A Different Kind of March Madness

As a college consultant, March Madness doesn’t just refer to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. For my seniors, the long winter wait to hear their admission decisions is March Madness.

Although it is true that many students have already heard from the majority of the colleges they applied to, there are plenty still waiting – somewhat patiently – for the rest of the admission decisions to come in. If you are one of those students eagerly anticipating the April 1 notification date, I am sending you good vibes and a list of tips to help you make the final college decision once you have all the admission decisions in hand.

Evaluate your financial aid package closely. Every financial aid letter is prepared differently. What you think may be a generous aid package, could be anything but that. And don’t forget to include transportation costs into the final equation, as many colleges and universities do not put this in the aid letter.

Visit. This is especially true if you haven’t had an opportunity to do so until now. Just because your sister/neighbor/cousin’s best friend’s boyfriend attends that college, does not mean that you will have the same “amazing” experience. Go to Admitted Student Day where you will be able to sit in on a class, eat in the cafeteria, and perhaps do an overnight stay if necessary. Don’t let Orientation Day in August be your first steps on campus. You may need to visit (or revisit) your top 2 or 3 choices in order to make a final decision.

Connect with other admitted students. Use Facebook and Twitter to find the admitted students groups and get to know other students who are trying to make the same type of decision.

Make a pro/con list of all the options. Evaluate certain aspects that are especially important to you like academic majors, location, size, school spirit, financial aid, etc. Give each category a score from 1-5 and see how they add up.

Ask yourself what you need versus what you think you want. We live in the Midwest, aka Big 10 Country, where many think that big schools + big sports = the “ideal” college experience. But maybe that’s not what you need. That smaller school your college counselor suggested might not have the same name recognition as Big State U, but maybe — just maybe — it has everything else you need which will help ensure your academic and social success at college.

Go with your gut. You are not going to make a bad decision. If you have done the research and considered each college equally, then you have to be at peace with making your final decision.

Don’t worry, the madness will end soon. . .