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Here's a little secret you don't usually learn until after you make your College decisions: The  

Best Colleges

  out there are the ones that are best for you. Sounds trite, but it's true.

Instead of scouring the college rankings to find random information like the percentage of faculty who are full time, concentrate on what's really important to you. Create your own system of college rankings, if you will.

To do this, you'll need to answer a quintessential question: Why are you going to college?

Many of us apply to college because it's what's expected, it's the next step. But you'll find that this reason will not hold up when you're in a Dorm room miles away from home, studying among strangers, feeling alone and wondering why.

Dig deep, and you might uncover reasons like these: I want to earn a degree that will get me a job. I want to explore a new environment, making choices about everything that was decided for me as a child but that I now control as an adult. I want to grow as an individual within a community, finding friendships and ideas that inspire and challenge me.

Take 15 minutes to free write about this (write nonstop and don't edit yourself along the way), and then look back to see what emerges as major themes for your own system of college rankings. That's where the list of the best colleges for you begins.

For instance, if you're mainly looking for a marketable degree, the school's Career placement rate, alumni network, and vocationally oriented programs will be of greatest importance in your college decisions. If you're looking for a new world to explore, you'll start your College Search well beyond the radius of your hometown. If you're focused on the community aspect of the College Experience, key factors of your personal college rankings will be a small school, or a larger university that features smaller colleges, cohort programs, and/or specialty housing.

Remember that your list of college rankings is your own; don't steal your best friend's. Maybe her dream is to play professional soccer, so her list of best colleges will include only those with the strongest athletic programs. Your list of best colleges, on the other hand, may include ones that are athletic duds. But the study abroad and co-op programs are phenomenal, and you're not really planning a future on the field anyway.

Ultimately, the best colleges out there really are the ones that are best for you. So take time to find out who you are and what you want, and your college decisions will follow.


Robyn Tellefsen is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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