You need to think about what YOU want… Here are some questions to get you started:

– what program do you want to major in?

– what extra curricular activities would you like to participate in? (sports, theater, music, clubs, etc.)

– what size of a school works best for you? (Large school with lots of people, or a smaller school with more personal attention and smaller class sizes)

– what location do you want to be in? (How far from home?)

– where do you want to live? (on campus, at home with the parents, in your own off-campus apt)

– what services do you need or want from the college? (Do you have special education needs, or mental health issues? Is it important to you to be at a campus with a comprehensive health services clinic?)

Once you answer these questions, then you can start looking for a school that suits you. You need to decide what you’re looking for, then find the schools that meet those criteria. Your guidance counselor at school can help. You should also schedule visits to some of the schools to get a feel for what the atmosphere is like and whether it suits your needs.

also, naviance (google it) is a college-help thing online. collegeboard.com is helpful as well for narrowing your search.

and, remember that you can transfer if you really hate the college, so it is not such a life-or-death thing as people make it seem.

as for sats, i was really surprised by how well i did–that’s another thing that people make a big deal out of but it’s not that bad. If you’re anxious about it, get a prep book and go through it in the months/weeks beforehand. Get lots of sleep the day/night/week before you take the test (i think that’s the main thing that helped me!)

Plus, you can retake it if you want.

mainly, keep on top of your grades. college matters more in senior year when you are applying. right now just read your mail, glance through websites, do some visiting if you have time.

good luck!

have some fun too, don’t let junior year swallow your life 🙂

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/index.html

and doing a search. You can look up things like tuition, housing, degrees offered, etc.

Also, they have SAT prep workshops–and they are the ones who write the SATs!