A piece of advice given to me by my dad on the drive home from a college visit was something that stuck with me throughout my entire decision process. The quote goes like this: “No matter where you end up, as long as you have a good attitude and an open mind, you will have a great college experience, because there is not just one college for you. As long as you put in effort, you can be successful anywhere you go.” As someone with anxiety about the future, this advice was more soothing than I could have imagined. 

Many people that have picked their college have talked about a “feeling” they have when they tour a school. When I toured my first school in August before my senior year, I did get that “feeling.” I thought “Wow, this is a nice school. It’s pretty cool to be at a college.” After that tour, all I could think about was how that was the school for me. It had to be. I got the “feeling,” how could it not be the school for me? But after touring other schools, I figured out that getting the “feeling” is not the deciding factor of picking my school.

There are plenty of factors to take into consideration when making your choice. Some of those include the programs the school offers, graduation rate, employment rate post-graduating, cost, financial awards and aid, and location. There are many more that everyone should consider, but when making your final choice, you should think about how the schools have treated you throughout the application and decision process. It is important to be treated as a person, not as just an application or a number, because the school that you choose will be your home for the next four years of your life. 

In the end, through all the stress of applying and picking your school, remember that nothing is permanent. If you feel the school you chose is not for you after spending a semester there, you can always transfer. Everything will work out for you—just remember to breathe and try to enjoy your senior year when you aren’t stressing about college.