Are you confused? Unsure and lost or stuck between how to pick a college for your next four years?
I have been at your exact same spot and understand how difficult it is.
Don’t fret as I have created a lengthy, comprehensive post filled with factors to consider when choosing your college, advice on how to approach this, and questions that are answered.
You do not need to consider each factor, but they are a great starting point for you to decide what matters the most to you.
This post is all about how to pick a college from start to finish.
How to Pick a College
The Beginning Process: Deciding which College to Apply to
Location
One of the most important factors is location.
Are you staying in the same state or flying somewhere else?
Consider your options and where your college is located.
Will it be expensive to purchase flights to go spend the holidays with your family?
Are you fine with the weather?
If you are used to the cold weather and suddenly relocate to a college that is always hot, will you be able to adapt?
Major/Educational Interest
Is your major in your college?
At least 75% of students change their major, so if you are not adamant about sticking to one, this may not be as big of a deal.
Pick a college that offers a wide range of majors and is well-known for those majors.
Research the professors in those departments and if they wrote any special papers.
It would be beneficial to learn from professors who have done research or made findings in a field.
Then you can do research for that area and communicate with your professor.
Class Sizes
Photo by ICSA
Do you prefer smaller class sizes or are you fine with large lecture halls?
You can also check the professor-to-student ratios and decide if you want to learn in a smaller or larger class.
Do you want more personalized/private sessions or do you like group collaboration and exchange of ideas?
If you prefer smaller classes, it might be better for you to go to a small private college.
However, if you enjoy large classes, then public or private universities will be more your cup of tea.
Financial Cost
Have you created an estimate of how much your next four years will cost?
Do you receive any aid from FAFSA?
Have you saved enough for college?
Are you considering taking out loans or applying for scholarships?
If you have difficulty with financial concerns, consider that when picking your college.
Going out-of-state can cost three times as much as staying in your home state for college.
Culture
If you are planning to study at a completely new place, have you researched their culture?
Is it how you imagined or do you need to do some preparation to get accustomed?
Different colleges have different vibes.
Some may be more party-centered, events filled, and lively while others may be more serious, studious, and competitive-centered.
Pick one that you think will be more similar to your goals or interests.
Numbers
Look at the numbers for college!
Is the graduation rate high? How about the retention rate?
The retention rate is how many percent of students return the next year and the graduation rate is if they completed their degree.
These numbers are super important since you want to pick a college where students are returning and not dipping.
You can find this information by googling your college or going to the US college ranking website.
Benefits
Is there anything that a college is selling you?
Maybe a college lets you have early enrollment times while others may give you a longer housing contract.
Enrollment time is super duper uber important in college since it lets you pick your classes earlier. This means you get to pick the professors you want and not stress about not getting a class if it gets full.
A long housing contract is also great if your college is located in an expensive area.
Apartments around may be at crazy prices, so if your college offers a longer housing contract for you to stay on-campus at a good price then that is a good offer.
Look into if colleges can offer you any benefits and this may be a deciding factor for you.
The Research Process: In-Depth Analysis of Each College
In order to get an even better understanding of where to go, here are some more hacks to check out a college more in-depth.
You can try different venues to try and dig deeper to understand your college better.
Work on gathering as much information as you can on each college before you decide on which one.
RateMyProfessor
Research the professors and look them up on ratemyprofessor.
These are opinions and feedback from students who have taken that class.
You can browse through professors that teach your major and check out their ratings.
This way you can get a feel of how the professors teach and what the curriculum is like.
Be aware to only factor this in as part of your research since it is more likely that a student who hated or got a bad grade in the class may rate the professor low.
Photo by Brett Jordan
Another great way to check out your college is through Reddit or college community groups.
There is usually a slew of issues, questions, and advice updated every day.
Here you can get a feel of what problems students encounter, any issues that the college has, and how the vibe is based on the comments that people leave.
There may be posts on dorms, college classes, working on-campus, studying abroad, or the pace of classes.
You can explore how other students view their college and also factor this in as a small percentage since there may be certain majors that use Reddit more than others.
Interested in more content like how to pick a college? Check out 17+ Jaw-Dropping Life Hacks for Students.
The Acceptance Process: Deciding Where to Go to
After considering all those factors you may have 2-3 choices in your mind.
If you haven’t taken a campus tour previously, take one now.
Check out all the campuses that you got accepted to and are interested in going to.
This is one of the best factors to decide if you want to go.
It lets you know the vibe, the people, and the mapping of the campus.
This is the break-or-take step and usually, you will be able to finalize your decision at this step,
However, if you are still super indecisive, I have a couple more strategies to help you.
Orientation Day
Colleges should have an orientation day where students are invited to go and check out the campus, the dining halls, and the classes.
This is the perfect time to look around more and see if you like the place.
You can ask tour guides questions, ask students questions, and ask the staff questions.
Maybe observe how students go to classes.
