<p>Living in a city will really limit your options, since the great majority of liberal arts colleges and smaller universities are in smaller places.</p>
<p>Here’s the strategy I’d use:
- Decide on the geography that’s acceptable
- Determine what the student wants to study; if “undecided,” that’s fine, too; but include not only the major but also other subjects of interest. As an example, my D wanted to continue her study of Russian, which cut the list of possible colleges down by a lot.
- Develop a realistic picture of where the student would be competitive for admissions.
- With those facts in hand, either use one of the online search tools (such as the one on this site) or invest a few bucks in one of the big books such as the one sold by the College Board. Develop a list of schools that meet your criteria and that sound interesting.
- Select some to investigate further; use online resources, such as the college’s websites to gather as much information as you can.
- Pick a handful to visit - I would say 6 to 12.
- Develop a final list. Make sure your list includes at least one financial safety - someplace your child would be happy attending, based on the most pessimistic assumptions about financial aid. (In my opinion, this is the single most important school on your list!)</p>
<p>Some people here would no doubt add a question about money somewhere before step 7. In our experience, however, you really can’t know what a school will cost until you have the acceptances and financial aid packages in hand. In some cases, we were pleasantly surprised; in others, disappointed.</p>