<p>Seems that one can wittle away based on the "fit' pieces without ever stepping foot on the campus. My son doesn't want to go to school in the south, or to university that relies on Greek social life. He's not much of a rah-rah type, so big sporty, football schools don't much interest him. He needs a top notch music program.</p>
<p>Even without the music piece, his criterion leaves a finite number of choices, and we haven't stepped on a campus yet (well, one, but it doesn't count, since we weren't looking yet!). Seems like if kids do the big/small, urban/rural, concrete/trees, rah-rah/earthy, academic interest kind of wittling, they will find the list substantially shortened from the get go.</p>
<p>I am always surprised when I hear of kids/families driving or flying all over East Oskgosh, with no clear or definitive purpose. It seems that more pre-screening, not less, should provide a better working list.</p>
<p>This seems a bit like a big "duh", but I have heard too many stories of the 30 college list....all requiring visits.....so nothing much surprises me.</p>