How do you choose a college/university?

[xXoblivionXx]

I'm going to start my junior year in august, so this is the year that really counts and what not. So the time has come for me to think about college. I decided that I want to major in bioengineering and minor in writing/literature. There are so many schools to choose from, how the heck am I suppose to find the right one?? Btw, I can only go to school in Illinois or California unless it's like an Ivy League or something.

[Gamma Male]

Just apply to like, a shitload of different colleges that you like and and then take all the ones you've been accepted into and find out which one is best.

[Cognizant]

Ok, so first things first I would recommend either doing one of the 2 things for finding colleges:
*Do what I did and look for Brand names (e.g. UC Riverside, San Francisco City College), and then do some digging online to see if they have an area of study that interests you. If it does, add it to your application queue.
*If you have no idea of where you want to go, talk to your Guidance Councilor and/or go to the college visits when school is back in school. They can really help you find a school for you, especially if you don't particularly want a huge "Brand name campus" with 70,000 students at it.

The second most crucial step is to visit the college/university in person. The campus might sound nice online, but then you might show up day one and find the campus to be shitty. So if you can, go visit the said colleges - drive around inside it and see if you like the campus. Drive around the surrounding community to see if you'll enjoy spending time in it. If you think you've found your match, then send in that application! If you can't visit it, you could still apply to it, but just be wary that it might not meet your expectations when you finally do go.

[Body odah Man]

First check out for colleges that give courses in subjects you like. Then visit them individually and narrow down your choices to 4 or 5. Then apply to those and see which ones accept you. Out of those make a choice

[LouBerry]

I found it best to narrow it down to the things I was interested in, unless you do already know what you want to do, and then checked out colleges in my state that had good programs in what I wanted, then I looked at the size of the school, and what the class sizes would be and the different groups and organizations on campus that I was interested in. Then the biggest thing for me, and most people, is money. If it comes down to three or four schools that you really like, the tuition cost could easily be the deciding factor.
The most important thing is to not let anymore else make the decision for you. If it feels right, and you can see yourself there, you need to go for.