"You Mean I'm Going to College?!"

It's the first major decision we make in our life. It's the choice that defines who we are for the next several years. We will look back on these four (or more) years and think, "This is who I was. This is who I wanted to be. This is what I did." That decision we must make? College.

When we turn 14 and enter high school as freshman, we're told that pretty soon, we have to begin making choices about what we want to do, where we want to go, and generally who we want to be. I remember doing my "educational development plan" and choosing classes I wanted to take in high school depending on my career of choice; and yes, my school does ask us what we want to be when we grow up, makes us take a series of aptitude tests in middle school, and then has the audacity to tell us which "career pathway" is right for us -- even if that career pathway follows the results of the aptitude tests, not what we want to do.

Then they tell us we can change our career pathway later to something else should we choose, which begs the question: why bother? And how the hell are we supposed to know what we want to do by the time we enter high school? Do we not get to change our minds later in the future?

But I digress. Let's get back on topic.

College. It's arguably the most important decision you will make in your life. If you don't decide to go, that may close some doors for you in the future when you need a job. If you do go, you have to make a decision on where to go, and there are hundreds of choices in the US alone. You can go to a community college, a university, a private college, a public one -- there are so many choices out there, and you're expected to choose just one. (Maybe two, depending.)

If you aren't planning on going to college, that's fine. It's not for everyone. I am going to tell you, though, that if that's the route you're planning on going, the rest of this post really is irrelevant.

It's not easy deciding where to go. In fact, the whole process of picking a college really is awful. First, you have to make a list of colleges you might go to -- ones you want to apply to. Okay, easy enough, right? Then comes the applying part, and while applications are all very similar (CommonApp.org is a good place to go if you have a lot of colleges to apply to -- I recommend you check it out), many also have their own essays and short answer questions that you're required to answer. You also have to worry about paying each application fee, which differs from place to place.

Only after you get accepted somewhere (or somewheres) do you have to make a decision.

And then what?

Then comes the onslaught of questions. What do you want to major in? What classes are you looking at taking? What school do you feel most comfortable with? What are you going to do after college? What state or city do you want to live in while going to college? How far away from home do you want to be? What kinds of extracurricular activities do you want to do are available at the college you're choosing? How much money are you willing to spend per year? Can you get any scholarships based on merit or another achievement?

Add another several questions here; I'm sure you get the idea by now.

These are all things to consider when choosing a college, but what if you don't know? Here's my advice: begin looking early. This is the beginning of the rest of your future that you're deciding, don't just pick a college on whim because it was the first one that you applied to or they're the first people who answered back that accepted you. Visit campus a couple of times, talk with faculty and advisors about the designed curriculum and what classes are offered, and talk with students to see how they like the college they're going to.

You have to feel comfortable with your campus and the city, since you'll be spending a lot of time there, and you should be able to major in something you want to do; if you don't know what your major is going to be yet, pick a school with classes you'll enjoy, classes that may end up counting toward a major you'll eventually pick. You should feel welcome at the campus. After that, everything will fall into place -- mostly, anyway.

Look, look, look, and then begin to apply, apply, apply! It's never too early to start, you know.