User blog comment:Forestpaw13/Graham Crackers/@comment-5342796-20141230002238/@comment-1333071-20141230193206

I literally always have marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers on hand... with some meat skewers. And when I'm in the mood I make some s'mores over the stove. ;)

Yeah! When you're looking at colleges, look at the ACADEMICS first. After all, you're looking for a place to spend four years learning about your major. Pick a school that has great reviews for your major of choice, and that might have notable graduates in the field. After you have a list, look at student life. Is it a small university or a big one? what's the student-to-faculty ratio? What do students say about the university, what do parents say? What is living there like? Is it in a city or is it rural? Are you looking for greek life, parties, studying abroad, etc etc? Know what you want. When you find some universities you think you'll like, VISIT. (EMPHASIS ON VISITING.) When you're there, ask questions about everything. Ask about your tour guide (if it's a student) and about his/her experience so far. Most likely you'll get a really rehearsed answer, but it's nice to be able to ask questions about his/her experience as a freshman, did he/she feel prepared, how did the school do at orientation, etc etc (since those are the make-it-or-break-it parts of college, since they're literally at the beginning). When you're visiting, try to picture yourself there. Can you see yourself in the dining hall, eating lunch on the run or dining with your friends? Can you see yourself walking on the sidewalk on the way to class, or driving your friends to your favorite restaurant in the town nearby? If YES, will you be happy doing it? Do the smile test: when you smile at random students, how often do they smile back? If it's disturbingly low, keep that in mind. Also keep in mind the weather. I'm a lot less likely to smile at a potential student when it's raining or if I'm weighed down by a ton of homework.

To be honest, I found my school when my mother dragged me there. I had absolutely no interest in my school whatsoever before I went. The tour guide was an admissions counselor, because the student tour guides hadn't been trained yet that year since it was the first day of classes. The tour guide was talking about traditions and I just remember it clicking: I could be studying under that tree on a sunny day. I could be taking pictures with my friends in front of that building. I could be living here and taking a class in that classroom and driving to town to get groceries. I could be a tour guide, even. And I was lucky enough to find the academics worked for me, and that my GPA would easily let me in.

Tips for visiting: pick a day where classes are in session, and that the weather is good. Schedule a private tour. You can totally go to an open house, but that's when you're gonna get slammed with ads and stuff. You want a REAL look inside actual life at the university. Even better: find an older friend or whatever that goes there, and if you're really starting to get interested, ask to spend the night or to spend the day or something. (But you're a bit young to do that.)

And apply early on. Early decision/admission show schools that you really are interested, and if you don't get in, you have time to look at other schools, too. :) but you're not there yet, so don't worry!

That was a wall of text, so here's the TL;DR: look at academics, then visit. Picture yourself there. And you'll be fine. :)

But don't worry yet, bro, just keep your grades up and find an extracurricular. Practice writing. Volunteer a lot. The world will open itself up to you. (tip: don't do a whole bunch of random extracurriculars. dedicate yourself to one! Schools like seeing three or four years of commitment and a leadership position.)

Okay, fork out. :)