Discover your ideal college: to find the right college out of some 4,000 choices, you need to look far and wide at all your options—and inside yourself

Careers and Colleges, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Nancy Fitzgerald

"We go to great efforts to provide a personal touch for students," says Sara Axelson, associate vice president for enrollment management at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. "Even though we have about 12,000 students on campus, we do everything we can to help students connect with faculty and one another."

And while every college will provide students with guidance, many schools stress more self-reliance by offering opportunities to design their own individualized programs.

Ask yourself, too, how independent you are from your family and friends. Are you itching to get out of your hometown? Before you pack your bags and cross 10 state lines, think carefully about how far you're willing to stray from family and how visits back home will affect your finances.

Keep in mind that applying to a school in a distant location may actually increase your chances of acceptance. "Geographic diversity is a prized commodity for a college community," says Michael Maxey, dean of admissions and financial aid at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, "so a student coming from an underrepresented area presents an enriching experience for others. That would be a positive consideration in the admission process."

Karen Wynholds, 18, ventured all the way across the country, from Cupertino, California, to Adelphi University in Garden City, a few miles east of Manhattan. "I grew up in California," she explains, "and I started to realize there's more out there. I saw college as the perfect opportunity to move. I figured I might as well try something completely different."

Beatrice Yung, 21, of Flushing, New York, on the other hand, stayed a bit closer to home. 'Tin very close to my family," she explains, "and I wanted to have the dorm experience but be able to go home on weekends." She's now a senior accounting major at the State University of New York at Binghamton, a three-hour drive from home.

HOW WILL THIS COMPARE TO MY HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE?

Think about what you like--and dislike--about high school. Are you bored in a tiny school filled with kids you've known since kindergarten? Do you love your big, noisy, high-tech suburban high school? Decide what you'd like to replicate about your high school experience--and what you'd like to relegate to the distant past.

"I went to the second-largest high school in the state of Oregon," says Jamie Heisler, "and I knew that when I went to college I wanted something different--I wanted to push myself and grow as a person. I definitely didn't want college to be high school, part two." Instead, she chose a college with only about 600 students, small classes, involved faculty members, and students who go to all the sporting and cultural events.

Your high school experience can also tell you something about your learning style. When Rachel Emery was a student at Annville-Cleona High School in Annville, Pennsylvania, she asked questions incessantly--and sometimes got on her teachers' nerves. "The best way for me to learn is through interaction--I love the constant back and forth. For me, there's nothing like a meaty question." Now at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she's found an environment that fosters that learning style, with small, discussion-based classes and a nurturing, involved faculty.