How Do I Decide?

Have you heard back from all of your schools, but now you don’t know what to do?  Here are some thoughts that might help you navigate the next several weeks.  

1. Consider another visit to your top schools so you can compare more clearly now that you’ve been accepted.  Look at details this time.  Sit in on a class, contact club leaders or specific ministries or groups in which you’d be interested, eat in the dining hall, ask lots of questions that you might not have asked before being accepted.
2. Don’t forget to compare all of your offers financially.  If you got in somewhere and it will cause you to take out loans, but another acceptance offer was a better (or free) one, consider not taking on debt and choosing the free option.  You never know what your salary will be 4+ years from now and taking on a loan if you don’t have to usually isn’t a good idea!
3. Many colleges will have an Accepted Students Day this spring with the hopes that they can ‘wow’ you into making the decision. Sometimes it’s only for students who have already committed, but check into your schools and see! It would be worth trying to get to it if you could because it can help with decisions if you’re unsure.
4. Go back through your list of schools and look closely at the ones to which you’ve been accepted.  Can you truly see yourself there?  Is it really a fit and match and does it get you excited?
5. Talk and process through all of this with mom and dad and others that you trust and from whom you value input, thoughts, questions, and advice.  No one can make the decision for you, but there will be no shortage of opinions from people who care!  If that’s helpful, lean into it!