)?
If you know a general area, you can start looking at an university that is good at that area.<br>
However, not knowing what you want can actually narrow down the colleges you want as well. If you have no idea what you want, then you may want to look at comprehensive universities with open or relatively open curriculums that give you a lot of room to explore.
Also, there are lots of other factors that goes into your college search. Preferred size, atmosphere, culture, student life, location all plays a role. Your universities should provide plenty of opportunities and places to satisfy your hobbies and interests. If you like journalism, look for schools with multiple newspapers, magazines, radio stations, broadcast stations etc. If you like sports, look for school with an active intramural scene and Div I sports. If you don’t know what you want academically, perhaps it’s best to narrow down school that will fit you and make you happy first, then narrow it down according to academics/structure of curriculum. After all, you’re spending 4 of the best years of your life there. Don’t go somewhere where you wouldn’t like. You’ll do better academically at a place where you feel comfortable.</p>
<p>Coolbrezze, USNWR doesn’t rank political science for undergrad. Their political science ranking applies to grad school only, not including undergrad.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help–it has definitely given me a stepping stone to start with! I’m interested in nutrition and psychology…guess that’s where I shall start. =D</p>
<p>Dear Bookworm (LOVE your name!), I got out my copy of Ruggs Recommendations on the Colleges, a book that lists schools known for the strong programs in all sorts of majors. Looking up Nutritional Science has nearly 50-60 schools. Some of them are: Arizona, Boston U, Case Western, some UCs, Colorado State, UConn, Cornell, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, UMaine, UMaryland, UMinn, Miss State, Mizzou, Nebraska, UNewHamp, Ohio St, OK State, Oregon St, UPitts, Purdue, Rutgers, St Louis U, UTenn, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Virginia Poly, UWisc. There are others, but you get the idea. </p>
<p>Then I looked up your other interest, psychology. That is a more common major, and the book breaks down the schools by their selectivity. There are 5 pages of schools listed! 
Sorry, but I’m not gonna include them here!</p>
<p>See if you can find a copy of this book or others like it, and look into colleges that offer what you want. Then check out those colleges in more depth. Visit them if at all possible. From my own personal experience, you truly can’t tell what a college is like until you are there…and better to do that before you start attending! ;)</p>
<p>BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!</p>
<p>Swissmiss3: Thank you so much! Just what I was looking for and more. =D</p>
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<p>I LOVE THIS KID!!!</p>
<p>Here’s what I posted on my blog last week. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Quite often I hear from parents and students who just dont feel like they know how to start the college search process. Let me provide you with six steps to starting a college search.</p>
<p>Step 1 - Be Flexible One of the biggest stumbling blocks to beginning the college search is starting with preconceived notions about finding the right college. Eliminate now from your thinking that only public or only private colleges are right. Eliminate the idea that some college beauty pageant list like US News is going to tell what the right college is. And eliminate the idea that if the sticker price appears too high, the school is off the list. Start with a blank slate.</p>
<p>Step 2 - Start Now Yes, now. The more time that you put into the college search, the better decisions will be made. Starting early allows you to take time have fun with the process. If you get a head start on the process, then the student wont feel like the search is running (or ruining) their life. Starting early allows you to pace yourself, ask more questions, and get the right input.</p>
<p>Step 3 - Visit Colleges Any colleges. It doesnt matter if they are schools the student is interested in, just visit them. Go on their campus tours. Students will gather valuable information about what they like and what they dont like by visiting any college campus. If there are colleges nearby where you live, then go for a campus visit. If there is a college near where you will be travelling on a vacation, then stop by for a college tour. And try to visit different types of colleges and universities. Let the student see what a small town, liberal arts college like Grinnell is like. Let them see what a 40,000 student urban campus like ASU is like. Show them what a small college in a big city is like. My alma matre, Jacksonville University, is 3,000 students in a city of a million. I loved it compared to the typical Big Ten, city-wide campus of the University of Iowa where I started.</p>
<p>Step 4 - Ask Yourself Questions Start asking the right questions. Close to home, or across the country? Big campus, or small campus? City or country? What major or majors might I want to study? The college search engines on the Internet, like the one at Collegeboard.com, can help you come up with great questions to ask. Personally, I think where? is one of the first questions to tackle. You can find great schools anywhere in the country. College is one of the few times when a person can have complete freedom in choosing where they want to live. So you might as well pick someplace youll enjoy? On the beach? In the mountains? Where its cold? Where its warm? The field is wide open. Youll always find great colleges no matter where you pick.</p>
<p>Step 5 - Make a List Your questions will lead you to answers that are likes, dislikes, and must haves. Start listing those answers. As you build your list, you will be building the profile of your desired colleges.</p>
<p>Step 6 - Be Flexible I started with flexibility, and Ill finish with it as well. Always make sure that your list is broad enough to include 6 to 10 different colleges, because thats how many you will need to apply. And dont feel like the decision you make as to where you commit for your freshman year in college is set in stone. Over one-third of college students transfer to another college at least once. If you find out you dont like it at a college, you can always change.</p>
<p>I choose a quality that was very important for me and went from there. My number one requirement for colleges is that they be in or within ten minutes of a major US city. That helped to narrow it down. I would say find out what is most important to you and then narrow it down.</p>