Subject: Choosing a College
Message: Hi! I’m going to be applying to college very soon. I have my three top choices, but I have been back and forth on which one I want to apply ED to and cannot figure out how to decide. I know I would be happy at all three of them, but if I apply RD, my chances of getting into any of them goes down. This decision is making me physically and mentally sick! Any advice for how to make it?
We recently received this email and decided to turn our answer into a blog post because we think that this advice could be beneficial to our readers.
We understand that it is both exciting and unnerving to find three schools that you like (or perhaps love) equally. On the one hand, you feel like you can’t technically go wrong because you think that you would be happy at any of the three schools. But there’s a lot of pressure attached to making the decision and you want to make an informed choice. We have two pieces of advice that prior TKG clients have found helpful.
1) Complete the applications of your top three (or two) schools before the early deadline.
We really do mean complete everything. And by before the deadline, we don’t mean the night before. Let’s say that you’re choosing between Tufts, Williams, and Washington and Lee – and they’re all equally weighted in your mind. Well, if it’s the day before the deadline and you’re done with Tufts and Williams, but haven’t started Washington and Lee, Washington and Lee is going to start looking less than great. But if all three of your applications are ready to submit BEFORE the deadline, you will have time to consider your options and move on to step two.
2) Talk to current students at all three of the schools that you’re considering.
This is harder to do if you’re not working with a consulting firm, but it is still possible and very worth the effort. Please take note of the fact that we said talk to current students, not people who are involved with admissions in any way. And no shade to your family, but Uncle Jim who named his dog Tufts is not going to be giving you the kind of information you need here, either. You are looking for unbiased opinions – not someone who is trying to convince you to attend the school. Consider visiting again and talking to people who you encounter on campus. If you can’t visit, social media can help here or perhaps someone from your high school currently attends the schools. You should aim to talk to a wide variety of people, which means that you’re looking for a range. If you’re planning on majoring in Biopsychology at Tufts, try to talk to an English major. Even if you don’t like going out very much, ask students what they do for fun during the weekend. Once you’ve found someone to talk to, politely ask them to put you in touch with a friend. Repeat that process until you’ve spoken to 5-10 current students.
We help students make informed decisions about where to apply. Contact us here if you need help.