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Choosing a College; How to Start

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College admission is, in its simplest form, a numbers game. In fact, while some would call it a kind of lottery, lotteries offer almost no chance of success to those who participate in them, while quite the opposite is true of college admission. There are nearly 3,500 colleges and universities in the United States (counting two and four year institutions) so students have no shortage of options. So, students who do a little research and a bit of thinking about what kind of educational environment best suits them should not have a problem landing at a college or university in which he or she is likely to be happy and academically successful.

Believe it or not, students who start their college search early, make good use of the college and financial aid information available in college guides and websites, and ultimately apply to at least four or five carefully chosen colleges can sail through the process with little or no anxiety or hassle. Despite the media's preoccupation with how tough it is to get admitted to the Harvard's, Yale's, and Princeton's of the world, a very small number of colleges deny admission to nearly as many students as they admit.

Thus, if you do not have the grades, SAT scores and desire to attend a very highly selective college and you have applied to a realistic set of colleges your chances at each are high. On the other hand, if your grades and test scores put you in the top five percent and you are applying to the highly selective few, just be sure to also apply to a few of the hundreds of great schools that are not quite as selective.

A few colleges and universities, places like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, receive so many applications from top students that they can be incredibly selective, admitting just fifteen percent of their applicants (sometimes fewer). But, many good colleges, some with pretty high profiles, admit forty to sixty percents. And, nationally, the acceptance rate is close to seventy-five percent (75%).

Once you realize these things, you are prepared to begin the college admission process. Step number one is to identify no fewer than six colleges with the academic programs which interest you, campus environments in which you think you'd be comfortable, and admissions criteria which you appear to meet. Begin by sitting down with your counselor to:

1. ask for his/her college recommendations.

2. put together a list of the high school courses you need to complete.

4. register to take both the ACT and SAT exams.

4. find out which college admissions counselors will be visiting your high school.

5. register for the college night programs in your region.

Don't overlook all the great college, scholarship, financial aid, and career information available on the web. Just do a few searches and you'll be amazed at what you'll find.

Once you've completed the above steps, you are well on your way. It doesn't have to difficult.

Article Source: http://www.article-exposure.com

Dan Kane has counseled hundreds of students on admission to traditional colleges and online education and universities.

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