<p>This sort of question might have been already asked; I didnt quite know how to search for it. </p>
<p>Here goes: I feel like I dont know where to start looking for colleges because Im not just one person all the time and I dont know how other people do it either. People are multi-dimensional, right? So how is it possible to find ONE place (or even one group of similar places) where youll find EXACTLY your type of people, if the people you want to hang out with might change based on your different dimensions? Ill use myself as an example: Lets say Im really in the mood to listen to classical music and I want to be around other people who also like listening to classical music all the time. Ok, maybe Ill go to Juilliard. Then, an hour later, Im really in the mood to do math problems and want to spend all my time with a bunch of math nerds. Ok, Ill go to MIT. An hour later, Im in the mood to go on a hike and eat organic food. Ok, Ill go to Middlebury or something. But, its impossible to have a school that would satisfy all this and be some combination of Juilliard, MIT and Middlebury (plus whatever other moods I might find myself in). So how could you possibly find ONE place thats a perfect fit?</p>
<p>Someone with relatively loose constraints may find that a large number of colleges are as close to the “perfect fit” as can be, and many more which are good or acceptable fits.</p>
<p>But a very picky person may find very few or even no colleges that are a good or even acceptable fit. This is even more true if his/her academic achievements and/or financial constraints impose significant limits on what colleges s/he can get admitted to and can afford to attend.</p>
<p>The answer is right there in your own post: “Im not just one person all the time” - the same holds true for the majority of other college students you will be with. Math nerds at MIT can also love classical music and eat vegan foods. There are math nerds at Middlebury and only some of them are vegans.
The key is to find schools that offer a broad base of academics and that have lots of student activities and clubs. You can expand your options by being in or near a city where you can easily indulge your cravings for the symphony or museums or baseball or whatever.</p>
<p>Also, there is no perfect fit. There is just better or worse fits. Don’t expect to find perfection, just find the schools that you like the best and deal with whatever shortcomings you might find. Nothing is perfect.</p>
<p>What are you looking for? What are your criteria and constraints (location, grades/test scores, affordability) - these will help you and the helpful adults in your life come up with a good list of schools to apply to.</p>
<p>While most kids are happy wherever they land, I do feel that some schools are clearly better “fits” than others. If finances are not a concern, then think about whether you want big,medium, small; urban/rural; LAC/University; with/without greek life; location/weather; kind of student population; major, etc and start reading and visiting</p>