Picking Colleges to Apply To.

For me, I had an idea of what I wanted out of college (location, campus type, student life, dorms, etc.) which helped me narrow down my options quite a bit. You should start with your ideal location, and then look deeper into the program you want to enroll in. Other aspects like financial assistance, dorms, extracurriculars, and how the student body is like can also be look into in order to decide which college/colleges are right for you! Hope this helps

I was soooooo lost on what I wanted in terms of basically everything for colleges. I've narrowed down my list to like 15 schools (it was like 35 before!!) by literally just touring a TON of schools. Honestly, you really only need to tour one in each category (rural, urban, liberal arts, research, etc.) to figure out what you like and absolutely hate. I think that while online information sessions can be super helpful, touring is the only way to fully understand what the vibe is like at each school. :)

Things to consider:

1) Does it have what you need? They might have the major you want, but is that program going to train you for the specific career you want? For example, I want to major in horticulture. However, some horticulture programs are more plant science focused than growing focused. I want the growing focus, so I narrowed down to schools that would offer that. Check out the info each college has for that program. Ask questions (email admissions counselor).

2) Will you be happy there? Do you like the location, atmosphere, surroundings? I do not like big cities, so that narrowed my options more. Do you like big or small colleges? Campus visits are the best way to experience these things but videos on the university websites help. Do they have clubs you could see yourself getting involved in?

There are many other things to consider (financial aid, job placement upon graduation, internships, etc), but these are the 2 biggest questions to ask yourself first. I recommend using the BigFuture college search on your Collegeboard account. You put in all your preferences and academic stats and they recommend different college options. Then you can save ones you are interested in to a college list. But take all their suggestions with a grain of salt- always look up the college to ensure they have the major you want. (I would put in a category like horticulture/agriculture, so many schools had agriculture programs, not horticulture).

Hope this helps. lmk if you have questions!