College Decision

Once you have received your college acceptance letters, you’ll need to make your college decision. Your potential colleges will provide you with a college acceptance deadline, so you will need to let each school know your application decision by that date. We’ve provided you with some of the ways that you can compare colleges to help with your college decision process:

1. College Location

   Of the schools that accepted you, which one is closest to your permanent home? Will you be required to pay out-of-state fees at any of the schools? If any of the schools are far from your permanent residence, are you sure that your family can afford the plane fares and other travel expenses for you to come home on holidays and school breaks? If the college is located in a small town, will that be appealing to you? What is the weather like at each of the school locations? Will you be able to find a part-time job or internship easily? These are some of the questions that you need to review with your family when looking at the location of each school.

2. College Reputation

   If it’s your goal to go to the best school possible for your desired discipline, school reputation should be a factor in the college decision making process. Reputation is in many ways subjective, but there are tools that you can use to compare colleges such as Baron’s, Peterson’s or U.S. News college ranking reports. If you have already decided on your college major, you might want to select a school that has a highly ranked program for your field of study.

3. College Cost

   If you completed your FAFSA, you should receive financial aid award letters from each of the schools to which you were accepted. You can compare the cost of attendance and the financial aid packages from each school, paying special attention to the amount of free money (scholarships and grants) you were awarded. College cost may only be one factor in your college decision, but it’s certainly an important one.

4. Social Factors

   Although we feel like number 1-3 above should be far more important factors in your college decision, it’s important that you are happy with your college life. Some students want to attend a school that’s close to home. Some students look for other social factors, such as religion, ethnic, or cultural aspects to make sure that they will fit in. While we encourage you to find a school that is the right fit for you, also remember that college is a time to experience new things.

   Before you make your college decision, remember that many schools will allow you to visit the college and live with another college student, sometimes for the entire weekend. The only way to truly experience a college is to be there and get a feel for the campus and the students.

Early College Decision

If you are dead set on attending a particular school, some colleges will allow you to apply using “early decision.” Although the exact definition of early decision varies among schools, it generally means that you only apply to one college in exchange for receiving an earlier decision from that school. Colleges do place added value on early decision applications because it means that you are extremely committed to the school.

If you decide to apply using early decision, make sure you have a back up plan in the event that you are not accepted. Check the date when the school’s early application decision will be provided and ensure you have ample time to apply to other colleges.