College Planning Tutorial: Beginning Your College Search

College Planning Tutorial:
Empowering College-Bound Students

Beginning Your College Search

A discussion of when to begin your college search.

When should you start thinking about where you want to go to college? Whenever you feel ready to do so. Some students start thinking about colleges in their first year of high school while others wait until their junior year... and, which we don't recommend it, some students don't get serious about college choice until their senior year of high school!

We recommend starting the process as soon as you become a high school student. It's a big transition point in your life and a good time to start some early thinking about your future, including where you might like to attend college.

It's never too early to conduct some research, so over the first two years of high school, take a casual interet your college search. When you go on vacations, see if you can make sidetrips to colleges along the way.

Once you hit your junior year, it's time to get serious and use some of the sources we'll discuss on the next few pages of the tutorial.

And, once in your senior year, you'll have narrowed your list of schools and begin the process of applying to your favorites.

But before you get too far ahead of yourself, let's look at some criteria you might use to find schools that best fit you.

Need help with any of the terms described on this page? If so, find the answers in our High School College-Bound and College Planning Glossary.

Return to the main page of the College Planning Tutorial.

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College Planning Tutorial: Empowering College-Bound Students

Beginning Your College Search

A discussion of when to begin your college search.

Have you checked out the rest of the great free career and job-related tutorials offered on Quintessential Careers?

Maximize your career and job-search knowledge and skills! Take advantage of The Quintessential Careers Content Index, which enables site visitors to locate articles, tutorials, quizzes, and worksheets in 35 career, college, job-search topic areas.

College Planning Tutorial:
Empowering College-Bound Students