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COLLEGE & POST-HIGH-SCHOOL GUIDE: Choosing a College
get this GUIDE in PDF format (get Adobe Reader)

THE COLLEGE VISIT

Visiting a college is one of the best ways to investigate colleges. In several hours on a campus you can learn a lot. You can schedule visits spring vacation of your junior year, over the summer, in the fall of your senior year, or possibly after you have applied to and received acceptances from colleges in April of your senior year.

Be sure to arrange an interview with the admissions office in advance. Take a tour of the campus, ask the students what they like and dislike about the school, sit in on classes and sample the food. If at all possible, try to stay overnight in a dorm by making arrangements with the office of admission or contacting a student you know at college. Your counselor or college/career specialist may be able to supply you with names of former students to contact.

If you are applying for financial aid, arrange an appointment in the financial aid office.

COLLEGE SELECTION

The first thing you should do is not to assume that there is only one right college out there for you. One of the joys of American higher education is the tremendous breadth and variety in the types, sizes, and locations of colleges. There are over 3,000 two-year and four-year colleges in the United States and there are a large number of them at which you would be exceedingly happy and receive an excellent education.

Always remember that you must look for a good “match” in terms of the opportunities provided by the college and your own personal style, energy, interests, and needs.

Ask Yourself These Questions:

1. 1. Does the college have the academic programs I want? For example, does it have independent study programs, study abroad opportunities, mini-terms?
2. Have I met the admission requirements for the schools I am considering?
3. How much can I afford to spend for an education?
4. What type of school do I want?
   • Co-educational or single-sex college
   • State or private institution
   • Large university or small college
5. Do I want to go away to college? How far?
6. Do I want an urban or rural setting?
7. How diverse is the student body?
8. What is the academic and social contact with students and faculty?
9. Are housing accommodations readily available on or near the campus?
10. What are the extra-curricular activities and social life potentials?
11. Are there adequate facilities to accommodate my interests?
12. Does the college include my special interests such as athletic teams, fraternities and sororities?
13. How competitive is the college’s admission’s policy?
14. Does the college have a sports program that fits my needs?

MAKE A LIST

Make a list of schools that interest you. Begin to group your lists into three clusters: Reaches, Possibles, and Sure Admits.

REACHES are schools that admit students with grades and board scores substantially above your own — 100 to 150 points on each SAT selection and a full grade point average above your own. (Certain colleges, due to large numbers of applicants, will be Reaches even if you meet their median statistics.)

POSSIBLES are colleges that admit students with grades and SATs that are near or slightly above your own — SATs that are zero to 75 points below the college’s average scores and grades similar to most entering freshmen.

SURE ADMITS should include those schools that accept students with grades and board scores notably below your own — 75 points below your own on each section of the SATs and a grade point average half a grade point level below your own.

Your largest category should be Possibles and make sure that they are all colleges that sincerely interest you: i.e., you would attend if you were admitted.

Keep narrowing down your choices until you decide to which schools you wish to apply.

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