How to choose which college to attend: Key factors to consider

Susan Tree introduced six key “F’s” to consider when determining college fit:

Focus: What are your academic and non-academic priorities? What are your “must-haves”?

• Explore department websites at each college and look at faculty bios to see if there are experts in your specific areas of interest.

• Read course guidebooks and find course syllabi to understand the curriculum.

• Dabble in data! Look at four-to-six-year graduation rates, information on impacted majors, and professor accessibility. Consider the strength of academics in your intended major.

• Think about other special programs like cross-registration, study abroad, co-ops, and honors programs.

• Don’t forget non-academic aspects like sports, food, dorms, location, and weather.

• And keep in mind: something like 80% of students change majors at least once in college.

Fellowship: Who do you want to share your college experience with?

• Consider if diversity and affinity are important to you. Do you want to be surrounded by similar voices, or different voices? Is there enough affirmation of your belief system or community? And conversely, is there enough challenge to your belief system and world view? (Since being challenged is an important part of college.)

• Look at student reviews (with a critical eye!) on platforms like Niche and Unigo.

• Engage with admitted student programming, whether face-to-face or virtual.

• Explore social media and consider experiencing versus perceiving different college environments.

• Talk to actual humans! Reach out to admission webpages, yield resources, department websites, Instagram/TikTok DMs, and alumni from your high school (this can be very insightful!).

Financial: Not all loans are created equal.

• Be aware of federal student loan limits. For example, the freshman year limit is $5,500.

• Tread very lightly with private loans and Parent PLUS loansas they can be dangerous, may not be subject to deferment, and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

• If you must take out private or parent loans, carefully evaluate if you are extending beyond your means.

• Remember that prestige is relative; debt is not.

• Utilize resources like College Essay Guy’s Paying for College Guideor if you prefer audio, podcasts about understanding financial aid packages.

Important note regarding financial fit: We’d highly recommend filling out Amanda Miller’s Award Letter Analyzer (go to that link, click “File” → “Make a copy”) to calculate the bottom line for your first year at each school you’re considering. Then multiply by four (because you’ll be graduating in four years, right?).

Is there a considerable difference?

If yes, you’ll have to weigh for yourself the benefits of choosing a more expensive school against the reality of likely living with less for longer after you graduate. Ask a counselor, parent, college financial aid officer, or other trusted adult to help make real how much of a difference $10,000 (for example) in debt will make to your life after college. And if you’re planning to attend graduate school, then you will want to look even more closely at how much you want to spend on your undergraduate education.

Future: How successful is the college in supporting students’ aspirations?

• Consider the programming and advising available. Who will coach you?

• Recognize that your student context and community will influence how you perceive the impact of your choice.

• Explore the college’s alumni network and what they do. Use tools like LinkedIn’s Alumni Tool.

• Look at college alumni reports and see if there are alumni Facebook groups or messaging boards. What types of issues and dialogues are happening? Are they in alignment with your values?

• Accreditation: Be sure the college is an accredited institution, since this impacts the validity of your degree.

Family: Is anything happening in your family that takes priority at this time?

• Consider the distance from home and how it intersects with cultural priorities or family issues.

• Think about family circumstances like aging, ailing, or special needs family members.

• Are there any logistics you need to figure out? How will you get back and forth to campus on breaks, especially if there are multiple students in college at the same time?

• Consider the choice of an institution with a religious affiliation (or not), the choice of an HBCU school because of family preference, tradition, or ROI, proximity so family can attend events, and any legacy connections that are important to your family.

Feeling: These are questions to ask yourself directly:

• How do you feel on campus? Excited? Safe? Explorative?

• Do you have a magnetic pull?

• Are these your people?

• Is there a gut feeling that this place is right or wrong?

• What is the vibe, and does it match you?

What if I have to choose which college to attend quickly?

How quickly?

Ideally, you’re giving yourself a good chunk of time (like, at least a few weeks?) to work through the six factors above (and their sub-factors) to assess both

1. Their relative importance to you, and

2. Their “scores” for each college you’ve been accepted to.

But if you’re pressed for time, here are three approaches you can use, depending on how pressed you are.

All three of these exercises are designed to help you tap into feelings you maybe didn’t know you had.

1. (One Day)

Imagine for the next 24 hrs you’re going to attend School A. If you have a sweatshirt or hat for that school, wear it. See how it feels. Repeat with School B, then C, etc (You do not have to buy hats for each school, just say to yourself, “I’m going to (name the school)” a few times throughout the day). You can also do this with several schools over the course of one day.

2. (One Hour)

Create a good old-fashioned pros and cons list. Ask: What’s my true intention in going to college (i.e., what do I value most)?

• Gainful employment? Research the colleges’ post-graduation placement rates and take a look at the college’s office of career services website.

• Fulfilling student life experience? Find out what activities thrive on each campus and what portion of students study abroad, play sports or create art/music/theater through the student life office. Basically: will you get to do the stuff you love?

• Building a professional network? Find out through the career services office what industries recent alumni are involved in and how accessible they are to students.

• Enriching academic experiences? Look up faculty for departments you’re interested in on RateMyProfessor.com. Compare course offerings in the major(s)/department(s) you’re interested in. How do they measure up to other schools’?

If you wanna’ get fancy, rate each priority from 1-10 based on how important it is to you, then add up the points for each college. That’ll give each college a numerical score. Once you do this, ask yourself, “How do I feel now?” You may be surprised that the highest “score” school isn’t actually the one you wanted—in which case you have your decision.

3. (One Minute)

Flip a coin.

Heads you go to one school, tails you go to another.

Catch the coin and hide the result. Ask yourself “Which was I hoping would/wouldn’t come up?” Then look at the coin and pay attention to how you feel. Repeat, as needed. This is actually how Ethan made his grad school decision and it helped him decide.

Once you’ve done the work to evaluate your financial priorities and (this is important) you’ve talked to your parents and heard theirs, trust your gut. Then go all in—celebrate and get ready for this exciting next step.