Finding, selecting and applying for the right college or university is an important and sometimes tough assignment that many high school students and their parents have to face. It involves letter writing, telephoning, research, weighing alternatives, and plain hard thinking. What you need to be aware of is going into to college with the mindset to focus on your goals and succeeding them.


A good beginning in selecting a college is to make a list of objectives, both educational and personal. High school courses need to be planned early with college entrance requirements in mind. The purpose is not to make decisions about a course of study that may turn out to be premature, but to keep the options open until such decisions can be made. The areas of educational and personal interest that you will most frequently cite as important in selecting a college include the following:

- Location (state, city, region) - Type of institution (two-year community college, four-year university, etc.) - Enrollment by sex - Religious affiliation, if any - Enrollment size - Academic calendar Campus environment - Majors or course offerings - Housing (on-campus, off-campus) - Cost - Financial aid - Student activities - Athletics - General academic reputation - Social life - Entrance requirements - Teaching reputation or ability of faculty

Obviously, not all of these items will be of high priority, but using them as a checklist helps to specify the range of choices. Although you may want to make changes or modifications in the list as you review colleges, it is important not to eliminate any of these areas until you know which are essential and which are not. Even then, it is quite possible that no college will meet all of your needs. So if you are thinking about college be sure to research different schools and find out everything you need to know as it pertains to what you are interested in and what different groups you may want to join. For more information about finding the right college or thinking about college, please visit: http://www.education.com/