<p>I just joined. I'm so excited to hopefully get to talk to other people outside of my community about college! Here's one of the many many questions i've been mulling over. </p>
<p>How do you really know if you would like a college? I mean I feel like i've looked over all the websites to death. So now people are telling me to go visit . But (a) most of the ones I'm looking at are like 3,000 miles away and (b) even when you go visit, how can you really know? I mean how do you know if you'll like the little things? And the people? How do I know im not going to end up at a college full or hicks or preps or racists or who knows what else? I just feel like i can't glean enough info as i would like. Any words of advice? Also i have like a million other questions so i'd love to be able to talk to someone who knows what they're doing =)</p>
<p>Why are you worrying about traveling 3000 miles to go visit a college when you live next door to Stanford? You won't have to worry about hicks, preps or racists since Stanford is the only 100% nerd school in the country!</p>
<p>umm...hello smarty pants. not all of us are super genious enough to get into stanford! plus why the hell would i want to live 3 minutes from home have my college town be the one i've lived in my whole life?? stanford's acceptance rate is 11%, i think the only one lower is harvard's (9%) and that's only because more people apply there so they get to turn more down. thanks for replying tho, im not trying to be rude. but like seriously, no way on earth i could get into stanford/would want to go there</p>
<p>You don't really know, but you can feel it, often. People will fall in love with all the little details about a college -- things that won't really have an impact on them, even -- and they'll experience the college through students there, visiting, attending information sessions, etc. Here are some suggestions:</p>
<p>1) Be active in the subforums here at CC for the different colleges you're interested in.</p>
<p>5) Really explore the official sites, from virtual dorm tours to good study spots.</p>
<p>6) Visit. Stay the night, if you can. Sit in on classes. Talk to students. Explore the campus and the surrounding area. Picture yourself attending -- would you be perfectly content?</p>
<p>Kyledavid's suggestions are good, but it sounds like your expectations are too high. You're not going to like every last thing about your college, or every person. You will find hicks, preps, and/or racists on pretty much every campus.</p>
<p>greennblue has made an excellent point. Rather than worry yourself sick that your college won't be just perfect, determine to be flexible and adaptable enough that you can be happy at any school that is academically appropriate for you, that you can afford, that accepts you and that you can travel back and forth to without huge hassles if that is important to you and your family. Believe me, just getting all those requirements met is a big challenge.</p>
<p>I've attended and taught at quite a few different universities. Few are crawling with bigots and neanderthals. Those that are, you probably already know about.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, if you are looking at selective colleges, or colleges for which your record is not at the upper end of the applicant pool, THEY are the ones doing the choosing. So be flexible.</p>
<p>It is really hard to know for sure. You take your best guess based on how you feel there and what you are looking for in a school based upon available majors, surrounding community, weather, reputation, etc. and then hope you're happy. If not, you can always transfer. </p>
<p>There are so many more resources now than when I went to college. I ended up transferring after 2 years from the school I originally attended and found the college of my dreams. Sometimes you can't really know a school until you're there.</p>
<p>I'm only going to boarding school next year, but when I applied, I knew that I loved one school just by reading reviews of it and reading about it, and when I visited the campus I got a gut feeling that I'd belong there and I knew I'd fallen in love with it.</p>
<p>No college is perfect. But you'll definitely be in a different 'zone' at a few colleges...as in the feel and everything about that college will be great. It's one of those subjective, intangible factors which only YOU will be able to discern.</p>
<p>Picking a college, even with an overnight visit, can be like arranging a four year blind date over the internet. You get very little information to make a huge decision on. Try picking a school where you like the area in general (if you hate snow or extreme heat, stay away from Michigan and Las Vegas, etc.), you think the students stats are in the same neighborhood as your general stats are (meaning you will probably be around people kind of like you academically), and that has a variety of majors in case you change your mind. I think I heard at a college presentation that the average student changes their major approximately three times. If you cannot physically visit then do visit the online communities and try to get a feel for what the students are like. Go to the info nights held in your area by distant colleges. Mostly, I have to echo the above advice to be flexible. Most kids here on CC are very fortunate to have the opportunity to do nothing but study and have fun for four years. You can do a lot with that, even if the school you pick doen't initially strike you as the perfect fit. I know kids who hate their schools at first and then love them. Lastly, this isn't prison. If you make a choice you cannot live with, transfer. That happens all of the time. I think if you are not looking for absolute perfection, then you will feel some of the pressure of choosing a school fall away. There are probably many schools you would be happy enough at, not just one perfect school that is only available for selecting during a short period of time called application season of your senior year. Find a few schools you feel that way about. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I was just kidding with the Stanford comment, no need to get upset!</p>
<p>I agree with the idea of flexibility here. Remember, college is what you make of it. The school is very important but equally as important is your willingness and determination to get the most out of the experience.</p>
<p>For my son, visiting while classes were in session really helped. At several schools he was able to hang with students for several hours or even overnight and those schools were the ones he got the best impression of. We used every hook to obtain those visits, including friends of relatives, friends of friends, and friends of acquaintances from years ago.</p>
<p>Another way to being able to talk to current students, or at least know more what they're like, is to use the Internet; A lot of kids have Facebook/LiveJournal/the like, and I can only really speak about Facebook because that's what I use, but I know that there are always Facebook groups like "-insert college name here- class of '09/'10/'11". I've found it really helpful to just go onto those groups and read some discussions they're having, especially ones like "Why did you decide to go to -insert college name here-?"</p>
<p>You've just joined, so perhaps you've only just seen the thread about college</a> fairs and regional college information meetings. Those allow you to talk to a lot of college representatives, pick up some vibes, and get a sense of what kind of college would be a good fit for you. It's easier to visit an event in your own town than to travel across the country. </p>
<p>You received some good suggestions in the other replies about gathering information and especially about being flexible. Most eighteen-year-olds can adapt to a lot of different environments.</p>