Are they pulling a long face or looking dead? Or are they happily walking around campus and going on with their life?
There is a lot that you can track by observing others.
This is also a great time to ask about your program, major, or department about what it is like.
There will be plenty of people who will be glad to help you, so don’t be afraid to bring a list of questions to ask!
Pros/Cons
Create a list of all the pros and cons of each college.
Whichever outweighs the others the most, or includes the most attractive qualities, then decide on that one.
The pros and cons list can include all the details like financial support, academic quality, location, etc.
You can also create a score sheet based on which factors weigh more for you.
Maybe the location and financial package are more attractive to you than the culture.
In this case, you can give location two points, financial package two points, and culture one point.
Use the same scoring system across all the colleges you are stuck planning on.
Whichever comes out with the highest score will win!
What if I don’t want to go to college?
If you are indecisive or need more time to decide, here are some suggestions:
- Community College
- Gap Year
- Get a certificate/license
Community College
You can decide to take two years of community college (or one if you are super self-disciplined!) and transfer to a college.
I recommend this method if you have a financial burden.
If you didn’t have great grades in high school, community college is also a great choice.
The professors are great at teaching and often better at teaching than universities.
This is because they learned how to teach while professors are more involved with research and writing papers.
Gap Year
You can also decide to take a gap year to plan what you want first.
I don’t recommend taking a gap year and slacking off.
This is because you will likely lose the motivation and determination to start college.
I recommend taking a gap year for extenuating circumstances or if you just need some time to work on yourself.
Get a Certificate/License
You can self-study and get a license or certificate for different skills.
This is great for gaining experience and getting the papers you need for a career.
It is recommended to get a bachelor’s since most jobs require a college degree of some sort.
I do recommend getting a license to have proof of the skills you hold while a college degree will help back up your search for a job.
Want to learn more about college? Check out The Ultimate College Freshman Guide that You NEED to Know.
Should I pick a college based on its prestige?
Ok, this question may vary between people but in my truthful opinion, it depends.
If you are stuck between a more well-known college and another college that is still known but not as high in rankings as the other, here is how you decide.
Do you like that college? How is the vibe? Will they offer you better incentives?
Don’t pick a college based on if it is more well-known or not.
Pick the college that offers you the most benefits, you like the most, and you feel the best in.
If the more well-known college offers all these and you like it more, then pick that one!
Should I follow my friends?
Do not follow your friends to college!
Pick the college that is the most suitable for you!
There have been so many cases that I have witnessed of high school couples going to the same college but breaking up in the middle.
Do not go to college for another person! Go for yourself.
If your friend is going to a college to study something specific, don’t just follow them if you have no idea.
Instead, weigh in on your choices and pick the college that matches your interests and conditions the most.
What if I am in a difficult financial situation but still want to attend college?
Apply for FAFSA and they will estimate your family’s expected contribution.
There will also be grants and loans available.
Differentiate the difference between a grant and a loan though!
You usually don’t have to repay grants and they come from the government or organizations.
On the other hand, you have to repay loans and often after you have graduated or secured a job.
This is also a great time to apply for scholarships!
Scholarships are like free money and I recommend investing your time in them!
I will create a comprehensive guide to applying for and winning scholarships later on.
Stay tuned for that post which will include an entire process, and steps, and packed with advice from a full-ride scholarship recipient (moi)!
When should I decide on my college?
This should happen before your deadline (duh!)
But seriously, at least a week or two before the deadline.
You have to be careful because some colleges request that you send in specific papers like transcripts or test scores before the deadline.
Be aware because missing the deadline can lead to extreme cases where you can not attend college.
It is better to decide on your college the earlier the better so you have one less thing to worry about.
Last Piece of Advice
Ok, at the end of the day it is up to you.
It is not up to your parents, your friends, or anyone.
It is up to YOU.
You are spending the next four-and maybe more years at a college so decide carefully!
This is the time when you will become more independent, be exposed to new ideas, and interact with new people from different walks of life.
Do not be stressed if you think you picked the wrong college.
You can try transferring and you can also take it for the experience.
There is never a perfect solution for everything, so don’t stress too much.
These four years are the time for you to learn, grow, and have fun!
You are not in college just for your education. You are in it for the people you will meet and the experiences that you will gain.
Make those connections, join those clubs, and interact with others.
Put yourself out there and you will discover that college is more breezy than you think.
Looking back, I was in the EXACT same shoes as you.
I was googling every bit of information that I could find.
Comparing colleges with each other.
I was pulled apart by different opinions from different people who wanted me to go to different colleges.
It is a time when you will feel uncertain and nervous.
I decided, in the end, to go with the college with the best location, financial aid package, and resources for me.
To this day, I am extremely thankful for my college because it has supported and helped me all the way.
Once you decide and start dorm shopping, you will forget all about the queasy feeling of picking a college.
I wish you the best of luck and pick the best college that suits all your conditions!
This post was all about how to pick a college.
