If this seems like an odd way to select a school, then you probably haven’t visited a college dorm early on a Sunday morning, when the common bathroom shared by a dozen students can be dirtier and more unpleasant than a rest stop on the state Turnpike. Picking a college solely on the basis of bathrooms may be extreme, but the fact is, some students care much more than others about the privacy, cleanliness and the overall comfort of their living arrangements.

Ideally, college is a time when you learn to adapt to different people and situations, even if they’re less than perfect – but some aspects of campus life can be unacceptable for certain students . During my son’s sophomore year he lived in a dorm room that was tiny, dark and slightly less cozy than a jail cell in an underdeveloped nation.  He was not particularly bothered by this, although I’m pretty sure that same room would have been a deal-breaker for my daughter.

When you’re deciding where you (or your child) will go to school, it’s important to remember that college isn’t just where you’ll learn, it’s also where you’ll live. Here are some factors you should keep in mind:

Availability of on-campus housing : Some colleges have plentiful on-campus housing and guarantee a room in a dorm for all four years of school. In fact, some schools forbid moving off campus without permission from the college. Other schools have limited housing and guarantee a room on campus only through freshman or sophomore year. In many schools it’s common – even expected – for upperclassman to find off-campus housing. This is an important factor for many students: some can’t wait to live in a “real” apartment or house and some hate the thought of having to commute to campus and make their own meals.

Sharing a room: Mindful of the fact that many young people going to college have never shared a room (and don’t want to start now!) many colleges are building new dorms that feature singles. But a private room is rarely guaranteed on most campuses – certainly not for underclassmen. If living with another person would be a problem for you, this is something you’ll have to consider.

Mandatory meal plan: The quality of food, number of dining halls, and availability of alternate meal choices varies greatly from school to school. Some colleges require all on-campus students to be on the meal plan, while others allow students to cook in their dorms.

General condition of the dorms: Is the university housing old or new? Clean or grungy? Are rooms spacious or are three people crammed into a room that’s supposed to be a double? Are dorm rooms air-conditioned?  Are there suites or on-campus apartments available or just traditional double rooms on a hall?

Special dorms: Many colleges are trying to enhance the on-campus experience by providing dorms that are geared to students’ needs or interests. Many schools now offer a drug and alcohol-free dorm for students who want to stay away from the party scene, a quiet dorm with strict noise restrictions for the studious, or theme dorms for students with a shared culture or interest in a particular topic.

Ideally, these considerations should just be part of the college selection process – and maybe not a huge part. But that isn’t always the case. As a teenage friend told me recently, “I don’t think of myself as particularly spoiled, but I just don’t want to spend four years living in some depressing, dirty, little hell-hole.”

Wait till she sees the bathrooms.

And yet, my daughter invariably refers to this college as “the gray school” because on the day we visited the weather was rainy, overcast and cold. And despite the fact that I begged her not to let the weather influence her, the comments she makes about this particular school will generally include the words “depressing, dismal, and dark.”

I don’t care how smart your kid is, he or she will probably prefer a school seen on a bright and sunny day to the schools they see in rain or snow. On a recent tour of colleges we saw the gray school first; right after that the weather cleared up and every college we saw after that seemed infinitely more desirable. There were wall-to-wall kids playing Frisbee and laying on blankets spread out in the quad. People were in groups, walking and laughing and eating outside. The dorm rooms we saw were light-filled and pleasant. Everything looked prettier, and everyone seemed happier.

This is why many families never visit schools during the winter, when dirty snow, frigid tours and barren trees give prospective students a less-than-welcoming sense of the place. But even spring visits can be unpredictable. One family I know had a school visit planned during the recent spring break, but when the weather was bad they blew it off and went to the movies. At the time I thought that was an extreme reaction, but if I had done the same, my daughter might not shudder now at the mention of a certain New England school. We are planning another visit to this particular college and before that trip I plan to check my tires, my car’s navigation system…and the weather report.

2. Location is very important, although it’s not the only factor you should be considering. Don’t neglect type and size as well as competitive level. And definitely visit the school before signing up

3. Interviews, if they’re available are generally a good idea. So is spending a night on campus.

4. SAT and ACT tests are not the same as IQ tests: they can – and should – be strenuously prepared for.

5. Take the most challenging classes you can do well in – a B+ in AP Calculus is more impressive than an A in Math for Poets.

6. Parents will be involved in the college selection process but they need to let their children take the lead – college selection is often the first adult decision of a young person’s life.

7. The application essay is not the place for a hard-sell summation of why you’d be an awesome addition to College X – it’s a place to introduce yourself to the admissions committee and let them hear your authentic “voice.”

