5. Location

Location. Location. Location! Any business knows that location is everything. With this in mind, colleges and universities are businesses, but their approach towards sales does not really rely on foot traffic to attract customers. For that reason, I am placing location in the middle of this list.

Yet it is worth considering if you would prefer to go to a college in a happening big city, quaint college town, or tranquil rural community. I tend to think that location will also influence what extracurricular activities you can enjoy OFF campus, such as cultural events. I also suggest—and maybe it’s the Californian in me—that location will influence weather, and that may influence whether you like being someplace nine months out of the year.

For example, when I was deciding where to go, my cousins encouraged me to apply to Columbia. They both attended and LOVED it. It is a great university. It is worth mentioning that my cousins are New York City natives and, as with most New Yorkers, NYC is the center of their universe, whether people admit it or not. My mom’s side of the family is all from New York, so I was intrigued, but I thought such a big city would overwhelm me.

Looking back, I think I would have liked being in New York because I would have had family nearby, a lot of cultural activities to enjoy, and a diverse city to explore. The weather leaves a lot to be desired, in my Californian opinion, but the winter brought all the students from the western states together, especially Hawaiians and Californians. Yes, we were weather wimps and proud of it.

While I prioritized academics and reputation, many of my high school friends put location on the top of the list because they wanted to go somewhere where they could have fun in the sun seven days a week, 365 days a year. A few of my friends attended U.C. Santa Barbara, where they got to party hearty and enjoy a year-round tan (but I have heard that UCSB has since cracked down on the Mardi Gras scene).