This is a challenging time of year for high school seniors. The high school experience is coming to a close. Seniors will soon receive college admission decisions, and must begin evaluating and comparing schools from which they have received offers.

While financial considerations will be a factor, here are some additional considerations for students as they undertake the decision process with their parents:

Campus Visits. When possible, a first or even second campus visit can be enlightening. Many colleges offer prospective students the opportunity to spend a night or weekend at their school and shadow an undergraduate. These opportunities can provide a more accurate picture of the college experience than a college tour. In fact, I know of several instances where prospective students have discovered, after a weekend on campus, that their top schools were not a "best fit".
Student Satisfaction. One way to assess student satisfaction at a particular college is by contacting current students or recent graduates and directly asking about their college experience. There are also student satisfaction survey results available online which can shed light on this topic (e.g. Unigo.com, U-CAN.com). Additionally, college reference guides such as Insider's Guide to Colleges, offer the student perspective. Other worthwhile resources include the Student College Report, a product of the National Survey of Student Engagement, produced by Indiana University. This report compiles survey information from over 600 colleges and universities on the quality of the student educational experience. Participating schools often make their survey results available through their admissions offices.
School Profiles. Profiles are loaded with information relevant to the college decision. For example, statistics such as "Graduation Rate" and "Years to Graduate" can reflect the accessibility of required courses and affect your total tuition costs. Also "Retention Rate", a school's ability to keep its students enrolled, can be an indicator of student satisfaction. Low retention rates should raise a red flag. An excellent source of school profile information can be found at College Navigator, the National Center for Education Statistics website (nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/). See also College Results Online (www.collegeresults.org). Though more difficult to evaluate, it is also worthwhile to consider the strength of a school's alumni network. The level of alumni participation can often reflect alumni satisfaction with their college experience. Additionally, alumni networks can be a useful resource for future employment. There are websites that, for a fee, attempt to quantify this information for individual colleges.
Advising Systems. It is also important to closely examine the academic support systems offered by a college, especially the academic advising system. Some schools provide undergraduates with an advising team consisting of an academic advisor, freshman advisor and student mentor. The availability of a strong system can be critical to student success -- especially at larger institutions where there may be less student-faculty interaction.

Choosing a college is a big decision and one that should be thoughtful. Once you've made your decision, embrace it and celebrate! Ultimately, the true test of fit will come once you've set foot on campus as a new student.