How To Find The Right College For You

College is known as the “best four years of your life.” But before you enroll in school, deciding which college to choose becomes one of the most important choices you’ve had to make yet. Finding the perfect college seems impossible and the decision must be made at an already complicated time in your life. Not only are you trying to discover who you are as a person, but now you have to make a decision that will potentially affect your entire future. If you are anything like me, you started stressing out about this during your underclassmen years.

How far away from home do I want to be? Are large athletics important? How is the Greek life? The questions go on and on…

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We’ve all been in that boat, especially this generation as college has become so much more competitive with many more options than there used to be.

There are many people out there who have their mind set on a particular college or university for the wrong reasons and end up picking the one that is clearly not the right fit. But, thanks to technology, we have access to tons of resources that can help us make an informed decision on picking the right college, based on our specific needs.

1) Determine your requirements for college such as:

• Your choice of major
• The size of the school
• How competitive the admissions’ process is
• Tuition costs
• Location
• Religious affiliation
• Athletics

2) Go to college comparing websites to establish a list of potential colleges.

Websites like this allow you to search for colleges by adding in your specific requirements for your idea of the perfect college. After entering them in, a list of universities that meet your demands is generated.

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3) After skimming through your matches, its time to start researching.

Pick out your top 10 from the list they provided you. Start a table that will store all the information you require for your future college.

4) Go to each of your top 10’s website and absorb all of the information.

This may be a lot of information to take in, but remember that all of it is there for a reason for their prospective students. It is essential to view admissions, academics, athletics, and student life tabs.

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Finding the right college is tough. It requires a lot of research and time well spent. View the college campus pictures! Get to know the student life and culture by exploring the school’s social media channels, visiting the campus yourself, and speaking with current students. Don’t stop researching, because you can’t learn enough! And remember, you’re coming up to the best years of your life – finding the right college for you will all be worth it in the end!

 

Image sources: themash.com and dailyinfographic.com