How will I know what college is right for me?

Hi! I was wondering how I will know what college is for me and what colleges I should apply to. I am a junior in high school and have no clue what my top school is let alone where I want to apply… any suggestions

Did you take an SAT yet?
Have you researched your instate options?
Did your parents give you a budget?
You need to figure out your GPA unweighted.
Figure out which colleges have your major-go to your counseling office to get some books and website references on colleges that you may consider.
Small college? Large university? Private? Public? Rural or urban locations?

OK, here’s what I suggest:

  1. Pick one or two possible majors.
  2. Do a College Search quiz or two. This site has one, you can google others. Decide on some of the basics-- a ballpark radius from your home, price, and so on. Nothing you do here is set in stone, so play with all the optins other than price.
  3. You will come up with a list of schools. For each of my 2 older kids, that original list was something like 35 schools.
  4. Take a look at the 25th and 75th percentile SAT scores. (you can find them at collegenavigator.gov. ) See whether that eliminates any. If you haven't taken the SAT or ACT yet, you can use your PSAT scores as a ball park.
  5. Now go shopping ;) Hit the college websites. Watch the videos. Read the reviews. See what they say about your possible majors. See what they say about internships. See what they say about the Disney College program if that might be an interest. See what you can do to narrow down your list.
  6. Talk to your parents about visiting some of those schools. Since school is out for the summer at colleges, absolutely consider doing a bunch of visits this summer; you can always revisit the top contenders in the fall.
  7. At those college visits, consider everything. Eat in the cafeteria if you can. Ask your tour guide how she spends a typical Saturday night, a typical Tuesday night. Ask about Greek life. Ask about the mental health center. Ask what happens if you come down with the flu or want to change roommates.

Both of my kids have known the right school when we visited it. For my son, it was an August afternoon. For my daughter, it was a February night. You’ll know. The trick now is to start with a pretty wide net, then start narrowing down from that big list.

You’ll find all sorts of preferences in college. It’s not looking for. Significant Other in your life, however. More like an apartment or a course, or a car. It’s temporary. You don’t always get everything you want. It should be affordable.

It’s time to have a talk with your parents on how much they are willing and able to pay. Not, “it’ll work out”, “we’ll talk about it when we have the acceptances” etc. Cost is an integral part of this for most students. Private colleges are running up to the $75k a year mark in some cases. Many cases, if you are looking at the ones with the most recognized names. You need to know what is going to be paid. You need to know if you will be eligible for financial aid You need those hard number to see what schools will cost for you. Do you have to g aggressively after scholarships? Can you go away to school?

For starters, what are your local options? What is your state school? What do they cost? What are your parents thinking in the way of school?

What major or field(s) are you interested in?

What geographical location are you interested in - or does it even matter to you?

What scores do you have? (SAT/ACT/GPA)

Ask your parents what they feel they can afford. Have them run a free Fafsa forecaster to see if you could be eligible for need based aid. If you need to pick them up off the floor looking pale afterward, you aren’t (or not enough). If they seem happy with the figure, or tell you they don’t need to do that due to savings they have for you (or similar) then different colleges come into play.

We need the answers to these questions if you want suggestions. Even if you start searching yourself - can be quite the task - you need answers to these questions.

The most important things to start with:

  1. GPA
  2. SAT
  3. How much can your family afford
  4. What you want to major in

Then think about:

Do I prefer Urban, Suburban or Rural places? or don’t care?
Do I want a Big, Medium or Small school?
Do I care about Big Time Sports?
Do I have a radius I want to be from home?

Finally consider:
Faculty Student Ratio
%of students that live on campus
Housing- do they offer all 4 years? freshman only?
Is this a commuter school? (do students go home on weekends)
Surrounding area - what is the nearby town/amenities like?
Urban/rural/suburban Transportation - how would you get home
AP Credits - can you get credit for AP tests you have taken
Male/Female ratio
Greek life - what % of student ts are in greek life
Parking
Diversity
Safety
Sports
Campus
Jobs - what happens to seniors after they graduate
Internships - depending on your major, is it easy to get internships?
…and whatever makes sense for you

So how do you do this?

I would suggest using some tools to help you get some reasonable choices.
Naviance, College Board, Niche, Fiske Guide

Then visit one of the larger schools and one of the smaller schools and see what you like.

Based onthat come up with a list of schools.
The first you should look for is a safety…one that your scores are quite above average and it is affordable for your family.
Then look for matches…ones that your scores are more in line with (but is still affordable)
Then, if you like, look for some reaches.

yeah I have taken the SAT 3 times, ive researched some instate option but do not know which ones are my top schools, my parents have to pay for both me and my twin and are wiling to pay our tuition if we both go in state and if we don’t they may be getting loans if it is really expensive, my unweighted GPA is a 3.7-3.9 (idk exactly but weighted is 4.9) and i want to go to a college where there is both a social presence and study presence

@bopper @smasher4you @Creekland @cptofthehouse @bjkmom thank you guys so much! I am mainly interested in a molecular biology field or neuroscience and I know those are tough majors. As of right now my SAT is a 1460 and my weighted GPA is a 4.9 and unweighted is a 3.7-3.9 (idk exactly). my parents said that they can pay both me and my sisters (we are twins) tuition fully if we are instate but may have to take out loans if we go to really expensive schools like boston and as for FAFSA and financial aid my family is not eligible

Also, college is a great time of life. You get to pick your own academic path for the first time. You are off on your own with more freedom than you’ve ever had. As long as you pick a generally good fit, you are probably going to like your college. Good luck! With your stats, you should have quite a few attractive options.