How To Get The Most Out Of Your College Search

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Smell that in the air? It smells like recruitment season (and also, incidentally, a lot like the turkey sandwich I just had for lunch).

Unless you work in the admission office of a college, you probably don't call this time of year recruitment season. In fact, you probably don't call it anything—except maybe, "the time T.V. gets good again," "football season," or, logically, "fall."

Still, you're probably noticing slight changes in your daily routine. Your school is likely being invaded by hordes of peppy admission counselors (like yours truly), your AVID and AP English teachers are probably making you write your seventeenth draft of your personal statements, and your parents are surely starting to get that wide-eyed, "college-is-going-to-cost-what??!?" look.

It's like Christmas, without the presents.

The whole process can be a little daunting. After all, how are you expected to wade through the thousands of colleges out there to pick just one? And, even if you do choose one, how do you know for sure that it's the right fit, especially considering (if you're like the majority of high school seniors) that you're  not even entirely sure what you want to study yet?

We're here to help.



The college search really boils down to two components—what you're looking for in a college, and what colleges are looking for in you. You can only directly control one of those components, so it makes sense to focus on that first.


Start by making a list of everything you want from your college experience. Don't limit yourself, and don't worry about being "realistic" or trying to force a particular school to fit your criteria (or vice-versa). Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Do I want a big school, a small school, or a middle-size school?
• What do I want to study? Are there multiple subjects I'm interested in pursuing, or am I looking for a school that is highly specialized in one area? 
• What activities are important to me (i.e. athletics, student organizations, service opportunities, Greek life, etc.)?
• Do I want to stay close to home, or move away for college?
• Do I have a religious preference? 
• Do I want a school in an urban area? A rural area? A "college town?"
• Do I want a "party school?"
• Public or private?
• Do I care about gender, religious, or ethnic diversity?
• How do I learn best? Do I need a lot of academic support, or do I excel when I'm on my own? 
• What do I want to do when I graduate? 
• Do I want to live in a "dorm," commute from home, or get my own apartment?
• What am I able to afford in terms of tuition? Am I interested in applying for scholarships? 

Once you've exhausted your creativity, rank each factor on a scale of one to five: one being the least important, five being the most. Now you know what you're really looking for (congratulations). It is now time to start searching for the right school—which means you need to make another list (yippie...). Here's how to get a good one going:

1. You probably already have a few schools that you'd like to check out. Put them on.
   
2. Read (and actually read) the emails you receive from colleges. They received your information from a service like College Board, and are usually contacting you because you fit their admission criteria. Any school that catches your eye goes on the list.
   
3. Ask your high school counselor if s/he knows of any schools that might be particularly good for you. Those should be serious contenders.
   
4. Attend college fairs in your area (they don't have to be held at your school, no one checks your ID at the door or anything). Any school with whom you had a good conversation goes on the list.
   
5. Do online searches. Start with the criteria you ranked highest, and find schools that have a reputation for excellence in those areas. These go on the list as well.

Sort the list by your initial interest in each school. Now, it's time to contact those schools to find out more information. Go back to your list of criteria, and for everything that you gave a rating of four or five, come up with a good question that you can ask a college representative when you are doing your search. For instance, if you're particular passionate about studying biology, you might ask, "What makes your biology program unique?" If you are interested in going Greek, you might ask, "What percentage of your campus is Greek-affiliated?" Try to be as specific as possible. 


You should also try to get a feel for each college's unique admission process. You do that by asking unique questions (go figure). Ideally, don't ask questions whose answers can be easily found on the school's website (what are your requirements, GPA, etc.)—we kind of assume if you're ready for college, you should be able to do that research on your own. Get creative. Here are a few good ones that I've been asked:

"What does a successful student look like at your institution?"

"Why did you choose to work for the admission department at your school?"

"What criteria do you weigh most heavily when considering applicants?"

"What other schools are most like your institution?"

"What do you feel your school does better than any other college?"

"Describe your school in three words."

"How can I improve my chances of being admitted?"

"What one piece of advice would you give me about the application process?"

"What is your favorite memory of the school?"

"What is your most popular student organization on campus?"

After that comes the fun part. Application. Since this post is already about the length of War and Peace, I'll cover that in the future.

Good luck with your search, and if you want to ask any of those questions to us, post them below or call our office at 310.303.7311!