<p>I don’t find laundry lists helpful, for the same reason why I would throw up my hands if I were trying to advise a kid who has no idea why they want to go to college. You have to have a few “bouncing off” points for yourself and for advisors. Otherwise, the college search will be terribly inefficient. </p>
<p>What program is where should not be the starting point for any college search. More time should be spent analyzing and finetuning an individual’s list of abilities, goals, limits. Then you’re in a position to come up with an initial “long list” of possibilities. Then keep researching and start visiting, and that will further guide you. </p>
<p>FWIW, when I started the initial research process on my daughter’s behalf, I came up with a long list of about 15 schools. This was two years ago. Now that she is a HS senior, we have a short list of 5 schools – NONE of which were on that initial long list. And NONE of the initial long list made it onto the short list! </p>
<p>There are so many criteria that go into a search – the most indepth work should be in determining what a student wants/needs, so you can pick a program that moves them forward.</p>