Please HELP me DECIDE! Running OUT of TIME!

<p>My advice: first, take a deep breath and try to stay calm.</p>

<p>Second, make a list of the top ten things you want out of your college experience. You can only pick ten, so choose selectively. Once you have ten "must haves," rank them in order of importance. There can be no ties, you must assign a rank to each item.</p>

<p>Third, consider each of the colleges on your list of acceptances SEPARATELY from each other, using the top ten items to evaluate them. Do not compare any colleges at this point -- consider each on its own merits. Give each of your ten items a score of 1-5 for each item. 1 is "will meet my needs perfectly" 5 is "will not meet my needs at all." Again, you are not to say, "yes but UGA would be better for..." Just evaluate each school on its own. </p>

<p>Fourth, and only do this AFTER the steps above! write the names of the schools you are considering across the top of a piece of paper. Then write their names in the same order going down the paper. Draw a grid of boxes between the two, then compare each pair. Write the name of the school you prefer OF THAT PAIR in the corresponding box. When you have gone through all of the pairs, look and see which school you picked most often.</p>

<p>Fifth, if you still can't decide, put all the names in a hat. Pull one out and go there. You are really choosing between very similar options, so there is not a huge difference here. Wait. What that you say? You have a clear first choice? A school you would feel awful about giving up to attend the name you pull from the hat? Marvelous. Your problem is solved. Go there.</p>

<p>The point is, you need to move forward. You are asking a bunch of strangers on the internet who do not know you to make the decision that only YOU can make for yourself. Stop asking other people for advice. You're only going to get more and more confused that way. Trust yourself to make a good decision. Maybe it won't be a perfect decision, but then few paths in life are perfect. So, take a deep breath, remain calm, make the choice. Don't look back. It will work out OK.</p>