Dear Class of 2017 or anyone who is in the college process,

By now, you should have an idea or a list of colleges/universities that you are interested in attending in the fall. If not, it's totally okay. Just realize that May 1st is coming up and it will be here faster than you will know. You already went through the longest part of the process, which is just applying to the schools, sending out your transcripts and ACT/SAT scores, and actually waiting to hear back from the college/university about if you got into the school, wait listed, or rejected. Now you are into the final stage of the process, which for some may be the hardest part while for others, they already made up their mind on which school they want to attend. Here are some tips/questions on what I got last year when I had trouble deciding on a school:

-How much financial aid did you receive?
-How far away from home do you want to be?
-Are you comfortable with the school size?
-Will there be something fun to do outside of campus?...I know this sounds like a weird thing to think about, but sometimes you might want to explore what things does the city that the college have.
-If you have a declared major, compare and contrast that program to all the schools that you are interested in
-What kind of clubs/organizations do they have?
-Volunteer opportunities if you have an interest in volunteering
-Greek life is optional if you are interested in that

There is a reason why I didn't include food served at the dining halls and what the dorms are like. These are two things, in my opinion, you shouldn't use to consider if this school is the right place for you. The feeling that you have for dining hall food comes and goes, meaning that sometimes they are good and sometimes...you just might going out to a restaurant either on or off campus or you are making your own food. Dorm size, some dorms are big, some are small, accommodate to it. Some people, like me, like staying in my dorm to complete any assignment or project while some like to go to the library or their own secret spot to focus.

In closing, reach out to anyone if you need advice or need any suggestions, but remember that you make the choice in the end. So when you walk across that stage, and you hear your name and the college/university that you chose gets called out, a smile will come to your face. Good luck to everyone as your last year of high school, or the college process, is coming to an end. Congrats and get ready to be on campus in the fall!

Sincerely,
A Senior from the Class of 2016