Choosing a College

Our son will be a junior in high school this year. He is college material, but is unsure about where he would like to go. The counseling staff at his school is so overworked that they only hold group meetings on the entire college-admission process. How can we help him choose the right school? - Decision Time
Answer: Nowadays, choosing the right college has become a joint process of students, parents and counselors. You might start it off by visiting local schools to let him see what college is like.
According to Jennifer Karan, national director at Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, it is essential to understand how to build a list of prospective colleges in order for a student to get a great fit. The first step is to make a list of exactly what the student would like to find at a college he or she might attend. Karan advises students to consider these very important factors: size, location, distance from home, curriculum, faculty/student ratio, living arrangements, social life, on/off campus activities, diversity of school population and special interests from sports to politics. It helps to rank which factors are most important.
Once students have outlined what type of college experience they want, they need to make a broad list of the schools that appeal to them. They can be helped in this process by entering their requirements at several websites, including www.collegeboard.com, These sites will give them the names of schools meeting their criteria. Then it's time for them to do their homework and see how many of the schools meet their most important personal criteria. For example, students with strong political interests would find better opportunities to pursue this interest in Washington, D.C., and state capitols than in a rural environment. And it doesn't make much sense for a student who thinks it is very important to ride horseback every day to select a college in a large city.
Colleges make it easy for students to learn about them. Students can read brochures and catalogs, visit college Web sites, see videos and talk to college-admissions staff members at college fairs, where many schools gather in one spot to give out information about their schools. They can also get personal views from alumni and current students. School visits should be limited to those closely fitting their personal criteria.
If students put together a well-considered list of colleges, they will probably be happy at any one of these schools. The list should include both schools that will likely or probably accept them and some that might be a stretch.