How will I know a school is a good fit for me?

hello!

this is my understanding -

When a college is a good fit for you, there would be little or no adversities that you would be facing. This means that whenever you think of the school, you have a gut feeling that "this is it" for me, it's UCLA. Maybe it's the location, the campus, the surrounding area. Basically, the college won't make you homesick, depressed, sad, etc. It would keep you happy.

But how do you find a college that is for you?

Here is a list that I find extremely helpful to help you decide :)

- Does the college you are considering offer the college major you are interested in?

- How much will it cost to attend the college? Knowing your education budget is important.

- Is the college located in a place that you will enjoy (climate, number of students, size of city, etc.)

- Will the college provide the level of support you desire - large universities are less likely to provide personalized attention.

- What is the average GPA of entering freshman and how do you compare to that GPA?

- What is the average SAT/ACT scores of entering freshman and how do you compare in those scores?

- What other factors does the college consider when reviewing applications (found on the College Board website Big Future - see below)?

What is the social life like at the college you are considering?

- Visit the college, does the campus feel comfortable to you?

- Are there extracurricular or sports activities that you want to participate in?

Also, welcome to the community!

To me, it's meant finding something that just feels right. Can I afford it? Do they offer strong academics in my area? Will I like living there? Those have been my big deciding factors. One because I'm on a pretty tight budget, but want to study molecular bio with a good lab, and two, because I've been living in a place I really don't like for the last 18 years and I don't want to repeat that for college.

Good luck, and remember that things will work themselves out!

To me a school that fits me would be a school that is decently competitive but not ivy, focuses on learning (rather than social aspects like clubs or competitive sports), has classes that interest me, is in a location I like (close to home, far) isn't to expensive (I will say I failed on that one, oops), and isn't competitive. I also wanted a school that has study abroad.

To answer your question I think you will know when you find a school that has most of what you would like it to have beside the basics, like location and price, and when you do you will know because you will be able to picture yourself there for at least four years and thinking about it makes you happy and excited. Also note that if all else fails you can always transfer schools, so don't feel like you have to stick with something. I changed my dream school once.

Remember to also consider any opportunities outside of the university that you may be interested in such as religious institutions, hobbies, and potential job markets for after graduation. Additionally, demographics are important to consider because they give you a better idea of what the atmosphere might be like. And one more consideration is that climate and weather will affect your daily life no matter where you are, so don't go somewhere with weather you will hate.

Here’s some things that helped me check them out

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0wwsKViWfc - video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGQ6suqYiIU - video

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1tbjVWZrkHSf6Q8EG6NCrh4Zs_jFKPP35yzdhAMLuvuo/edit#gid=0 - spreadsheet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ace3ltHOybs - Video

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N9mCl8JOe4ehr7MR5Juh-iOQJA4taHWq5ZOITmJZVWg/edit#gid=876017782 – college list spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ET1GIUEPH6NLtyIHlL7AddJGAHWFXvtErMiNwPlueM/edit#gid=0 – College list spreadsheet