<p>We visited Pittsburgh for colleges and hit Duquesne, Pitt and CMU in one day. It was great to make the comparisons like that and hit a triple header. Once you do a few tours of different types of colleges, you may find that your student prefers certain “types” better. Also, take a look at what schools are real possibilities for your student. For my son, CMU was a very high lottery ticket reach, but we looked anyways but did not focus on schools of that selectivity for the most part. Also if financial aid is an issue, one of the most important steps in picking schools is to find one that fits your students needs and wants, that is highly likely to take your student and is affordable. Financial aid can be a crapshoot so to apply to all high ticket schools is not a good idea. Vary the types of schools, price tags and the way they dispense aid/merit. Look for some schools that you can afford as well. One acquaintance looked at only private, high ticket schools and just threw in some state schools without much thought and it was not a good scene when it became apparent that those state school were the only realistic choices when the scanty aid and merit packages arrived. with private college costs crossing the $60K line these days, even a nice scholarship can leave the remaining cost over budget.</p>