Selecting a college is one of life's major decisions. Your decision will have a great influence on the rest of your life, including whether you will enjoy and succeed in college, what type of job you may obtain after graduation, and whether you will have substantial debt after college.

Before selecting a college, you should create a plan. There are multiple resources available online or at your local library that can help you in developing your plan.

Ask Yourself Questions About What You Want in a College

One step in developing your plan is asking yourself what you want in a college. Some potential questions may include:

• How close or far away from my family and friends do I want to be?
• Am I ready for a four year university or should I start at a junior/community college?
• Am I looking for a public or private college?
• How large of a school do I want to attend?
• What subject matter do I want to major in and does the college have a good program and reputation in that subject matter?
• How expensive is the college and is financial assistance available? Am I willing to take on financial debt or to work part-time to attend one college over another?
• Does it matter what extra-curricular activities are available at the college?
• What part of the country and in what size of a city do I want to live?
• Is the student body racially diverse and how important is it to me that the college be very diverse or that there be a large number of individuals with my racial or ethnic background?

The answers to the questions will differ for each person.

Some individuals will want to choose a college that is close to their family and friends because they can stay at home to save money, because they like where they live, or because it will make college easier for them by giving them a close support group that can help them to excel in college. Others will choose a school far away from home because they want to make a new start, want to experience new things, want to attend a type of college that is not available near their home, or want to be independent. Finally, many people will compromise by choosing a college that is several hours away from their home so as to experience something new but still close enough to drive to their parents' home every few weeks.

Some individuals will decide to attend a community or junior college prior to attending a four- year college. For some individuals, community college may be a good choice. By attending a community college, which is generally easier to obtain admission to, some students will use their time at the community college to show that they are ready for college level courses and to obtain admission to the four year college they prefer. Others may decide to attend a community college because it is less expensive. On the other hand, a large number of individuals will choose to attend one four-year college because they do not want to change colleges after the second year and because four-year colleges are generally looked upon more favorably by employers and law schools.

There are many different types and sizes of colleges. Some colleges are basically a small city with over 45,000 or 50,000 students. Others are much smaller, having just a few thousand students. Some colleges are located in large cities that have many activities for students outside of the college campus while others are in a "college town," which means that the college is the largest and most-important place in the community and that most activities and entertainment are geared towards the college and its students. Different individuals like different sizes and types of colleges so this is a factor to consider when making your decision.

The student bodies of colleges also differ greatly. Many college student bodies are dramatically different in their racial and ethnic demographics. If racial or ethnic composition is important to you, be sure to contact the college and inquire about their demographics.

Another important factor in choosing a college is trying to determine in which academic subject you will major. The quality of a college's academic departments varies greatly from college to college. Investigate colleges based upon your academic interests. If you know that you want to major in English, you should try to pick a college that has a strong English program. Similarly, if you are not sure what major you will choose, you may want to attend a college that has strong academic programs in a broader range of subject matters so that you will not have to change colleges after you decide upon you major.

Finally, a decision regarding which college to choose cannot be made without considering the cost of the college and how you will pay for it. College can be very expensive and the cost varies greatly between colleges. Your basic expenses will be tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, travel to and from home, and personal expenses. The cost of tuition and fees can vary greatly between colleges and often will depend on the quality and reputation of the college, its location, whether it is a private or public school, and whether or not you are resident of the state in which a public college is located, which allows you to pay a lower in-state tuition rate. Similarly, the cost of your room and board varies greatly from location to location. For example, an apartment in New York City will likely cost more than an apartment in a smaller college town in Texas.

There is no generic "correct" answer to the question of which college is right for you. The answers will differ greatly from individual to individual. Spend the time necessary to analyze your college options and your preferences so that you can make an informed decision and avoid choosing a college that is not right for you.

The Process

Everyone chooses their college differently and there is no right way to choose a college. Instead, you should find a decision-making process that works well for you. The information contained below is a potential outline for choosing a college. This information can be used to develop your own plan or process.

• Checkout books at the library and search the Internet for information about choosing colleges so that you understand the process.
• Ask yourself the questions contained in the previous section and any other question you can think of that will help you to narrow down the type of college that is right for you.
• Talk to your parents, teachers, counselors, and friends about how they chose a college and what they would look for in a college. Your parents and other individuals that know you very well may also have insight as to what type of college would be better for you. Although your parents' choice of a college for you might differ greatly from your own because they have different objectives, their advice can still be helpful in causing you to consider different factors. But, ultimately the decision is yours.
• After you have narrowed down what you are looking for in a college, the next step is to develop a wish list of colleges that meet your requirements and that you would like to attend. There are numerous resources online and in the library that list the characteristics and rankings of colleges in the U.S. In addition, each college is likely to post information about itself on its website. This list may be very large at first, but it will help you narrow down your requirements for a college.
• After you have developed a list of colleges, sit down to talk about the list with anyone who has a stake in your college education. This will likely be your immediate family, those individuals who will help you pay for college, or a person with whom you have a significant relationship. Discuss the list with them in a realistic manner and consider the positives and negatives of each school.
• After you have this discussion you may want to do additional research on each of the colleges so that you understand everything the college has to offer you. You may also want to visit each college. Although a college may sound great on paper, you may visit the campus and discover you simply do not like it.
• o After you have narrowed down your list of colleges, you will want to apply for admission to each of them. Each college will have a deadline for submitting an application so be sure to submit your application on time. Start preparing the application well in advance of the deadline because some of the applications are extensive and you want to prepare the best application you can in order to obtain admission. It is always wise to apply to colleges that you are confident you will be admitted to even if you would prefer to go to a different or better college.
• If you receive acceptance letters from more than one college, you may have to do additional research to determine your final choice. Although you may feel rushed to make a decision, take your time and make the best decision for you.

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