Choosing a College
Choosing a college can be a daunting process. Luckily, there are tons of resources available to help you explore your options.
Researching Your College Options
College guides
College guides are books with profiles of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of colleges. In addition to presenting statistics, college guides can bring colleges to life with vivid descriptions of life on campus. Check out Recommended Reading below for our favorite college guides.
College search web sites
Several college "search engines" exist to help you research your options. You can narrow your search by size, location, major, and many other factors. Our favorite college search web sites include College Board's College MatchMaker and Peterson's College Search.
College web sites
Once you've identified a school that you're interested in, check out its web site. You're likely to find photos, descriptions of majors and programs, the course catalog, information on the admissions process, links to campus publications, and much more.
Visits
Visit colleges in person to get a real sense for the environment and get your toughest questions answered. See our advice on college visits.
Virtual Visits
If you're just beginning to explore your options or are unable to visit in person, consider virtual tours online at sites like CampusTours and TheU.
Alums
Ask family members, teachers, and college advisers if they know any current undergrads or recent alums from the school you're interested in. People love to share their college experiences. If you're feeling brave, you can even go to the website for a department or club that appeals to you and send an email to the contact person.
Criteria to Consider
Below are some common criteria that students consider when researching colleges--and ultimately choosing which one to attend.
What's very important, somewhat important, and not so important to you? You might not be able to "have it all" (Lots of diversity at that small religious school? Guaranteed housing at that affordable public university?), so identify what matters most.
Cost
- Tuition
- Room and board
- Financial aid
- Expected time to graduation
Location
- Distance from home
- Urban vs. suburban vs. rural
- Part of the country
- Weather
Size
- Number of students
- Class sizes
- Size of physical campus
Housing
- Options (dorms, apartments, fraternities, etc.)
- Quality of facilities
- Guaranteed housing?
Student body
- Personality (preppy, artsy, intellectual, etc.)
- Diversity (ethnic, political, geographical, etc.)
- Religiousness
- Commuters vs. on-campus
- Greek life
- Sports
- School spirit
Education
- Educational style
- Majors and minors
- Reputation
- Professors vs. grad student instructors
- Facilities (labs, libraries, etc.)
- Resources (tutoring, advising, counseling, disability support)
- Extracurricular opportunities
- Career resources (internships, career center)
Making Your College List
As you consider your criteria and research your options, start developing your college list. How long should your list be? Here's one target:
- 2-3 schools you're almost certain to get into
- 3-5 schools you have a good shot at
- 2-3 schools that are a reach
Of course you can apply to more schools, but try not to go overboard. If you apply to too many colleges, you'll not only be stressed out, but you'll also have less time to spend crafting a strong application for each one.
Put plenty of thought into all of your choices—you want schools in each category that you'd feel excited to attend.