Now that it's almost spring, many of the application deadlines for colleges have passed. It is now the time when high school seniors are anxiously awaiting letters of acceptance, and dreading letters of rejection. But what if 10 letters come back and all of them are acceptance letters? Sure, a few of them will be the back ups, the safety school but 5 of them could be top choices. If this be the case, deciding which college to go to depends on many variables.

A few months back these same high school seniors were deciding which schools to apply to answering the following question: what do I want from my college experience? If you have more than one choice, that question needs to be addressed again. Is the school's academic reputation the most important thing to you? Or is being a part of a D1 sports school? If you applied to a few small liberal arts schools and a few big schools, ask yourself again, do you want the ability to be a face in the crowd or do you want the ability to engage with your Professor's daily. You also need to decide how far is too far from home, or how close is too close. And in the same vein, what kind of weather do you want to be exposed to? If you want to get out of the snow, get out! If you can't live without it, go where it is. If you want to wake up and see the ocean every day, choose the appropriate college.

Then you can be more specific in terms of your goals, your future, and your dreams. If you know that you want to be a doctor, then choose the school with the best pre-med program. If you know you are the type of student who likes to have less structure, then a liberal arts curriculum might be the best fit.

The ideas above only pertain to those who applied to different sorts of schools. You can decide if you want to go to a big school or a small school if you applied and were accepted to both kinds. If all of your schools are similar, then evaluate which college had the most of what you wanted. Or when you visited, which felt the most at home. Another great way to cut your list is cost. If your favorite school gave you the least amount of money, you can either send a counter offer, or decide whether or not you want to be paying loans for a few years or for the rest of your life. Paying loans for the rest of your life definitely sounds scary at the age of 17, 18, or 19, but if you really want to go somewhere for many different reasons, remember that a good education and a good environment is good for you and for your future. If your family is helping, all of you have to decide what the school has to offer and if it's worth the money they expect.

Ultimately, make your own decision. Yes, parents are definitely involved, but you need to go where you will be comfortable and happy for four years. It seems rather unfair that you have to choose all over again, but at least you were lucky enough to have a choice in the end. It feels like a big decision because it is. It is a leap of faith, whatever you choose. But many times, your gut instinct is right.