Clare
Honestly, the advice that I would give parents and students about finding the right college and making the most of the college experience is to eliminate any preconceived notions you have about college and to arrive on move-in day with a clear head and a clean slate, ready to be written on. Despite all the tours of you may have taken, all the advice from peers and other parents, and all the movies and TV shows you've seen about college life, you're not going to know exactly what your particular school is going to be like until you actually attend. Part of my problem was that as a freshman, I expected to make all these new friends, be incredibly popular and just generally be so happy with my life. Unfortunately, I didn't forsee that making friends at my school was difficult and I once again felt like I didn't fit in. I was miserable. Eventually though, after a failed transfer attempt, I began to love my school. Going off to college is a lot harder than some prospective students realize, but on the converse, it is a lot more fun than they may expect.
Julie
I would advise parents and/or students not to make their decision about finding the right college based on something such as whether or not the college is an all girl's school or not. I originally went to Boston University and I loved it but didn't do well in my classes becasue I was forced to take classes that didn't pertain to my major and I hated them. I didn't even apply to Simmons College becase I was skeptical about going to an all girls school. However, by the time I decided to transfer, I had a boyfriend and no longer cared about going to an all girl's school. It was then that I decided I wanted to transfer to Simmons. After having been at Simmons for a year now, I realized that I shouldn't have ruled it out in the first place becasue it is an excellent school that I can easily excell at. Academics is really the most important factor a school has to offer becasue if you end up at a school that's not right for you academically, it's near impossible to do well.
Chelsey
What helped me really narrow my search for a college was that I had decided on the major of physical therapy and I also decided on the location of Boston. This limited me to a handful of colleges in the Boston area. However I did still apply to some colleges in my home state just in case, as a back up. Once I was accepted into colleges I went back to visit them and really think about what I wanted and which school I would benfit most from. The turning point in my college decision was when I decided to spend a night at Simmons College with a current student. This student and her roommate greeted me with open arms. Showing me around the school and letting me attend their classes with them. I felt very comfortable there and safe. Everyone was friendly and eager to help. After that sleepover I decided that Simmons was the right college for me. I also think that when applying to schools and making a decision you really need to research them and list pros and cons.