By Amelia Lipcsei
After spending hours applying to schools, and countless time writing college essays, I have learned that doing research is truly the most important process of the college application process. I applied to 26 schools, and of those 26 I researched close to none. And while this did help me refrain from having a “dream school,” it also meant that I wasted so much time and money applying to schools I would never go to. I did the math, and 26 schools (with an around $70 application fee per school) meant that I spent around $2000 just applying for schools. On top of that, with the excessive amount of schools I applied to, I wasted so much time working on irrelevant applications. Had I spent more time researching the schools (and not just their rankings), I would have probably cut at least 10 of the schools I applied to off of my list. So, when you’re working on making your college list, make sure you add schools that you think you will be truly happy at. Focus on the academics, but also on the social life, the surrounding area, the job opportunities, the weather, and anything else that is important to you. You will save so much time and money if you do your research!