I’ll outline the college admissions process for you.

(TL;DR at bottom)

1. What do you want to major in? Even if you don’t pick a specific major (or
career), you should still have an idea of where you want to head. If you don’t, a
good idea is to look at your strengths in middle and high school.

Are you good at math? Perhaps a STEM (science, technology, engineering,

mathematics) major or finance major would be your best choice. Are you creative
or artistic? Perhaps a liberal arts major would be your best choice. Are you
interested in the legality of everything? You should check out a pre-law track.

If you have just a vague idea of what you want to pursue, such as a “general STEM
major”, skip to step 3.
2. Once you know the general field you want to pursue, look at colleges that have
good programs in that particular field. For some fields, especially the pre-
professional tracks (pre-law, pre-med, business), you need to go to the top
undergraduate schools to go to the top grad schools. University of Pittsburgh is
good for pre-med, Harvard is good for pre-law, etc. Good places to look for
“good” schools are national rankings (although they have their own flaws).
3. Out of the top schools you chose, start picking ones that you feel like you would
fit in the most. To accomplish this step, you need to do a lot of research, such as
looking at the colleges’ websites, asking for them to send you information, going
on campus tours, etc. Ask current students what a typical day (or week) is like. If
you had upperclassmen in high school go somewhere you are considering, ask
them what it’s like (obviously, they might be a little biased, but you can always get
some good information from them).

Another thing you might need to consider while looking at schools is their cost.

Going to college is not cheap, unless you’re getting a full ride (as an athlete, or
through a scholarship or grant). First, know that the “ticket price” (what
their total cost is) is sometimes not going to be your final cost. Scholarships,
grants, loans, etc can lower this cost significantly. However, if you don’t want to
take out loans and such, consider looking at some cheaper schools. Second, know
that private schools, although their ticket prices are generally higher than those of
public schools, are generally more generous when it comes to scholarships. For
example, the University of Southern California gives out plenty of merit-based
scholarships, although its ticket price is around $60k.
4. At this point, you might have a list of roughly 5 to 20 colleges. I recommend by
the end of your junior year in high school that you narrow this list down to
around 8–10 collegs. You shouldn’t have more than 12 colleges on your list (unless
you can handle the number of applications - note that some schools, such as the
University of California system, have a general system that takes your application
 and sends it to all of the schools in the system that you want to apply to, so you’re
applying once but to multiple schools). I’ve known friends who applied to 2 or 3
colleges. It’s your pick, but generally it’s nice to have a wide selection (unless your
first choice is a guarantee admit).
5. In the summer before your senior year, work thoroughly on your admissions
essays for every college. There are a bunch of tips online on how to write excellent
college essays. Some of my tips are:

a. Write about your true self. Some people try to display themselves as this hero,
but in reality, their essay doesn’t accurately portray that. Admissions officers (AOs)
can easily see through it. Don’t write what you think AOs want to hear; write about
what makes you you.

b. Write and revise. Write and revise. I wrote at least 10 different essays (some of
them were short answers), but I probably wrote about 8 different essays for some
of them. There will be things that you will want to get perfect that you won’t even
catch on a good day. This is why I’m saying to start writing in the summer - this
way, you won’t be worrying about a deadline for your essays come November or
December.

Note that I’m including this because some people decide which colleges to include
based on how “hard” their essays are. Frankly, I think it’s a lame excuse if that’s the
only reason not to include a college in your list.
Finally, home stretch. At the beginning of your senior year, have your English teachers or
some friends read through your essays. These should be top notch and ready to go by the
time November rolls around. I finished my essays by the end of September, and I was
sending in applications come early October. The trick to the admission process is to not
procrastinate. It’s a rough process for some people, but you can make it easier on yourself
by spreading the work out (and essays take the most work). Then sit back, and relax.

TL;DR-

Here’s a list of what categories to look at when considering a college (it may be different for
different people, but it’s a comprehensive list):

1. Cost (look at how much financial aid, scholarships, and grants they give, and
whether you can afford the net price)
2. Location (proximity to home, weather, urban/rural, college town/city, etc.)
3. Academics (rankings, fame, etc.)
4. Athletics (for athletes mostly, or for those die-hard fans)
5. Clubs/Organizations (IM sports, your high-school-clubs-upgraded-to-college,
etc.) - this keeps you involved
6. Greek Life (for those who want to party on the weekends…or even on the
weekdays)
7. Political Spectrum - most college kids are liberal, but there are definitely some
colleges that are very liberal (CA colleges) and those who are conservative (military
schools)