Once junior year rolls around students are thrown into the college application process. Sure there’s another year until you physically have to apply but it’s good to get a head start. But where do you even begin?

College tours.

After finding a couple of schools that you are interested in naturally you should visit them.

College tours are usually student led. They take you around the buildings of campus including dorms, the library, and classrooms. During tours the guides discuss housing, classes and extracurriculars that the school offers.

On these tours the most important thing to do is to ask questions. Don’t be shy. There’s no such thing as stupid questions. Ask them. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Some good questions to ask are; What clubs do you have?, How many people do you have to share dorm bathrooms with?, What are the class sizes?, What study abroad programs do you offer? And many more.

Try to ask other students that you see on campus questions as well. They will give you better, less rehearsed answers than the guides. One question that I always ask is, what made you want to come to this school?

Also when you’re on campus try to have a meal there. Sometimes the guides will give you free meal passes. Utilize them. It’s important to see if you like the food on campus, considering that’s where you will get most of your meals.

Take pictures of the campus. After visiting multiple colleges all of them will begin to swirl together. Take pictures of your favorite buildings and landscapes at each school. This will help you out later when you are deciding what schools to revisit.

Make sure to hit the gift shop on the way out as well. You should be aware of the school’s colors and mascot.

Lastly, after you leave the school process the tour. Think about what you liked and what you didn’t like about it. Write your thoughts about it in a journal. This will also help you when it comes time to revisit your top choices.

There are so many colleges out there, don’t just choose one on a whim. You will spend the next four years of your life at this school, really make sure it’s the one for you.