<p>I would say the most important thing is fit. Your student should look first for schools that fit the aspects mentioned above - academics, geographic location, cost, etc. Use these items to narrow your search. So don’t look at schools that are tech oriented if he’s interested in liberal arts majors.
That being said, if your son is anything like mine, the real test will be the campus visits. Visit a bunch, then eliminate those that don’t fit for some reason, any reason. He will know if the place isn’t right for him almost immediately.
Then go back to visit the remaining schools a second time, making sure to see them when there are students around. Narrow the list down again into schools he’ll definitely get into, those he’ll probably get into, and those that will be a reach for him. Then, figure out which ones he would like to go to the most from the reaches and the probables, and schedule an interview, class visit or campus shadow. This shows the school you’re intersted (this DOES matter!) and more importantly lets your son see what the school is really like.
My son had 2 schools that he was in love with after visit 1. Both visits were in the summer, when the causes were empty. On visit 2 to school “A” he spent an afternoon with a student, and realized that it wasn’t the place he wanted to be (kids way too driven, no campus life, lacked a friendly feel), so we crossed it off the list.
On visit 2 to school “B” he found out more things he really liked. Visit 3 was a meeting with a professor and sitting in on a class. Visit 4 was an interview. Needless to say, it’s his top choice. He also picked several other campuses that he could see himself on, all with good programs in his intended major, just in case he didn’t get into his top choice. But, the overriding factor in all his choices was that he felt he could spend 4 years on the campus, learning from good profs, meeting good people and having good experiences that would ready him for the “real” world.</p>