8. A binding early decision application is only a good choice if you are absolutely, positively no- holds-barred certain that you know what your first choice school is. Remember, if you are accepted Early Decision you must withdraw your other applications and attend that school.

9. The FAFSA student aid form is required for all federal grants, loans, state aid and many college aid programs – it’s the most important app you’ll fill out for financial aid.

10. Don’t wait till your junior year of high school to prepare for applying to college. From freshman year on, your course choices, extracurricular activities, grades, and financial arrangements will affect your decisions and choices when it comes to college.

Academics: Continue to take the most challenging classes you can do well in (AP, IB or honors classes if possible). Many selective colleges prefer to see a strong “B” or “B+” in an honors class as opposed to an “A” in an easier course. Your grades from all four years count for college admission, but your grades as an upperclassman may be given more consideration – you certainly don’t want your grades to get worse as you go along. Don’t let visiting schools or taking standardized tests become more important than your school work.

High School Counselor: Your guidance counselor will write letters of recommendation when you apply to college, so make sure that he or she knows you as well as possible. Stay in close contact and meet at least twice during this important year. Remember, there are many other students assigned to your counselor – it’s your responsibility to stay on the radar. Take the initiative for making appointments and scheduling meetings.

Extracurricular Activities: Continue with your sports, club and community service activities. Staying with the same activities, especially if you achieve a leadership position, has more value to colleges than participating in many different clubs or activities. Work to achieve state, regional and national recognition in the area that is your passion, and seek a leadership role for your senior year.

Scholastic Tests: Take an SAT or ACT course, or study on your own. You may also want to consider private tutoring – it’s more expensive but it’s tailored to your needs, so you’re not wasting time and money focusing on topics other students need help with. Take these tests in the spring. If you’re applying to schools ranked as “Most Selective” or higher, register to take two or three SAT II subject tests in June.

Visiting Colleges: Attend college fairs in your area, and plan to visit several schools during your winter and spring breaks. If you want to interview at a top-choice school, consider scheduling a visit for the spring – during the winter, admissions offices are focused on applications from high school seniors.

Applying to College: Keep a file of every major test and paper where you received a high grade or positive comments. Later on, when you’re asking teachers for recommendations, you can use these grades and comments to remind them of your work in their classes. In the spring you should make a preliminary list of colleges that interest you. Fill out a college application as a practice exercise.
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Junior year has a not entirely undeserved bad reputation – heavy course work, intense college application pressures and learning to drive generally converge at roughly the same time during this challenging year. It won’t be easy, but try to build time into your schedule for relaxation, exercise and friends. And try to keep your sense of humor and perspective: luckily you won’t be a high school junior forever!

If you opt for regular admission, the deadline for an application is usually from December 15 to March 1 of your senior year of high school. You can apply to as many schools as you want, and most colleges will notify you of their decisions by April 1 (although financial aid decisions come a little later). You will generally have until May 1 to decide which school you want to attend.

But many students are now choosing to fast-track this process with one of two early admissions plans – either Early Decision or Early Action.

With an Early Decision plan, you apply to your top choice school on or before November 1, and receive your answer sometime around December 15. You can be accepted, rejected, or put into the pool of regular applicants for decision in the spring. Early Decision is a binding commitment – if you’re accepted to the school you have to enroll there and withdraw your applications from all other schools. The clear advantage of ED is that you may be spared months of senior year anxiety by knowing that you’re accepted early. Some people also believe that applying early gives you an admissions advantage, since a higher percentage of students are generally admitted from the pool of ED applicants. But this perceived advantage may be meaningless – schools tend to raise the bar on ED admissions standards because they get a stronger pool of applicants.

Either way, the binding nature of early decision is not something to take lightly; ED is not a great idea unless you have a passion to get into that one dream school and are ready to commit to it. Another drawback of ED is that financial aid packages tend to be weaker, and since you must attend if accepted, you have no leverage to negotiate a better deal and can’t comparison shop financial aid offers from other schools.

Some schools now offer ED II, which typically has application deadlines from December 1, to January 15 – notification usually comes about six weeks later.

A better option for many students is Early Action. This plan is offered by some very selective schools – it has similar application deadlines to ED, but is not binding. You can still apply to other schools through regular admissions and usually have until spring to make your decision. EA gives you the benefit of early notification without the iron-clad commitment of Early Decision. A variation of EA is Early Action Single Choice, which requires that you do not apply to any other school as an Early Action candidate, although you can still apply to other schools for regular admission.

