The variety of colleges in the United States is dizzying. It is often quite difficult to choose just one to attend. Even their names often sound the same. For example, what, exactly, distinguishes the University of California, Berkely, from the University of California, Santa Cruz? But if you decide to pursue a degree, U.S. News and World Report publishes an annual guide to American colleges. This guide ranks schools on regional and national levels based on a number of different criteria, from student satisfaction to sports teams to average income of graduates. It also ranks specific programs within universities; if you are interested in pursuing a career in engineering, for example, you can see which schools are good with engineering. You will also be able to get an idea of how selective each school is. This guide should be the first step for anyone interested in pursuing higher education in the United States.
Using the college guide (or whatever other resources you decide will work best), make a list of colleges that look like they would be a good fit for you. Private or public? Big or small? Religious or secular? Do you want a college with a strong athletic tradition like at the University of Notre Dame, or one where the students don't care about sports at all like at New College Florida? Once you have your list of potential colleges, do some research into things like the average SAT scores and average high school GPA of each school's student body. Don't get too discouraged if your own academic achievements do not compare favorably to the student average, but stay realistic as well. It is important to apply to a range of different schools to increase your chances of being accepted to at least one. Thus, your list should probably include one or two top-rate schools that you don't expect to get into but are applying for because "wouldn't it be cool if...?" as well as several solid schools that you'd be more than happy to attend, plus two or three backups.
Once you've made a shortlist containing between five and ten schools, start by visiting the website of each one. Try to get a sense of the school's character, what sorts of extracurricular programs it offers, and the kinds of classes it offers. The website should also have information on acceptance procedures as well as a link to an online application. Some schools charge an application fee (usually $20 or so), but such is the cost of higher education.
Most schools ask for some kind of essay along with their applications; be sure to have your essay proofread several times by several different people to ensure that there are no mistakes. You'll usually also have to arrange for your test scores and transcripts to be sent to each college. Once you've been accepted to a school, you can also schedule a visit to the campus of any school you are interested in attending.
