College Search Checklist: How to Find the Right College For You

Picture this: You’re a junior in high school, and you think you want to go to college. You start to search online for a college. And you quickly realize something – there are almost 4,000 colleges in the United States! That’s overwhelming! How are you supposed to find the right one for you?

You might think that you’re supposed to find the school with the best academic program, the best football team, the best dorms, or the best job placement statistics. All those things are important! But what’s more important than those things is finding the school that’s the right fit for you.

What does it mean for a school to be the right fit for you? In my job as an admissions counselor, I help students decide if University of Northwestern is the right fit for them. I recommend students start their college search by making sure a college checks four important boxes: Faith, Size, Location, and Major.

For each category, you should decide what you want and filter colleges through that decision. It’s pretty easy to find all this information online, which is why it’s a good place to start!

Faith

You may want your faith to be a big part of your college experience, or it may not be one of your main decision factors. That’s okay! You don’t have go to a Christian school if you’re a Christian.   You can grow in your faith anywhere. There are a wide range of what faith looks like at different colleges. For example, at a:

• Public College – Many or most students will not be religious, but there will be faith-based clubs or campus ministries.
• Historically Christian College – You might take a theology class or participate in a campus ministry.
• Christ-Centered College – Faith is central to everything: academics, relationships, chapel, and extracurriculars. We call that faith integration, and it is what makes UNW different from other colleges!

Size

The number of students that attend a college is important because it affects what the community is like. In Minnesota, the largest college has 42,000 students and the smallest one has 700 students. That is a big difference! Here are some things that are generally different because of a school’s size:

• Bigger Schools
  • More majors and extracurriculars
  • Larger class sizes
  • Bigger sports program
  • Easier to blend in as a student
• Smaller Schools
  • Small class sizes
  • Personalized academic and career support
  • Tight-knit community
  • Close relationships with professors

Location

Location is the factor students don’t realize is important until they visit a college campus. Colleges can have a very different feel depending on the type of city they’re in, or how close they are to a major city. Some schools are in the middle of a big city, some are in a small college town, and some, like UNW, are in the suburban sweet spot. As you expect, this changes what students do. Urban colleges will have more off-campus activities, while rural colleges will have most activities on-campus.

Major

Many students think the most important factor in choosing in a college is if the college has the major they want to study. That is important, but it depends on what specific major you want to study. Some majors will be available at almost any college. Some examples are Business, Biology, Psychology, and Communications. Some majors are less common, and you will need to be more specific in your college search. Examples of less common majors are Architecture, Speech Pathology, Aviation, and Marine Biology.

Also, keep in mind that the average college student changes their major three times. Community and school fit are just as important in your college search!

Other Factors

Faith, Size, Location, and Major are the four most common factors that students look for when starting to look for colleges. There are also other factors that might be just as important to you:

• Campus Safety
• Job Placement
• On-Campus Food
• Dorm Quality
• Athletics
• Family Connections
• Prestige/Reputation

Take a moment and think – are any of these factors more important to you than the main four? Why do you think that is?

As you start your college search, try to find a college that checks these major boxes. As you’re exploring, remember the overall idea we started with. There are lots of different kinds of colleges, and your job is to find the one that is the right fit for you. Best of luck as you start your college search!

Interested in what Northwestern has to offer? Schedule a visit to learn more.