Where do you start? With thousands of schools in the US - how can you limit it to only a few? How can you possible choose the “right” school? These are all questions that almost everyone asks when they are school-searching. So if you feel as though you don’t know where you’ll be in a year, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
I always wanted to be one of those people who has one dream school and would not have to deal with the stress of visiting 20 different schools to go on campus tours. Unfortunately, I’m an extremely indecisive person! So if you are just as indecisive as I was in the college process - maybe these pointers will be helpful for you.
What is a “good” number of schools to apply to? To be honest, a lot of it is based on personal preference. How much money you’d like to spend on college applications (though there are ways to avoid the application fee for some schools). How many college tours you may want to go on. How do you limit or cut certain schools? Below I give a few pointers that will hopefully lead you in the right direction to start off.
1. Rule of Thumb:
Be sure to apply to a wide range of schools. You can have some prestigious schools in the mix; though be sure to have at least one or two safety schools to fall back on if need be.
2. No Major?
If you are undecided as to a major - maybe look at some larger colleges/universities that offer a wide range of fields so that you have many options to decide from.
3. Where?
Typically, students know (or at least have a general idea) of what region they would like to be in. Whether close to home or far away. Maybe you are more focused on Southern schools. Maybe you want to be in a city rather than the suburbs or rural areas. Usually these decisions help to focus you in on a specific area.
4. Money, Money, Money
This is a touchy subject - but it has to be dealt with unfortunately. We all wish we could choose whichever school we’d like, though most of the time it has to be within a certain price limit. Keep in mind - many schools do give scholarships and need based aid. So sometimes you can’t rule out schools just based on price. And if you don’t receive a scholarship from the school itself - there are hundreds of thousands of outside scholarships to look into! They can be extremely beneficial for you.
The College Prowler Monthly Scholarship is given away every month and only requires you to submit an essay you’ve already written (= no extra work!). Also check out Fastweb for tons of scholarships you’re eligible for.
5. Keep in mind the Common App
Many schools now take the Common Application which is extremely helpful and time-saving for you. Instead of doing 10 separate applications you often times can use this for all of them! Though be careful - don’t just assume the college/university takes the common app. Make sure you check into it first!
6. Visiting the School Helps
In order to roll out schools - visiting the college definitely makes a difference. You can look at as many pictures as you’d like, but the bottom line is that it is really difficult to get an actual feel of the school unless you visit for yourself. For me, a lot of the time I had a definite good or bad feeling about the campus after going on the tour. Finding out more information and actually picturing yourself on the campus is exactly how you go about narrowing in on a school.
7. Pros and Cons List
Make a list of pros and cons. You can do this for the areas where you want to go to school to maybe eliminate a few of those. And when you get later on into the college process you should definitely do this for the schools you are contemplating.
8. Keep Your Options Open
I know I mentioned above to look into where you want to go and how much you can afford. Both of these aspects do play a significant role in the process. Though one thing that I advise you to do is to definitely leave your options open if possible. Apply to a few reach schools - maybe you’ll be lucky and receive a scholarship.
9. Don’t ONLY Focus on the Stats
Yes, these are important, but remember they are just numbers and benchmarks. So if you don’t qualify with the stats don’t immediately decide against the school. You never know. Other aspects of the application are important as well. Maybe you wrote an absolutely phenomenal essay. There are always other factors to take into consideration.
Overall - it’s almost impossible to tell someone exactly “how many” schools would be ideal to apply to. Though from personal experience - when you get into the upper teens it gets a little stressful and confusing!
Hopefully these pointers will help you with the process and if anyone else has advice - please feel free to comment below!
(photos courtesy of www.flickr.com)
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