<p>What is the very best way to decide on a school? Visit, of course. But even then info sessions & tours don't really tell you "fit". Take a class? Isn't that a shot in the dark? Interview? Do you really know it after talking to a salesperson? Overnights? Again, isn't that totally dependent on who you stay with? Time is running out, summer is screeching to an end and we MUST make a list.</p>
<p>My sister talks about a school's reputation as if they are known facts. Brown=super liberal, Duke=party/hearty, Dartmouth=frat party, Emory=South, Chicago=geeks, etc. but are these reputations really true? Where can I get that info?</p>
<p>The only way to know if it’s a fit is if you feel at home on campus. Generalizations and stories aid you in narrowing down your search, but an actual visit/viewing the actual students and professors would give you a sense of what the school is like.</p>
<p>To be honest, you can never know for certain if a college “fits” you the best. What you can often figure out, though, is whether a college doesn’t fit you. It doesn’t take long to know that you don’t feel comfortable in a certain place.</p>
<p>I would think it would be a combination of factors that would best determine “fit.” Social scene, campus beauty, off-campus resources, academic competition just to name a few.</p>