You hear adults say your college years are the best years of your life — where you meet lifelong friends, grow as a person, and set yourself for future success — but you are terrified that if you pick the wrong college, you might ruin your whole college experience and be miserable for the next 4 years.

Well first you need to take a deep breath and calm down. Everything is going to be okay, but before you start weighing colleges, my first advice is to be practical. It sounds grim but it is inevitable. Affordability is a key factor when selecting a college, especially if you are from a low-income household.

This however doesn’t mean cheapest college is the college you attend. It is much more possible to get scholarships and negotiate more financial aid from colleges, so affordability isn’t an absolute verdict.

Now that you have removed the impractical options. It could be helpful to create a table and rank your remaining colleges based on the following criteria and see how they score eventually.

Academics

University rankings may sometimes be a viable measure for the rigor of a university’s education. Most times however, they are merely arbitrary numbers that move up and down the ranking table yearly.

It is more beneficial to research more on the faculty for the degree you are interested in pursuing at that university. Factors such the size of the faculty, the resources available to the faculty or possible research opportunities as an undergrad are better metrics to weigh the quality of the education you might receive at a university.

Also, checking the ratio between students to faculty member would determine if most of your courses are going to be taught in large classes with hundreds of students. This is quite important because you might be someone who do better in a smaller class size than in a crowded class.

Social life and communities on campus

College is 4 years of your life. You are obviously not going to be studying in the library everyday throughout those years. You would also have a social life, meet new people, join societies and communities, and have a well-rounded experience.

Hence, it is fairly important to consider the social scene of a college campus. If you’re a fan of sororities or fraternities, perhaps a college with an active Greek life would be a better fit.

If you wish to gain a wider exposure to different cultures and perspectives alongside your college education. A college with a big international student population is right for you.

Location

Picturing yourself living in one of these colleges would help you better understand what college location and the climate of these locations is best for you. If the college is in a city, would you be comfortable living in a city? Or perhaps cities a bit overwhelming and you crave the calm serenity of a suburban college town.

Selecting a college is a daunting and scary process but regardless of where you end up. What matters is what you do in these colleges. So, work hard, make friends, and don’t forget to have fun.