Remember that not all pros and cons are going to be equal.

• One pro, healthy good food, might be more important to you than another pro, being close to ski slopes.

• Likewise, one con, the school NOT offering a business major, might be more important to you than another con, NOT receiving a good financial aid package.

√ Compare your pros with the list of characteristics you identified as being important to you at the beginning of this section.

√ See if you can’t come up with possible solutions or ways to ameliorate the cons on the list. This may lead you to crossing off a con or two.

√ After you have done that, circle the college/s that have the most pros and least cons. This may provide you with the insight you need to make a decision.

2. Rating colleges on a scale from 1-10
If identifying the pros and cons for each of the colleges doesn’t give you a final answer, then list all of the colleges that you are considering and rate them on a scale from 1 (No interest at all) to 10 (Love the school!). Once you have done this, rank order the colleges according to their numbers, highest first, followed by lower-scoring schools. One or two colleges should emerge with highest scores, getting you one step closer to knowing to whom you’re going to say yes.

3. If you still don’t have the answer to which college you want to attend, ask yourself these questions:

• Picture yourself at different campuses walking around, living in a dorm, going to a football game, or sitting in a classroom. Which college/s bring up positive thoughts and feelings? Do any make me feel anxious or concerned?

• What does my heart tell me?

• On which campus do I feel the happiest?

• At what college do I feel most at “home?”

• Which campus has students that seem most like me?

Keep in mind that no college is going to be perfect, and there are probably any number of colleges that will work very, very well for you.