5 Things NOT to Consider During Your College Search

The search for a college can be stressful, terrifying, and confusing—but most of life's truly rewarding events are. The biggest mistake you can make while searching for a college is to become overwhelmed and give up. Neither of us wants to run into each other at a drive-thru, right?

So, above all, remember to persevere and keep the following "don'ts" in mind:

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.

So, you've made the big commitment to us. [Yay!] ...Now what?

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The college admissions process is frighteningly like dating. You, the applicant, scope out some hot prospects to see what they have to offer. There are a lot to choose from. Some may be a bit of a reach, some may be below your personal standards, but when you're playing the admission field it doesn't serve to be too exclusive, right? [Besides, they should already know you're not looking for anything serious yet. It's way too early for that...]

Eventually, when you get a better feel for what's out there, you start "talking" to some of the most attractive prospects. You'll visit a few of them on admission dates. Some will scare you off (stage seven clinger!). Some will sweep your off your feet ("how would you like a scholarship?"). Once you're smitten with a school or two, you ask them out (or, more accurately, ask yourself in). If you're lucky, the feeling is mutual. They'll formally accept your advances and ask if you want to take it to the next level. Then comes the big decision:

Are you ready for serious commitment?

Preventing the College Break-Up: Three Questions to Ask Before You Commit to an Academic Relationship

You can always tell when students commit to the wrong college. It starts small. Vague feelings that they just don't feel the same way toward the school as they once did. It becomes hard for them to imagine a happy future together with their chosen institution. Their friends will try to convince them that it's just a phase (all but the bitter, angry friend who has been scorned by a bad college experience in the past). "You used to find the school so attractive," the friends will argue. "Remember the happy days when you first got your acceptance letter? It'll be like that again. It just takes patience."

But that day never comes, and the listless, demoralized students will begin to withdraw—inventing halfhearted reasons to avoid the college any chance they can get. They'll begin to spend hours alone on their computer, checking out other schools' admissions profiles on seedy college-ranking sites.

It goes downhill fairly quickly from there.