The time has passed quicker than you could have imagined, and you find yourself needing to buckle down and explore Colleges that will fit the next step in your life. While this is a monumental honor and right to be able to obtain an education, it can also make for some anxiety-inducing work. Such big decisions should not be made lightly, however, you can help to make the experience a smoother one, filled with excitement and confidence rather than angst and worry.

So where do you even start on this seemingly never-ending search for College gold?

Check In With Yourself

What are your goals for your college experience? What are you looking to learn, explore, dedicate your time and energy to, and be surrounded with? By starting with setting some clear intentions as to what you are aiming to achieve, you can save yourself a lot of back and forth and worry about this decision making. Part of being (or becoming) an adult, is learning to make educated, rational, and hopefully clear decisions. Part of being able to make good personal decisions is knowing what you are looking to achieve so you can move in that direction.

Narrow Your Scope

arrow down your most important deciding factors (Location, cost, vibe, etc) and weed out the institutions that won’t work based on these major considerations. Contemplate these factors wisely, as they will not only affect your college experience during your education but will likely keep affecting it afterward- especially when it comes to cost. This will help narrow down your list considerably.

Network

Talk to people who have attended the colleges or taken the program that you are interested in. Is there any insight you can gather from people you trust or have similar aspirations to? Are there perks and pitfalls you should be aware of? Ultimately, we are all different and won’t experience opportunities in the same way, but it could be helpful to gather some information about what others like or dislike about the options you are considering.

Take A Trip

Visit the top Schools on your list to make sure they are viable for you. This one cannot be stressed enough. Don’t rely on marketing pamphlets with professional photography that can make any campus look like an oasis. Go and check out the area and the campus personally and make sure you can see yourself attending and connecting. You can’t get a feel for the vibe of a location based on internet research alone. Some things need to be done in person. This is a prime example.

Search For Funds

Once you have narrowed down your top choice or two, get busy looking for any additional grants, scholarships or help you may qualify for from that school specifically. If you have a notable skill that is getting you scholarship offers from Colleges, this one will be towards the beginning of your search rather than the end. If you have schools competing for you, you will want to consider the scholarship packages they are offering and what would be the best option for your future- both financially and scholastically (or athletically for some.) Another word of advice- start early. Don’t wait until senior year to start researching and weighing options. When you paint yourself into a corner with timing, it is easy to make fast and less thoughtful decisions that end up being regretted later. Give yourself the time to think through the decision making and start early. This way you can rest assured that the decision you make came from a place of choice rather than an epic time crunch.