As soon as you start thinking about colleges that might interest you during your college search, you should start keeping track of them. A spreadsheet is a useful tool for keeping track of colleges and narrowing down the list of ones you want to seriously consider.
You will need to include the following basic information in your spreadsheet:
1. Name of the school
2. Location of the school – city and state
3. Number of students
4. Cost to attend
You will also want to add additional information that is important to you. Some examples are:
• How many miles is the school from home or what is the estimated driving time?
• What types of scholarships might I be eligible for?
• Does the school have a major that you think might be your first choice?
• When are visiting days available?
• What special programs does the school have that interest you: honors program, study abroad, leadership program, etc.
• What athletic division is the school?
• Does the school have any varsity sports that interest you?
• How selective is the school in its admissions?
One benefit of using a spreadsheet for this information is that it gives you the ability to easily sort by any column you create. For example, you can sort schools by distance from your home, by cost, or by size. You can also filter by any of the columns you create, such as if you just wanted to see a list of schools that have your intended major or have Division 1 sports. Another benefit of using a spreadsheet is the ability to add columns as you choose. track additional information.
At the beginning of your college search process, it helps to add any schools you think of to your spreadsheet. Record the details and explore the school further. Once you start visiting schools, you can start to remove some of the schools from your list based on your likes and dislikes. For example, perhaps you realized that the ideal size for your school is fewer than 2,000 students. In that case, you can remove any school from the list that exceeds that number. Maybe you’ve decided you want to stay within two hours of home – eliminate schools that are further away.
As you begin to narrow down your original list, you can add details to gauge your level of interest in each school. A color coding process can be helpful for this. Use one color to indicate all the schools you plan to visit. Use another color for schools you visited and liked. Add a column to record your overall impressions of each school.
A college search spreadsheet is a great tool to keep you organized throughout your college search and help you choose the ultimate college.