Ambassador Q&A: How I picked Colleges to Explore? Kartikeye @ University of Wisconsin Madison ¶
By: kkhanna7@wisc.edu on March 7, 2020, 9:31 a.m.
Q0: When did you start the college exploration process?
A: After I had my standardized test scores sorted out. (Start of grade 12)
Q1: Did you know what major you wanted to pursue before started looking at colleges?
A: Yes
Q2: Were you familiar with US Colleges when you started the exploration process?
A: Not very familiar, I had a general idea about schools that were good for my major.
Q3: What were you looking for in your colleges?
A: Good location, good research opportunities and good alumni network.
Q4: Who did you consult with about the colleges to explore and/or the process you followed?
A: My college counselor and my friends and cousins who were studying here in the US
Q5: How long did you explore colleges? How long did the process last before you had your final list of colleges to apply to?
A: College exploration took me about a month.
Q6: How did you know you were done exploring? Did you have a set of criteria that you met?
A: With the help from my counselor, I created a spreadsheet with different parameters. When the colleges in the list checked all my parameters, I knew I was done exploring.
Q7: What criteria did you use to reject the colleges you explored?
A: Anytime a college didn’t fit a desired parameter, I put it to the side and later rejected if it didn’t seem like a college I could see myself going to.
Q8: Any other thoughts or insights about this process you would like to share?
A: If you can see yourself going to a college, you know it is the right college for you. Keep exploring and never just go by rankings.
