Applying to College: How to Choose the Right College for You

Welcome to your senior year in high school. You've been working over a decade to get to this point in your academic career, and now it has finally arrived. You've got a year full of easy classes, field trips, dances, parties, senior cut days, driving your car to school for the first time, and trying to make sure you don't lose touch with friends when you head off to college.

Uh-oh. The C-word. College.

Should you go? When should you apply? What do you have to do? How many colleges should you apply to? Where should you go? Where are your friends going to go? How can you afford it? How do you apply for financial aid? Who should you go to for your recommendation letter? Argh! So many questions!!

First things first: Relax. Breathe. You've got plenty of time to answer all of those questions, and make sure you get your college applications in on time. Better yet, I'm going to be here to help you every step of the way.

Don't pay attention to tuition.
The biggest problem that high school students seem to have with applying to college is tuition. The cost of the school is too daunting to even apply. The problem isn't with the tuition of the school, my dear readers. It is that you are thinking about it too much. Who knows what scholarships you may receive or what financial aid you may be granted? Where there is a will, there is a way. It's a cliche, but it's true. If you're not applying to a school just because it's too pricey, then you're making a mistake. There are all sorts of financial aid and scholarship opportunities out there, just waiting to be taken advantage of. You never know what is going to happen, and you might just be closing the door on the best school because you're reluctant to apply due to the cost of tuition. Worry about tuition later.

Case in point: My sister, Julie, applied to a bunch of different schools for graduate school. She got into Temple and Northwestern. While Temple cost less, Northwestern offered her a bigger scholarship-- and it's a much better school for what she is studying. You just never know what is going to happen.