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program but lots of music-making opportunities in the community. So too, you might find that your interest in life-in-the-big-city could be satisfied not just at big city schools but also at more bucolic schools that are an easy commute to the bright lights. #2 Figure out what matters to you in a college. While there’s no need to have an exact list of your priorities, you should be starting to try to locate some key characteristics of schools that appeal to you. Are academics and the availability of particular majors particularly important? How important are things like location, weather, campus life, facilities, the “look and feel” of the campus, or the school’s mission or social values? Will your religious affiliation affect your selection? EXTRA POINTER. Know what your “deal breakers” are (most people have some). There’s no point putting a single-sex college or a school 3000 miles from home on your list if you already know that you absolutely, positively, 100-percent wouldn’t go to a school like that, even if it were the last one on the planet. IF WE COULD TELL YOU ONLY ONE THING. Don’t start your search looking for “the one.” For any given person, there are any number of schools that will provide a wonderful college experience and there’s no one school that will actually be a perfect fit. #3 Use the resources: both web and flesh and blood. As you start to “populate” your initial list, consider all sources of information, both virtual and real. If you know some living, breathing human beings who’ve been to college recently (or are now at college), poll them about the colleges they considered, which one they picked and why, and how they liked the one they went to (make sure to ask about the good, the bad, and the ugly— you want a complete picture). Then follow up by surfing the colleges’ own websites and other general-purpose websites that might include videos as well as traditional e-content. And prepare to get even more ideas from the various “events” that await you: the meeting with your high school counselor, college fairs and college nights, visits to the colleges, and even interviews with admission folks or admissions professionals can all provide ideas of college you might like to go to. #4 Generate relevant alternatives. Many students start out with a very sparse list of names of colleges, maybe even only one of two choices. This is not necessarily a bad strategy, especially if the school embodies the characteristics you are looking for in a school. There are many ways to move from a single “focal” college to schools with similar features. One good way is simple “word of mouth”: find some student, perhaps a recent graduate of your school or a friend’s older brother or sister, who got into the school you’re considering and ask what other schools they applied to with the same characteristics. A more scientific, and extremely useful way, of finding alternatives is to use the website College Results Online . Go to www.collegeresults.org/search_basic.aspx, click on the tab
“Similar Colleges” (on the top of the page in the middle), and you’ll be presented with ten to fifteen alternatives to the school you’ve inputted—some of which you might not have thought of, or even heard of (for those in the latter class, navigate to those colleges’ websites and see what the school is all about). #5 Don’t overshoot–or undershoot. As you learn more about the college selection process, you’ll discover the sad fact that some schools have far, far more qualified candidates than they have places for—at some of the very best schools, as many as ten times. While you may have a straight “A” average, excellent boards, and lots of extra-curricular activities, you may not realize just how many other students around the country (and, gasp, in other countries) also have qualifications that match or exceed yours. On the other hand, if you have a strong record, don’t just play it safe by applying to the less competitive schools that most everyone in your class applies to. Your final list will need to have some variety in degree of selectivity, so make sure there’s some variety in your initial list. REALITY CHECK. Disregard comments such as “it’s all a crapshoot” or “you’d be better buying a lottery ticket than applying to that school.” There’s some rhyme or reason to the selection process, and even at the selective schools 10-percent of the applicants get in (when was the last time you bought a lottery ticket with a one in ten While it’s not yet time to raid your and your parents’ savings, it is time to give some preliminary thought to what four or five years worth of college is going to cost you. If, like for the majority of college students, financial aid is going to be a factor, then you should pay some attention to cost in making your initial list. But beware. Some seemingly expensive private colleges have large endowments and can provide very generous financial aid—sometimes even more than state universities, especially out-of-state state universities. On the other hand, many community colleges and some state universities can be incredibly cheap (some have lottery funds dedicated to subventing your college tuition or offer generous aid to academically-accomplished students), so don’t assume that just because it’s a state school it has no money to offer. 5-STAR TIP. Virtually every college has a tool on their website called the Net Price Calculator . Here you can put in some basic figures about your family’s income, savings, and other assets and get some estimation of what they’ll be charging you if admitted. And notice how the “offer” is put together: typically, they’ll tell you how much is gift and how much loan (which of course has to be paid back one day), and whether you’re expected to work and, if so, how much. #7 Get input from your high school counselor . These days, when college admissions are important to the reputation of a high school, many college counselors are quite WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM 177 chance of winning the grand prize?). #6 Start thinking about the finances .
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