How to Choose a College: 3 Tips for Comparing Colleges & Deciding Where to Enroll

You’ve completed your applications, written (and revised and edited and proofread…) your essays, sent in your test scores, interviewed with admission representatives, and made it through the college admission obstacle course with offers in hand. Congratulations!!! You chose to apply to these colleges, and now they’ve chosen you! 

With so many excellent options, how do you compare colleges and decide where to send your deposit?

Read on, and then download my free, printable College Comparison & Decision Worksheet to put these strategies into action!

3 Tips for Comparing Colleges & Deciding Where to Enroll

(1) Revisit Your College Criteria

Most high school students applying to college begin the college admission process by reflecting on what matters most to them in their college experience. 

For example, each student enrolled in Hilltop College Consulting services completes a detailed College Criteria worksheet to reflect on potential majors, academic areas of interest, and career plans; desired extracurricular activities and support services; preferred college size, location, type, and culture; and more. Each student also participates in a Corsava Card Sort to learn more about college features, sort these features into “must have,” “would be nice,” and “no way” categories and – through reflection and discussion with me – narrows their college criteria to the three Most Important Factors for their college experience. (You can learn more about Hilltop College Consulting services here).

Now that you’ve applied and been admitted, go back to the rationale you used to create your college list. What mattered most to you when considering your future college, and why? There are so many appealing aspects of traditional college life, including beautiful and historic architecture, lush campus quads, well-appointed dorm rooms, competitive sports teams and “rah-rah” school spirit, and exciting arts and cultural events. 

But, these attractive qualities aside, which of the colleges that have admitted you is the best fit for your personal, academic, professional, financial, and other important goals? Which boasts your unique “must haves” for a successful college experience? 

Remember that your college criteria are personal and unique to you. Another person’s “must have” might be a “no way” for you (or vice versa). Consider what you need to be successful, based on your goals, learning preferences, priorities, and personality.

(2) Consider Logistics and Realities

When we think about longer-term plans like potential college majors and professional pathways, the finer, more day-to-day details sometimes get overlooked. And sometimes, the reality of life on campus looks different than what colleges advertise on their websites and in their admission office programming.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to think about logistics and realities, including:

Transportation

How will you travel between school and home? Will you be able to return home during school breaks or on weekends (and how much will it cost you to do so)? Where are the nearest airports or train or bus stations?

What are the college’s policies when it comes to student vehicles? (Can you have a car on-campus? During your first year, or only later in college? Where would you park, and what would it cost?)

Realistically, how will you get around campus? How long does it take to walk between buildings where you’ll have classes? Is there a shuttle? Would you need or want a bike (and to what extent is that feasible based on weather and terrain)? 

How will you get around campus safely at night? How about late at night on weekends vs. on weekdays?

Housing

Where will you live – not just during your first year but during all four or more years you expect to be in college? Does the college guarantee on-campus housing every year? Is it safe and affordable to live off-campus? 

What are the dorms like? How are roommates assigned? Are residence halls single gender or co-ed? Are there shared or private bathrooms?

If you need housing during school breaks and vacations, can you stay in the dorm? Can you store your stuff on campus between semesters or over the summer? Where is storage located, and what’s the process for retrieving your stuff and moving it into your dorm?

Day-to-Day Living

Food – Consider quality, variety, nutritional value, dietary needs, and availability of early-morning or late-night options. 

Laundry – Can you wash and dry clothes in your dorm? What does it cost to do laundry?

Health services – Can you get what you need on campus? What is the typical wait time? Where is the nearest pharmacy, and how will you get your prescriptions? 

Jobs and money – Are on-campus jobs easy to find? Are there off-campus jobs to be found (and how would you get there)? Where is the nearest bank or ATM?

Recreation – What are the gym hours? When and to what extent is the gym crowded? If you are not a varsity athlete, are there limitations on which facilities you can use? Where can you go for outdoor recreation, such as hiking or biking trails? 

Weather – Think hard about how cold, how cloudy, or how rainy/sunny/snowy it will be during different times of the school year. How dark will it be in the winter? What will it be like to navigate classes, clubs, and social events in these weather conditions?

Academic Realities

Registration process – Will you be able to enroll in the courses required for your major (or the courses you want to take for fun or fulfillment)?

Class scheduling – How early do classes begin, and how late in the day could they start?

