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College Search [Where do I begin to find the right place for me?]

College is meant to be the best four years of your life. The best four years of your life certainly should include an academic atmosphere that you enjoy and that helps you develop the skills necessary to succeed in your job after college. Also, these four years should provide a social life that cannot be matched by the drama of high school or the…well, drama of your job. You should learn, grow, explore. I do not mean this in the sense that some college brochures advertise, but I mean each of those words in the truest sense. Learn about who you are, what you fear, what you need, what you want out of life. Grow into a person who will be a respectable co-worker, a social leader, a loving parent. And explore…you’re not quite independent yet, so see what is out there while you still have a safety net. Study abroad, take interesting courses…leave your comfort zone!

So what school will help you achieve this experience? Well, ultimately many college students have said that it is up to the individual to make the experience. Indeed, as is true with the rest of life, your results depend on your input. But certainly some places will help you get the right college experience more than others.

Where do most students start? The rankings! Why? It provides a sense of comfort to have some quantified justification for enrolling in that school and really takes the pressure of the decision off of you. “Oh, this school is a top ten. I will have better job opportunities and get more respect!” It (the college search) becomes a numerical, mathematical operation. And yes, we should rely on reputation. It exists for a reason. But you can do many more things to find schools you may not consider as highly as the top 10 in the rankings…and you might just feel like you’re at the number one school at the number one hundred school.

Start by knowing yourself. What are your interests? What are your goals? Where have you lived most of your life; can do you handle a different environment? For me, reputation was indeed a primary motivation. But I also knew that after a few years in a less-than-challenging academic sphere, I wanted to really stretch my brain and develop my intellect. So I knew I wanted to go to a top school. But what did I want to study? Well I used to think that business could be my sole focus, so I considered the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. It was one of the few four year undergraduate business programs in the country (most are two years, requiring students to apply from the College after two years), highly ranked and in a city! But what if my interests changed? UPenn was still a great school, but it also took away from it’s lusted that everyone thought “Penn” was Penn State! This is a trivial, negligible scenario though; do not base your decision on a name!

So your interests should tell you what type of school and program you want. A small liberal arts school in a rural setting? Or would you like to be immersed in an urban setting in New York or Philadelphia studying business? Most students don’t know what they want to study…let alone “who they are!” So check out schools’ websites. Start with the ones you know…think about which qualities you see and whether or not you like them. Keep a list of what you like and compare your prospective schools against this list.

If you have the time, log on to College Board and fill out their questionnaire to get some suggestions (http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp).

You can always arrange a meeting with your guidance counselors, also. Discuss your goals, personality and qualifications. They are aware of financial aid packages and colleges to which students from your high school apply. Your counselor can tell you which schools you are qualified for and can provide some direction.

Chances are you already have a few schools in mind. Check them out more so you can get past the hearsay and limited opinions of your close friends to find out what the real scoop is. Go to the school websites, visit college forums, request brochures (as if you weren’t getting enough) and understand all aspects of the university.

Choosing a college really is a major decision, influenced by parents, finances and of course, you! Start early; there is no minimum time requirement but if you start thinking about college in freshmen year, you can figure out a roadmap of steps to take in order to be admitted to that college by senior year!

Check out College Connecting for free info from great colleges!