So y'all, my Junior year is basically over, and going into the summer before my senior year, I haven't really taken much time to look at colleges and make decisions as to what type of college I look forward to going to. There's a lot of possibilities, yet every time someone asks me where I want to go, I never know what to say.
So, let me ask y'all about you guys.

What did you consider in your search for colleges?
And what should one consider more: the best college you can get into or the best college for you?

Like, the only school I know I'll be applying to is UNC-Chapel Hill but the more I look into the school, the less I actually like the school. Especially when I consider the trash they accepted from my school this year. I need help gurlz. I'd love to hear from y'alls experience.

When I visited my college, a number of things were important to me that factored into my decision:

-I wanted a small campus ; no more than 3,000 people
-I also wanted to see what the people were like did they smile at me or did they ignore me?

I look to see if the people are friendly, make sure the campus is easy to navigate, the classes aren't too big, the professors aren't too grumpy. Just the overall VIBE. I think when you go to visit, you just KNOW if you belong or if you don't.

I honestly don't know for sure what I want to get into. I've been thinking maybe something along the lines of Mathematics, Finance, or maybe Psychology. I know it's not a lot to go by, but I haven't found my niche quite yet.
I'll really have to do some soul searching. I should've planned college visits a while ago, but did you end up liking a small college? There's a LAC I'm interested in, but it's smaller than my high school, and I don't quite know how I feel about that.

First off, when you are applying next year, don't rush. I mean, honestly, submitting something well before the deadline is not really beneficial unless they specifically state that you're going to get it on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Ultimately, you need to evaluate what you want to do in the long run. For example, with my situation I know that I want to get into medical school. This means that in order to be the most successful, I need to be able to go to a big university with a lot of big grants for research that I can get involved in. Also, it doesn't really matter where you go to undergraduate school in that situation. I still want to get into really presitigous medical schools, and they do accept people from big schools such as Indiana University and Michigan State University.

I had the struggle between going to a really presitigous school (Notre Dame) versus going to a state school (MSU/IU) and I ultimately ruled out the former because of the cost and the fact that I can do just as well in the big schools to get into a good medical school.

Also, start to be proactive in getting scholarships and stuff...because college is expensive. I am close to a full ride wherever I go because I started looking right near the end my 7th semester of high school.

Honestly, my biggest concern was debt. So you have to ask yourself if money is going to be a problem.

Secondly, see how the University treats your desired major. Talk to professors that teach that major and possibly current students who are in that major at the moment.

Lastly, decide if you want to go to a big school or a small school. I chose to go to a big school, Northeastern, because I wanted the whole college experience that I didn't think I would find at a smaller school. Looking back, I'm happy that I made my decision.

How I chose was

1) Find in state colleges with my program
2) Check sizes of classes and try finding actual reviews from the students there
3) Visit the campus
4) Check out what the social life is like (if you're gonna move there)

and if you're getting financial aid, check to see how each school deals with it

I've been in the same dilemma with whether I should pursue a more prestigious school or a state school. I'm in NC, so there are a lot of good state schools, but there are also schools like Duke and Wake Forest that I feel as if I should at least consider. For example, there's a state school right by the beach that I just love aesthetically, and people have told me that I'd match the students there perfectly, but it's not such a good school academically, so I'm not sure if it'd be the best idea to go there. I wish I could pick and choose qualities from a few different schools and just make up my own perfect little college.

I chose kind based on Geography and what I wanted to do.The school I chose ended up being in a rural area two hours from home.I might have to trnsfer but IDK though.

Honestly, there is no reason to go to a super awesome amazing prestige school for certain careers. For example, as I mentioned, medical school. For business, though, it is better to go somewhere like University of Pennsylvania or whatever. There is absolutely no reason to go to a prestigious school to get, for example, an English major.

whatever you end up doing, though, NEVER look at yourself as lessor or inferior if you decide to go to state school. When you end up graduating with a **** ton of less debt than your peers and basically have the same situation. Status simply isn't everything.

And I don't remember if I said this earlier...but be proactive in finding scholarships starting soon.

When I was looking into schools, the three biggest factors for me were:

1) Academics (does the school offer the courses of study that you want? And if you're unsure, does the school offer flexibility?)
2) Location (do you want to live in this place for four years?)
3) Cost (unless you're rich, does the school offer merit scholarships and/or strong need-based aid?)

My best advice would be to explore ALL options. When I applied, I basically only applied to my state schools, Johns Hopkins (because I'm from Baltimore), and some other schools because of their prestige and high rank. I don't regret the school I chose by any means, but I probably should have been more open-minded during the application process.

What I looked for was:

1) Offered a Finance Program
2) Intentionally Accredited (with the current job market I wanted to keep my options open)
3) If I could get a basketball scholarship
4) Campus life in general (service clubs, parties)
5) Cost

Hope that helps

This is all you need

Be adventurous! Apply to lots of schools. You only have 1 opportunity in your life to do this, so why limit yourself to just a few schools? You might be surprised with the outcome.

I applied to 20+ universities. Some were safety schools, some were good chances, and some were reaches and dream schools.

I literally pulled out U.S. News & World Report's list of Best American Universities and went down and selected several schools in the Top 20. I got into 3 Top 20 schools and a bunch of the "safety" and "good chance" schools. 2 of those top schools offered me a full ride (equivalent to about $50,000 a year). It was totally worth the extra time and effort in filling out all the applications and writing the additional essays.

Don't settle. Take a risk.

Aww, thanks everyone! It's great to hear from y'all!

I'll definitely have to be on the search for scholarships next year. I'm really not trying to limit myself finance-wise in my search for colleges as of now, since I'm only trying to get a better idea on where I want to go, but I know it's a reality I'll have to face sooner or later. It's reassuring, however, to hear about the state colleges. It helps to hear someone think rationally, especially when I feel as if people sort of expect me to go to a really good school. You've given some great insight that I'm definitely taking to heart! Thanks!
Aww, I've actually been looking at a few LACs, and there's one in particular that looks really promising. It's great to see that you fell in love with a school; I hope the same happens to me.
Congrats on the aid!! That's amazing! And I'll definitely have to apply to a wide range of schools. Like you said, I don't want to limit myself, only to later find that I could've been a perfect fit at a school I chose not to apply to. I guess what it'll come down to for me is narrowing down the pool of schools that I'm interested and finding a good set of safety/match schools and maybe even a couple of dream schools. You took a really smart approach, and I'm glad it worked out well for you! I love your advice!!

hot guys

Cost should be #1 priority.

Cost is very important, but what good is cost without comfort? You need to visit the campus, sometimes more than once, and really figure out if you belong there. My college search was lengthy and tiring but the LAST school I went to was the one I fell in love with, so don't give up! Along with cost and campus setup, go for a school with a wide range of majors. You want transferring, especially due to switching majors, to be a last resort if you can help it. You can judge by the people walking around campus if they're the types of people that you can see yourself being friends with. Make sure there's plenty of activities to get involved in.

I'm going to give you some good advice on college in general. Don't pick a major without a future. Pick something that will allow you to get a job right out of college. Healthcare is very preferable.

Also you guys. I've been putting a lot of emphasis on picking schools that I know people will be going to. Like, for example, I couldn't see myself going to a school halfway across the country because I'd hate not knowing anyone or being too far from home. Am I limiting myself too much by doing so?