A sensible and balanced college list takes time! Do your homework NOW. Your original college list will likely look VERY DIFFERENT from your final college list. That’s the way it should be as the weeding process progresses! All this takes time to process, so don’t procrastinate.
Get out and visit some colleges to educate yourself more! If you can’t get to faraway campuses, seek out video tours on college websites, college reviews, ask admissions people questions, do whatever it takes to find out what you want to know! The more you ask, the better your list will be in the end. Remember students, this is YOUR journey, so be at the head of the family parade when it comes to college research!
How do you build a good college list? Ask yourself, what are my criteria? Here are some examples of criteria that will likely be important:
- What do I want to study?
- Where am I willing to go, geographically? (Students who keep their mind open about this one can end up with exciting and very well priced outcomes!)
- Do I want to be in a large university setting?
- Would I prefer a smaller campus with more professor interaction inside the classroom?
- What do I do with my free time? Do those activities exist on my ideal campus, or in the area around campus?
What can my family afford to pay for college? (sticker prices can mean NOTHING when it comes to the REAL price of college—contact us if you have questions about that)
Call us at (818) 207-0263 to schedule a college consultation to discuss how we can help you with your college list and college applications.
Once you have answered these questions, start researching every college you are initially interested in. Make a chart or master list, to keep track of those criteria. College Board is a good place to start (bigfuture.collegeboard.org) and there are many more college review sites & resources available out there.
We research & develop a college list and work with you to refine it. Working one on one with our students, we help them create a preliminary college list. We discuss your interests and strengths, as well as your college goals, which help us narrow down your list to colleges that fit your needs. Contact us for help in building your college list today!
