Matt
Check out every little detail about a school; making sure to read the fine print. Do not leave anything out . Go so far as to even eat in the school's cafeteria. If you have the slightest question in your mind, be sure to ask more than one person who represents the school. Make sure you get the full story. Don't just go to students and counselors, but even try to hear from other faculty who teach.
Heather
Let the student make the choice. They are the ones who will live there and go to school there. If they made a bad choice, then let them learn from it.
Dana
When choosing a college, you have to look at all of the factors. Not only do you have to learn academically, you have to learn from the people around you. Look into the school's demographics when researching. Also think about the size of classes. Allow for a chance of group projects. You will learn valuable lessons from working with others. Having a social life is key to making the most the college experience. If you are miserable at your college, you will not want to stay in school. Find what makes you enjoy yourself and incorporate it into your schedule. All in all, to make the most of your college experience, research academics, social/extracurricular, class size, and even the town of the college. This will help you make the right choice.
Joselyn
Just look into all schools and make sure you attend teh campus...
Sharee
Find out what you want to do in life and then find the school that has the best program for that degree. If your not sure then take a few tests to find out what kind of person you are.
Briana
Be sure to really look at your options. Don't go to a college because your friends go there. You want to be sure that you are going to end up somewhere you can be happy with your academics, as well as your social life. There are so many things you need to take into consideration; location, school size, campus involvement, etc. If you are unsure as to where you want to attend, then spend your first semester at a community college until you decide for sure on a four-year college you want to graduate from.
Ashley
Touring the University is the most important part of choosing the right college. How highly ranked the college is isn't as important as the student liking where they will be living. Enjoying the environment you are in is what helps you survive and apply yourself during college.
Kathryn
Do your research and make sure you can completely afford all four years before you invest in a school. Look for internships and school sponsored jobs while in school.
Casey
To find the right college, I find it helpful to visit the college several times and to hang out with students there without your parents. This just allows you to get a feel for the college for once school really starts, so that there are no suprises.
Patrick
Instead of scouring college brochures and hearing every college brag about all of it's aspects of greatness, try and do some deep research, such as going to the college's website and browsing through the directories. Look up anything from student organizations to see what type of students generally attend the school, even as far as looking up for the student's major related course syllabi. This can give a closer look at what really goes on in a university instead of simply what the school boasts to get people to attend. Although it isn't always and act of pure dishonesty, universities have a tendency to magnify their strengths and try not to mention their weaknesses. However, even if a student ends up going to a third or fourth choice college due to acceptance, financial issues, etc. keep in mind that no college is flat out "bad". Most any university will have extensive opprotunities for all majors it offers.