<p>In other threads, I was recently given another look at the college picking process in how finding schools whose 'personalities' fit you is very important and just going after the best school (HYP, Amherst, Williams, etc) is less important than previously thought.</p>
<p>How do you find out what each school's personality is and how do you find schools who fit you not only for what statistics you have achieved but the connection from what you are and you offer to that specific institution? Any good pieces of literature that explain this process? Thank you!</p>
<p>Go to the schools website, read about the people and activities, look at the design and info on brochures, read College ******* and collegeboard, look up the school on CC on Vs. threads. Say you wanted to know about Yale… You could read college *******, look up Harvard vs. Yale, you could read brochures, talk to students and faculty at the school, visit the school!, read yale’s motto or mission statement, read Yale’s history etc. I applied to 15 schools, but I knew what each one was like and why I fit there. My Why (school name) essay supplements were so easy!</p>
<p>They all give off such similar vibes “We are a great school.” Like those brochure don’t even show specifics very often</p>
<p>The only real way to get the feel of a school is to visit, preferably on an overnight visit. You’re right - the brochures are pretty much useless. Opinions from current students or from alumni are not much better - they are all going to tell you that their school is the best.</p>
<p>What you can do is come up with a “short list” of schools that bear further investigation: consider cost (the most important criterion), location, size, availability of programs, likelihood of admission, etc. I would very strongly advise looking at both larger schools and smaller schools - they tend to be very different and have very different strengths, and it’s hard to know which will be right for you until you visit them.</p>
<p>I have no preference on everything that you listed above. I might just apply to a bunch of schools.</p>
<p>By all means, read all the information & literature you can on the colleges you think you are interested in. You might be interested in them because of a certain major or a certain geographical location or in-state school, etc. But I think the thing that trumps all of that is to visit them in person. The goal of almost all college admission departments is to bring students to their school so they should look great on paper. So . . . do you like the school that’s in the city vs the one in a small college town? Do you like the campus that’s compact & small or one that’s spread out? What is the transportation like? Can you walk from your dorm to your class in 5 minutes or does it take 20 minutes & in winter it’s freezing outside? My oldest son knew immediately that he wanted to go to Virginia Tech because of the academic program he was interested but mainly because it was a small town but big school - he didn’t want the in-state school in the big city. My youngest son (11th grade) thought he wanted to go to a certain school for their homeland security program. We went & visited it & he crossed that one off of his list as he didn’t feel that he’d fit in. So yes, look at all the literature but then go visit. Good luck with your decision!</p>
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<p>Great! Then you have 3,000 good choices. It may be a bit hard to get out 3,000 applications between now and the end of the year, though - or are you planning to do some sort of random selection?</p>
<p>And unless you or your parents have unlimited money (as in a quarter million dollars are more), you should at least have a preference about cost.</p>
<p>I’m applying to state schools. And my resume is good enough (I think) to get into the full-need based private schools.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is visit schools when they are in session. Visit different types of schools (small/medium/large), schools in different types of locations (urban/suburban/rural), if you are interested in a particular major, try to sit in on a class or talk to a professor. Figure out the environment(s) where you want to spend the next four years. If any activities, research opportunities etc. are particularly important to you, see if they are offered. When you are on campus, look at the kids and see if you could see yourself being their friend. Talk to current students and if you can eat in the cafeteria and talk to students there. If overnight type of visits are available, do that for your top choices. The “vibes” that differentiate school from school will likely come from the students/profs. more than the company line of the admissions departments.</p>