Congratulations to your son on all of his great acceptances!
I bolded the word “most” here…if there are any schools that he didn’t like, eliminate them. Your son is the one going to college, he’ll be the one there day in and day out, and he is most likely to be academically successful if he is happy at the school he attends.
I’ve been sharing this post a lot this past week, because I think it’s a great methodology to help kids hone in on what’s important to them in a college and how to compare colleges on those qualities (which involves specifying the priorities, their relative importance, a kid’s score for each college for that priority, and creating a weighted total score): Parents of the HS Class of 2025 - #9032 by sbinaz. The link shows what was important to that particular student, and below are some additional potential categories that can spark some thinking:
- Distance from home
- Geography
- Type of housing
- Particular interests
- Appearance of campus
- Vibe of campus
- Peer group
- Size of classes
- Range and depth of classes
- Distribution requirements
- Flexibility to change majors
- Major requirements
- Study abroad options
- Climate
- Prestige
- Cost
- Proximity to a favorite destination (multiple parents mentioned how the presence of a Chick-Fil-A or smoothie shop or Starbucks was of significant importance to their kid)
Right now your kid has great choices, and whatever matters to him is important here, even if we parents might roll our eyes (School colors?!? For some, yes!). In an initial look for colleges to apply to, the point is to brainstorm as many realistic options as possible. At this phase, it’s to narrow down the choice to one. Right now, all he has are great choices, so whatever decision ends up being made will be a great decision.
I also want to point out this portion of the post I linked:
This is definitely one option. But, if the score doesn’t end up where their gut/instinct said it would land, their gut/instinct is probably pointing out where their true preference lies.