The Final Countdown Part 3: Once You’ve Gotten In
This is part of a three-part series on Choosing the Right College. In Part 1, I talked about coming up with a list of 15-20 colleges to consider. In Part 2, I talked about visiting colleges and narrowing down your list. In part 3, I discuss about how to make that final decision once you’ve (hopefully) gotten into a few schools.
While most high school seniors anxiously await the day when they’ve heard from all their colleges, few realize that more anxiety and choices often await them post March 31st. If you’ve gotten into a few schools, choosing which to attend is often difficult. Some people have a very set idea of which school is their favorite, and if accepted, they will enroll without visiting or considering other schools. However, most people, including myself, don’t have such a clear vision.
I was lucky and got into a few schools that I really liked. However, this also made my choice much more difficult. In the end I was choosing between three schools; Amherst, Dartmouth and Harvard. They’re pretty different schools and I had a different feeling for each one. I had loved Amherst when I visited and it had a great reputation for having very small classes and a very personal academic setting. I had spent the summer before my senior year at Dartmouth, and I was friends with a lot of students and alumni there, all of whom had loved it. I had only applied to Harvard based on my mothers forcing, and I never really expected to get in, so I hadn’t really considered it.
I can’t tell you how to make your decision, so I’ll tell you how I made mine. I looked back through the Fiske Guide to Colleges, the Student’s Guide to Colleges and Unigo, all of which I discuss in detail in Part 1 of this series. I focused more on Unigo because I already knew the statistics and facts about these three schools; what I was trying to learn more about would be like to attend these colleges.
Most schools will host a weekend for accepted students sometime in April, and this is how I ultimately made my decision. During the weekend you’ll usually stay with a current student and the college will have a bunch of presentations and seminars on what they have to offer. There are also usually presentations by specific departments and clubs.
While the presentations are useful, it’s often information that you already know. The best thing about these weekends is that they present a great opportunity to talk with current students and really get a feel for the school. Talk with whoever you’re staying with, their friends, roommates, and any other students you interact with. If your host takes you to a party or some other social event, talk to as many students as possible.
Ultimately, you should go with your intuition. I was convinced that I was going to enroll in Dartmouth right up until I visited Harvard. I had a great time at the Harvard accepted students weekend, and it really felt right, so I enrolled there immediately after I got home. You shouldn’t spend hours analyzing excel spreadsheets that compare the schools you’re interested in. You should visit each school, and whichever one feels right is the one you should attend.
If you can’t attend an open house weekend are conflicted on where to enroll, you are in a pretty difficult spot. I would read as much as possible about the schools, especially on Unigo. I would also contact the admissions office and let them now that you are unable to make it for that weekend. They might be able to try to host you a different weekend. Another option would be to talk to your high school’s guidance department and see if they can put you in contact with an alumnus of your high school who attends that college who might let you stay with them.
If you’re absolutely unable to visit, I would ask for the emails of some students who work in the admissions office. These will probably be tour guides or other students who represent the school to prospective students. I would then email these students asking them any questions or concerns you have about the school.
Note: This advice doesn’t apply to all applicants. I was very fortunate and didn’t have any pressure from my parents to go to a specific school and I didn’t have to make my decision based on cost. If either of these applies to you, then obviously you have to make your decision based on factors other than intuition.
Read Part 1 of this series here and Part 2 of this series here.
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