<p>How is everyone here making their college decisions?! I am a junior with almost 30 colleges on my list, and I really do not know how I am supposed to narrow them down FAST. I can't visit until I am down below 10. I have no idea what I want to do and I love all my school subjects so I don't even know how to find a major. I am going to need a lot of financial aid but I want to go to a great school...aaghh. I have a few guidebooks that have been really helpful, but the list is still wayyyyy to long. Everyone tells me to go somewhere that has a good program in what I love/am best at...but I like too many things. How on earth do all you people narrow it down?</p>
<p>Visit schools close to you. Visit big universities and small liberal arts schools and see if that gives you a sense of what size/environment you want. That should help you narrow down your list slightly.</p>
<p>Those 30 schools can't all be the same, there have to be some distinguishing characteristics. You should sit down and think about what you want in a college. Size and location are the first two to narrow down with. Make a list of things you want and are interested in for a college and then take that and go through the list you have.</p>
<p>A couple other ideas --</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Read through what is said about the schools on <a href="http://www.studentsreview.com%5B/url%5D">www.studentsreview.com</a> and in the "what these colleges are really like" books at your local large book store. You may find some atmospheres appeal to you and others don't.</p></li>
<li><p>If you can't visit all possible schools, see if a videotaped campus tour is available at <a href="http://www.collegiatechoice.com%5B/url%5D">www.collegiatechoice.com</a>. We used this with our son -- he ended up not interested in several possibilities he "saw" this way and liking a couple others. He ended up attending one of the latter. Of course, he made a real visit before making his final decision.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>What will your major be?
Which schools are on your list?
How are your grades, extracurriculars, PSATs
Do you prefer a small or large school?
Public or private?
What state do you live in?
Do you prefer any region of the country?</p>
<p>also you should ask if you want a school that is religiously affiliated</p>
<p>There is a book I'd recommend you get from the library (or used on amazon) called "Smart Choices" by the Harvard Business School Press. It outlines a concise method of evaluating options and making good decisions.</p>
<p>thanks everyone!</p>
<p>in response to collegehelp's questions:
major...no idea.
schools...all the way from U of Miss to Vanderbilt, mostly southern
grades...4.1 gpa, 31 ACT as a sophomore, 213 PSAT, various extracurriculars...sports, several school clubs, a few unusual ones like cow/horse shows</p>
<p>large vs. small...i guess no preference...yet..
same on public vs private.
I live in Mississippi and prefer the south but am open to anywhere</p>
<p>are these on your list? Take a look at them.
Duke
Rice
Vanderbilt (yes)
Emory
UVA
UNC Chapel Hill
Wake Forest
William and Mary
Davidson
Sewanee
Centre
Furman
Rhodes</p>
<p>I made my decision on where to go based on a few reasons...</p>
<p>Location.
You want to be somewhere that you like. I see that your saying you'd like to stay in the South, I was very much the same way, but I knew I wanted to be somewhere in the south where it was cooler and could possibly snow. And I also wanted a school in an mid- to larger sized city.</p>
<p>Size.
I wanted a medium sized school, having 40,000 plus students at an instituiton just didn't appeal to me neither did having 5,000. So, I looked for something inbetween.</p>
<p>Campus.
I visited quite a few schools and wrote down things I liked about the campus and things I didn't like. I also went with instinct. It sounds weird, but when I stepped on some campuses, it didn't feel right and with others it did.</p>
<p>Academics.
Did the school have programs for my intended major? If they did, then I kept them on my list and if they didn't then I marked them off. It's one of the reasons that I didn't apply to Vanderbilt. They had one major, but not the other. I want to double major, so it was key. </p>
<p>Social/Fun.
You don't want to go to college and do nothing but sit and your room and study. It would turn the most sane person crazy. It was important to me that the school I chose had a variety of student organizations that I could become involved in. It's not a deciding factor of why I'm going where I am, but I love sports, and the university really supports their teams.</p>
<p>Tradition.
It may sound silly to some people, but I wanted a school that was rich in tradition and in a community where the institution is respected and looked upon as a valuable asset. I wanted to be proud of where I would spend 4 years of my life, so finding that was important.</p>
<p>Those are some of the criteria that I used to choose where I wanted to go. I'll be at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville come August, and I couldn't be more pleased with my choice. It really is a great place.</p>
<p>And since you said you would like to stay in the south, I would definately check it out. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. =D</p>
<p>I like DianeR's suggestions. Also you write "large vs. small...i guess no preference...yet.. same on public vs private." I suggest that you visit some colleges of various types in your area. They don't have to be the ones you're applying to, but visit to get a flavor of large vs small, etc. Talk to students, talk to the tour guide, get a sense of how they differ. </p>
<p>In the thread <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=142518&highlight=visits%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=142518&highlight=visits</a> DianeR wrote
[quote]
"Both my kids said that they had "no preference" as to size and location when it came to college, but this changed once they visited some schools. My son decided against applying to three of the schools on his list and my daughter against one."
[/quote]
And I think this will happen with you, too, if you visit some schools.</p>