Home |  Forward |  More Advice |  Subscribe (Free) November 8, 2007
With Rachel Korn, former admissions officer at several top universities.
HoH Video
of the Week
How Did You Choose Your College
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Determine Your Final
College List
HEAD Start
You've taken all the tours and done the necessary research: read websites and colleges' publications and talked to people in the know (alumni, admissions officers, your guidance counselor...). Now's the time to develop your final list.

HEAD Lines
Solidifying this list now allows you to assess the work required for each application, so you can make a time schedule. You will likely find a pattern in the schools on your final list - they'll likely be similar in character, size, type of location, academics, etc. This means you know your needs and what you want on a campus.

Take your longer list and cross out:
  • Schools where you really cannot see yourself studying
  • Schools where you had a bad visit/tour
  • Schools that you want for a "name" but for little else
Make sure to keep:
  • A state school (or at least one in your home state)
  • A school or two where your grades and testing are well within the averages/above average for the school (you need some safeties!)
  • One or two schools of your dreams
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From Other HEADS
TO NARROW MY CHOICES DOWN, I visited the schools that offered the specific program I was looking for (in my case, journalism). And I weighed the pluses and minuses of my other options, such as whether the college was liberal or conservative, whether or not the school had an honors program, whether or not it offered scholarships, and its size.

-- JASON TORREANO
LOCKPORT, NEW YORK
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, BROCKPORT


BE SELECTIVE DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS. My parents told me to do as much as I could do to narrow my choices so I could focus attention on fewer schools. They said that when you get in, you'll know it's where you want to go. Try to avoid getting into 20 schools. Other people applying to college might get screwed if you apply to a school you don't even want to go to and you get accepted and take their place.

-- BRIAN ROSEN
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY



Web Resources
If you haven't gotten enough yet, point your browser to collegeboard.com


HoH Tip
If you haven't already, make a file for each college that interests you. Include brochures, maps, any important names and contact numbers, deadlines for admission, and financial aid forms.




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