Expert: Todd Johnson - 8/27/2008

Question
Hello there. Well, this year I'm a senior at Clearview High School in Lorain, Ohio, and I'm having trouble finding a college that I'm most suited for. I don't want a big college that you need to take a bus to get to classes, but one that has dorms and provides food for the students. I want to try a variety of things,mainly jobs in the world of animation (animator, character and storyboard designer) and a children's author/llustrator, so I want to find a college that has a wide variety of art and literature that can help me. Also, I DO NOT WANT A COLLEGE WHERE ALL THE STUDENTS ARE ONE RELIGION LIKE A CATHOLIC SCHOOL!! I'm also looking for a college where the minimum ACT composite is 20, and you DO NOT NEED to take the SAT. The destination doesn't matter, I'll take a college anywhere in the country. Finally, this last part is optional, but I want the college I'm looking for where the students get along and look out for each other; kind of like a big happy family.

I know I sound picky, but if anyone knows where I can find a college that has all these things, I'm very interested at looking at them. Thank you for your time

Answer
Zach,

There is nothing wrong with having particular ideas of what you want in  a college. The trick is finding a college that meets your needs.

What I would suggest is that you start with a website called College Navigator. Their address is http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Here you can search for different colleges by size, average ACT score, majors, etc. That should help you narrow down the colleges in which you might have an interest. Be sure that you click on "more search options" on the left side of the site.

You can also try the College Board site  http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp

Once you have narrowed your choices down to a reasonable number, maybe 20 to 25, then start looking at the web sites for each of the colleges in which you have an interest. That should help give you a feel for what the college is all about.

The other option is to find a college near where you live that has many of the things you want in a college and ask them who their main competitors are. This will generally give you a list of similar types of colleges to investigate.

Good luck in the search for the best college for you.