<p>I really have no idea how to pick which college to attend. To complicate things: it's a little late for me, I'm a senior. The schools I applied to are:</p>
<p>Carleton (admitted)
Colgate (waiting)
Dartmouth (waiting)
Duke (waiting)
Miami, fl (admitted)
Michigan (admitted)
William and Mary (waiting)
UVA (waiting)</p>
<p>I have visited all but Miami and Carleton. They all seem really nice, but nothing jumps out and says "this is where I should be." Money is not a big concern and I have recieved some scholarships already. Some of those schools are big, some are small. It's a diverse list because I don't know what to look for or what I want.</p>
<p>Beyond my specific colleges, how do you do it- how do you pick a school? I want to go to a good school and have fun and study something in the humanities or social sciences. All of those schools have huge plusses and they all have drawbacks. How do I pick one? I'm extremely lost and indecisive. Please help!</p>
<p>I'm not sure big or small. I applied to a variety because of that. I would love having a small classes with tenured proffesors in a close community just as I want to be one of 110,000 people at football games. I go to a small, single-sex, private high school if it matters.</p>
<p>bobbobbob, you pretty much hit the nail on the head in ranking those schools in my mind. Only, it isnt firm. I can't see giving up, say, Michigan football to go to Dartmouth or giving up Dartmouth's reputation and academics to go to Michigan.</p>
Make a list of all your criteria (location, offerings in majors of interest, strength of program, cost ). Value each school for each criterion. Use whatever method you want: assign point values to each on 1-10 scale; give it a yes or no; id the Best school for each, etc. Add up your values, your yeses and nos, your count of Bests for each school.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Looking over the results, note your reactions. Do you find yourself annoyed that Princeton got only 78 points and Harvard got 88? That tells you something. Do you find yourself tempted to go back over Carletons results and add a bit here and there? That tells you something.</p></li>
<li><p>Look over the results again. Do you know that the answers the rankings give you just wont work? Because your mother would never be happy if you dont go to Duke? Because your dad will be furious if you go to Reed? Because the cost is just plain prohibitive for the winner? Then, go back and add whatever criteria these issues raise: Moms favorite, Dads view. Or, add more weight to the cost criterion.</p></li>
<li><p>Study the final results. Perhaps you now have your answer, and you are done.</p></li>
<li><p>To me this is the most important step. If you do not have your answer, put the tables and analyses away. Now, imagine that the decision has been taken completely out of your hands: a Big Boss has swooped in and told you that your acceptances to Earlham, JHU and UNC have been revoked. You have to go to Amherst. How do you feel? Relieved? Thrilled? Incensed? Ready to fight for that JHU acceptance? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Test out this scenario for each college youre still considering. Believing that the decision has been taken out of your hands, and monitoring your reactions should give you your answer. If it doesnt narrow it down to one school (I think it will), it should at least eliminate some and you can redo the process for the remaining.