Study space – If you don’t want to or can’t study in your dorm room, where will you go? Can you expect the library to be quiet, or is it more of a social scene? 

Professor accessibility – Are professors available during office hours? Generally speaking, do they like talking with students? Are they accessible outside of class? 

Advising – Is the guidance actually helpful? How much will the onus be on you to find advising help when you need it? How helpful is the Career Services office?

Social Life Realities

Through your own research or by talking to current students (or a little of both), find out:

• Are clubs competitive? (Can anyone join or is there an application process?)

• Where do people actually hang out? (Dorm parties? Frats? Off-campus houses? In the city? College-sponsored events or student programming?)

• How much of social life is wrapped up in Greek life? 

• Do students leave campus on weekends?

• Do extracurricular and social offerings meet your personal priorities or lifestyle preferences? (Will you find clubs and organizations where you’ll belong – not just interest-based activities but groups and like-minded peers that support your cultural, religious, political, or other deep-seated beliefs or identities?) 

Once again, keep in mind that what a college advertises (and what you might hear at admitted student programming) might differ from the everyday reality. Many of the questions above are great questions for you to ask current students, as are open-ended questions about possible friction points, such as “What’s harder about living here than you expected?”, “What annoys you most about life at this school?”, and “What do you wish you had known before enrolling here?” 

(3) Calculate Actual Cost and Affordability

This is a big one, even if financial aid was not a leading factor for you in your college search. Costs can differ dramatically from college to college, as can student and/or parent loans that might be necessary to make a more expensive option affordable. For colleges that offer you similar experiences, opportunities, and outcomes, the actual cost of college (and the amount of loan debt with which you’ll graduate) just might be the final decision-maker. 

A couple of tips for comparing financial aid offers:

Break down your aid offers to determine net costs

Financial aid letters come in a variety of formats and levels of detail. To get a true comparison of what you’re getting and what you’ll owe, break down each offer into components in a standard format, including for each college:

• Cost of Attendance, or COA (both direct costs, such as tuition/fees and room/board, and indirect costs, such as books, supplies, transportation, and any other "extras")

• Gift Aid (money you will not be expected to repay, such as Pell and SEOG grants, state grants, and college grants/scholarships)

• Net Cost (COA minus Gift Aid)

• Loans and Work Study (money you will be expected to repay, such as federal subsidized and/or unsubsidized loans, federal work study, parent loans, and private loans)

• Remaining Balance After Loans 

• Estimated Monthly Loan Payment (using a loan calculator like this one)

Download my free College Comparison & Decision Worksheet for a printable chart in which to break down your aid offer for each of the colleges you’re considering.

Consider "hidden costs"

Beyond the cost of tuition, some additional costs get added to the Cost of Attendance that colleges must share with prospective students. But some don’t. If you haven’t already, remember to factor in additional expenses, such as the cost of winter clothing (if you’re coming from a warmer climate); transportation to and from (and perhaps around) campus; fees for clubs, sports, labs, Greek life, or other activities in which you hope to participate; printing, laundry, or other services you might need at school; and spending money for outings and incidentals. You can add these to Indirect Costs when breaking down your financial aid offer for each college.

Look beyond the First Year

Make sure you are looking at the net cost of all 4+ years you’ll be in college and not just the first year. Also consider: Are the grants, scholarships, or other awards listed in the financial aid offer renewable past the first year of college? Do you need to earn a specific GPA in order to keep the scholarship for Year 2 (or 3 or 4…or 5)? Consider what you’ll need to do in order to meet any criteria for maintaining your financial aid award – and what that might look like as part of your college experience.

Estimate loan payments after college

If you’ll need to take out more loans in order to attend one college compared to another, calculate your estimated monthly loan payment after you graduate. Is the amount of debt with which you’ll graduate worth it to you in order to attend this college?

There is a lot to consider, but it will be well worth it when a clear Best Fit College emerges – a school that maximizes your “must haves” with minimal pain points, and where you’ll thrive academically, socially, and financially. 

What's Next?

After you've considered these 3 tips for comparing colleges and deciding where to enroll, put these strategies into action with my free, printable College Comparison & Decision Worksheet.

Do you have questions? Email me at hilltopcollegeconsulting@gmail.com or schedule a complimentary 20-minute initial consultation here.