As soon as you start thinking of schools you may be interested in researching during your college search, you should start keeping track of them˳ A spreadsheet is a useful tool to keep track of colleges and narrow down to the list of those you want to seriously consider˳
You will want to include the following basic information on your spreadsheet:
1˳ School Name
2˳ School Location – city and state
3˳ Number of students
4˳ Cost to attend
You will also want to add additional information that is important to you˳ Some examples are:
• How many miles is the school from home or what is the estimated driving time?
• What types of scholarships might you be eligible for?
• Does the school have a major you think might be your first choice?
• When are visit days available?
• What special programs does the school have that you are interested in – honors program, study abroad, leadership program, etc˳
• What athletic division is the school?
• Does the school have a varsity sport you are interested in?
• How selective is the school in its admissions?
One benefit of using a spreadsheet for this information is that it gives you the ability to easily sort by any column you create˳ For example, you could sort the schools by distance from home, by cost, or by size˳ You can also filter by any of the columns you create, like maybe you want to only see a list of schools that have your intended major or have Division 1 athletics˳ Another benefit of using a spreadsheet is the ability to add columns as you decide to track additional information˳
At the start of your college search process, it is helpful to add any school you think of to your spreadsheet˳ Record the details and explore the school further˳ Once you start visiting schools, you can start eliminating some of the schools on your list according to your likes and dislikes˳ For example, maybe you realized that your ideal school size is less than 2,000 students˳ In that case, you can eliminate any schools on the list that exceed that number˳ Maybe you have decided you want to stay within two hours of home – eliminate any schools that are farther away˳
As you start narrowing down your original list, you can add detail to gauge your interest level in each school˳ A color-coding process can be helpful for this˳ Use a color to signify all schools you plan to visit˳ Use another color for the schools you visited and liked˳ Add a column to record your overall impressions of each school˳
A college search spreadsheet is a great tool to keep you organized throughout your college search and help you in making your ultimate college choice˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Creating-a-College-Search-Spreadsheet&id=7410311
