What should I be thinking about when selecting a college?

I am in the middle of thinking about my aplications and I got a good SAT score, so I was wondering what kinda things I should be thinking about in terms of selecting a college that suits me

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Hi @dec7434450443fea6b6e

There are some factors to consider here, a great place to start is with a list of factors that the ever-brilliant @jamie.beaton has outlined in a previous question. You can check out the list here.

The most important factor in my opinion and one that Jamie correctly points out is that you need a place that suits you individually. Finding a place that meets your criteria both academically but also socially will put you in the best position to excel and perform at your best level. You need to keep in mind that you are commiting to not only this school but also a place/city for an extended period of time so you want to make sure you find somewhere that fits your interests and personality.

Thanks for this! it is an awesome way to think about this. I am just finding the process kinda overwhelming at the moment.

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This could be helpful but Jamie Beaton actually described his own process for selecting a university, Harvard in his case over other universities. While the example makes the case for Harvard you can easily think about your own process and apply the process to your selection.

Check it out here: Why choose Harvard over other universities?

Hi @dec7434450443fea6b6e

An important consideration is the people you’ll be with at university. It’s impossible to know exactly who will be in your class, and every university has a broad range of students (by design) but consider that everyone else is choosing a school and everyone is picking schools that will fit them.

In a sense, this exaggerates the importance of picking a school which is a good fit for you - because everyone else is doing it too, you’ll be in a class with people that also fit in to your university and you’ll probably all fit together really well too.

Your friends will define your college experience more than anything else. They’ll be the ones to challenge you, support you and see you through all of the awesome experiences you have.

Enjoy university, it’s going to an awesome journey!