Decision Time-Lots of Acceptances

Chances are that by now (for seniors) you are hearing back from many of the colleges that you have applied to. And let's suppose that many of those letters, or calls, or emails, are positive, and you now have been accepted at several institutes.

What should you do? You are going to have to make a decision.

At this stage in the game, with the new college year starting in about 8 months I'll submit three suggestions that might help you.

First—what a great problem to have. Numerous acceptances mean that you are a person that is desired. Good job! Feel good about where you are (and who you are).

Second—gather your information again. Take the schools where you have been accepted and begin the process anew. Are the criteria that you originally used to pare down your list of schools still applicable? If so use it/them again. If you are looking at five, or 10, even 20 schools put together the information that is important (school size, cost, location, etc). And at this point a return visit to the campus (for your top few schools at least) is probably called for.

Visiting a school when you have been accepted is much different than visiting earlier in the process. The pressure is off and you should be able to focus on specific things and gather more information that is of importance to you, and your family.

Third—I am going to suggest you try the most important step in selecting a college (cost aside) that very few recruits use. . . listen to your gut instinct. There are numerous studies, articles, and papers that suggest, and show evidence that when confronted with a significant decision a strategy using gut instinct is often as good or even better of a decision-maker than struggling.

In a recent article in the Boston Globe, Thoughts for Thinkers, the author wrote about using gut instinct:

In a series of studies with shoppers and students, researchers found that people who face a decision with many considerations, such as what house to buy, often do not choose wisely if they spend a lot of time consciously weighing the pros and cons. Instead, the scientists conclude, the best strategy is to gather all of the relevant information -- such as the price, the number of bathrooms, the age of the roof -- and then put the decision out of mind for a while.

I hope you do have a lot of acceptances to shift through. And with some thought and effort (and gut instinct) you might just land the right place for you to go to college.