Research

How to Research Colleges

The letters come almost every day now. The emails come every hour. There are college nights, city wide info sessions, online webinars, campus prospective invitations. You order the big heavy book from Amazon. You pick up the brochures from the counselor’s office. You search Google. Before you know it, your college list is 30 schools deep and you haven’t even touched the west coast. Starting the college search process can be daunting for any student at any age. How on earth is it possible to filter between the hundreds of options in an effort to discover the elusive “ideal school”?

How an Application Calendar Can Keep You On Track

For anyone emerging from the fog of deadlines and sprint finishes, congrats on making it this far! Keep reading to learn more about our tips on how an application calendar can help to keep you on track.

How to Choose Which Colleges to Apply to

Senior year is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming. With literally thousands of colleges and universities across the country and around the world, it can be difficult for students to determine which schools are worth applying to. Here are some things to keep in mind as you begin the college search and work towards polishing your application list:

When to Start Thinking About Colleges?

This is a question that we often get from parents of high schoolers. The truth is, it’s never too early to think generally about college, but a better question would be to determine when to start thinking actively about schools.

List Building vs Research

How are we defining general thought compared to active thought? Well, generally thinking about someday going to college means doing long term things like taking challenging courses, setting aside a college savings account, and various projects that will come to fruition by the time application season officially starts.

However, active thought requires, well, a bit more action. This is when students need to create school lists, connect with admissions officers, begin test prep, request recommendations, and start brainstorming essays.

Start Early

As with any long term process, thinking about applying to college is something that can be done as early as a student’s 9th grade year, but should start no later than a student’s 11th grade spring. Spread the work out over the four years of high school — use freshman and sophomore spring breaks to visit local schools, and then visit farther campuses as graduation approaches. Admissions essay topics can be derived from any meaningful life experience, so it never hurts to stay alert and aware for any potential adventures that could be used.

Define Your Goals

The important thing to consider is that college is the next step in a student’s academic journey, and all previous stages should be aligned with that final goal. While the actual steps of putting together an application can start later, the overall goal should never be far removed from a student’s academic journey.