Still another admission plan is rolling admissions, the plan of choice for most public and many private colleges. This is basically a first-come first-served option – you apply anytime during your senior year and a decision is made 4-6 weeks later. It is non-binding, you don’t have to wait months for an answer, and (if necessary) this gives you the chance to raise your first semester grades or re-take the SAT or ACT. The catch here is that the later you apply, the greater your chance of being rejected, because there are fewer slots to compete for. For these schools, it’s best to appy early – by February 1 – especially if you want a good financial aid package.

It’s a good idea to keep these plans in mind as you finalize your college choices. Make sure you’re clear on which schools offer which admission options, and make sure you’ve got the deadlines straight!

If you want to avoid this fate, you can’t just apply to colleges you might get into – or even ones you will probably get into. You also need to apply to one or two that are pretty much a sure thing. These safety schools have admissions criteria that you exceed – your GPA, class rank and standardized test scores should be higher than what you’d need for admission. This is a school that acts like a safety net in case more selective schools don’t admit you. It’s important to remember that people do sometimes end up going to their safety schools, so make sure you have at least one that you’d be comfortable attending. The fact that you can get in is meaningless if you’ll be miserable going there.

Most of the schools on your final college list will probably be target or level schools. These are colleges where you would fit in as an average student. Some admitted students will have higher grades and test scores, while others will have lower. You would have at least a 50-50 chance of being admitted to this kind of school.

A reach school may be your first choice, but it’s a long shot. You should not apply to more than a few of these schools, where your GPA and test scores will be in the bottom one-third of students admitted.

Schools in the Ivy League, as well as other top colleges and universities always need to be considered reach schools, no matter how good your credentials are. The most selective schools reject hundreds of valedictorians and students with perfect SATs every year.

It’s important to remember that numbers only count for so much with college admissions – your GPA and test scores may be perfectly on target, or even on the high side for a certain school, but a poorly written essay, obnoxious interview behavior, or a lack of extracurriculars can still sink your chances of admittance.

An enjoyable and successsful college experience depends on finding the right school – and focusing on the following three factors will help you figure out which school is right for you.

Location

The first criteria to consider in college selection is location – which region of the country do you want to live in for the next four years of your life? Climate is certainly part of this consideration – you’ll need to think about how you’d feel if you lived someplace without four distinct seasons. Are you interested in a school that lets you pursue your love of snow boarding, or are you happier spending time at the beach?

But you shouldn’t choose a school simply because you’ll be able to wear flip flops all year long. Think about how far you want to be from home and whether or not you’ll want to deal with flying back and forth for visits home. The cost of transportation to and from school will probably be a factor in this decision.

More than you might imagine, the location of a school also determines the pace of life, the cuisine and the local culture. These elements are a big part of college life.

Type of College or University

The next factor to be considered is the type of school you’re looking for. The college experience you’ll have at a large state university will be very different from the one you’d have at a small private college. And military school is another experience altogether!

Large universities have graduate and undergraduate programs and an enrollment of 10,000 students or more. If you would feel lost or overwhelmed on a campus of that size, you should probably consider a smaller university or a liberal arts college. This type of college has between several hundred to a few thousand students and is focused on undergraduate studies.

Other types of schools you may want to consider are colleges with special characteristics, such as schools with a religious affiliation, women’s colleges, and historically black colleges and universities. There are also a number of schools geared to a particular carreer path, such as business colleges, engineering or architectural schools, or colleges that focus on the performing arts.

Community colleges are another type of school you might consider – these schools generally offer two-year programs for local students commuting from home, and they can be an excellent starting point for students who then transfer to four-year colleges.

Competetive Level

The final consideration in picking the right school is its selectivity: how tough are admissions? Some schools accept 70% of their applicants, while others admit less than 20%. Which level of school you should aim for will depend on your high school grade point average, and your SAT/ACT scores. You should also think about whether you want to be at the top, middle or near the bottom of your college freshman class.

The most selective schools are hardest to get into, and will generally only admit students with high standardized test scores and mostly A’s on their transcripts.

Very selective schools accept students with very competitive test scores and a mixture of A’s and B’s in their high school classes.

Selective schools are not too difficult to get into but still require competitive test scores and mostly B’s and C’s in high school course work.

Less selective schools are the least competitive – they accept a large percentage of their applicants, and do not require particularly high grades or test scores.

While evaluating the selectivity of a college you should also pay attention to its retention rates – how many students stay on to graduate? A highly selective school that doesn’t do a good job of supporting and keeping its students may be a poorer choice than a less selective school.

Keeping these three selection factors in mind will help you narrow down your possible college choices to a manageable list. Schools that meet your needs and preferences in all three categories are the schools you’ll want to research further.

What has your experience with selecting a college been like so far? We’d love to hear from you!