Kathie Mitich, one of the North campus guidance counselors, has advice for this year’s juniors and seniors on finding the right college.

She says, “Students should visit colleges throughout high school but certainly in junior year. Also, to be perfectly honest, once you have your search narrowed down, I would like you to visit the campus twice.”

Mitich said”the most important thing for a student to do when making a college decision is a college visit.”

Mitich said, “the best way (to visit a college) is to do the official campus tour, but to also go off on your own….sit on a bench and watch the  world go by. How do the students treat each other? Can you see yourself having lunch there? Does it feel right to you? Watch the vibe…does it fit.”

Mitich said, “the primary concern is do they have what you are interested in studying. As much as a student would love a certain university, if they don’t have your major that is probably not going to be a good fit for you.”

Mitich said, “students might want to at least look at three schools: a big, a medium, and a small. You might want to look at an urban area and then you might want to look in an area that’s small.”

Alexis Giampetroni , a senior at Arrowhead, says when looking for a college she looks at “student size, the campus size, and how far away it is from home. Also where are the buildings are for your major and how the dorms are, especially how the dorms are.”

There are some things to consider when looking at a college that might narrow down your choice.

“Finances you always want to take a look at that…You should always look at that fit with no financial help, with no scholarships, no assumptions. How would that feel for you financially and your family.”

“From my view, you should also know who is on that campus and who are you. For example you might get a 26 on your ACTs and you  go to a school where the average ACT score is 21. Academically that school might be too easy for you. And same goes for the reverse…you might want to look at the average GPA there and compare it too your GPA and make sure you would fit into that environment academically,” Mitich said.

Giampetroni says her advice to students looking for colleges is” be realistic about how much school costs and also how close you are to home.. so that you’re far enough from home to have freedom but close enough to visit.”

Arrowhead’s guidance office has information on hundreds of Universities to help students find the perfect fit for them.

“ We have several computer systems to help narrow down your search…we also have lots of books that tell the good the bad and the ugly  about each college. It tells you a little about the environment and the financial aid pieces. You could also google and you could get an idea on what’s out there,” said Mitich