It's an exciting time of year for high school seniors. It is finally time to start really looking into where they would like to go to college. As someone who went through the process and ended up going to the perfect school, I can say that there is a lot of steps in finding the right school. There are so many different factors that you should consider, some more than others, but a very small thing that you like or don't like at one school could be that deciding factor.
Finances
Of course one of the biggest deciding factors when deciding on a school is money. Although I do not recommend necessarily going to the cheapest college you applied too, you need to think about how much money you really want to spend on college. An important step that I see a lot of high school students forget, including myself, is to make sure when you are looking at college prices, you need to look at the full bill that the school is going to cost, not just the tuition. Make sure you are checking the room and board pricing, meal plans, books, laundry, and even local restaurants and department stores. Also remember that state schools are usually much cheaper than private schools, but private schools tend to give much more scholarships than state schools.
Size
Another large deciding factor in deciding what school is best for you is size. In smaller schools, classes tend to be smaller in size, and it is much easier to get personal attention from your professors. At a larger school, classes can range from small sizes to classes that can have up to 300 students, and the decision between the two is all personal preference.
Campus/Location
There are many different styles and locations of college campuses. The first question you should ask yourself is what kind of setting do you want your school to be in. You should think about if you want to be in more of an urban city setting, the middle of nowhere, or somewhere in between. You should also think about what kind of campus set up you want. It could be a very small campus, tightly packed together, an inner city college that does not exactly even have a campus, a medium sized, a widespread campus, and the list can just go on.
Majors
Make sure that the schools you are looking at have a good program within your major. Even though a school might have the major you want, the program might not necessarily be that good. You should also be picking a school that has a variety of majors just in case you decide what you were first starting to major in isn't for you.
Athletics/Clubs
Finally, a large part of your college decision should be based on the different athletics and clubs that are offered. If you are planning to join a varsity sports team, you need to decide between divisions 1, 2, and 3, this may also depend on what you are offered. Division 1 tends to be for extremely competitive athletes who are constantly practicing their sport, while division 3 tends to be more academic based and less competitive. Division 2 is obviously right in between division 1 and 3. There should also be at least a couple of different clubs and organizations that you would want to get involved in.
