Co-written by Sebastian Zhang.

Each year as fall rolls around, a new group of seniors is introduced to the college application process — deciding which colleges to apply to, requesting recommendation letters, and writing the personal statement. But almost as challenging as filling out the application itself is deciding where to spend the next four years of their life.

How three seniors are deciding where to apply to college

Senior Ameya Pandit

When considering schools, some find the college’s ranking crucial, while others stress a specific environment. Senior Ameya Pandit, who is looking to pursue aeronautical engineering, is basing his decisions mainly on the strength of the engineering programs that colleges offer.

“All the UCs basically have aeronautical engineering, or any engineering. I’m applying to Rochester, which is in New York; it’s really cold, but it’s really good for engineering, which is what I want to go for,” Pandit said. “Purdue, University of Washington, again very good aeronautical engineering schools. They fit the bill.”

Beyond the majors that the schools offer, Pandit is considering location, size, tuition, and, of course, how he is planning to live there without his parents. These, according to Pandit, are the major factors, but he also wants to go to a place which offers extracurriculars and a social setting.

“For example, UC Santa Barbara is next to the beach, so I’d expect to go to the beach, if I get in. It’s a bunch of systematic decisions,” Pandit said.

At MVHS, where there is plenty of competition and pressure to succeed academically, students can often be swayed by the name and prestige of colleges. Top-notch schools such as Princeton and Yale receive an overwhelming number of applicants each year because of their reputation. Many MVHS students strive to attend the high-ranked schools in the country. Pandit believes that the status of a college shouldn’t play a huge role in deciding where to apply to.

“To an extent, yes, [students should care about prestige]. But it shouldn’t be your decision maker,” Pandit said. “It shouldn’t be something that makes your decisions for you, but something that makes decisions easier.”

For Pandit, the name of the university is just a name.

“Prestige doesn’t mean much to me although I know that for some people, it does mean something,” Pandit said. “As long as I have an education that I can use to find a job in the future, I’m better off.”

Senior Daniel Lin

Senior Daniel Lin said that he was raised to look for prestige when searching for colleges, listening to his parents’ suggestions of schools such as Harvard and Stanford. However, as he started to do more serious research and gained a better understanding of his career goals, he no longer cared as much for a school’s reputation, and began looking into other factors.

Lin is considering schools with research programs for economics, such as University of Chicago, rather than schools which offer mainly economic classes.

“Since I’m going to business, I’m starting to focus more on the hands-on stuff or the programs that the college has for me to actually explore,” Lin said. “I think that college is time meant for actually starting my career, and I need to start making that transition from being in the classroom to actually going out to do things.”

Lin also stated a school’s location as an important factor. Because he has lived in California for all his life, he wants to experience something different. He said that big cities in the east coast, such as Chicago and Philadelphia, would be enlightening environments.

Senior Adhiraj Datar

Senior Adhiraj Datar first cited academics as the biggest factor that he considers when choosing colleges. Datar said that he wants a school with an academic culture and learning environment that suits his interest in computer science.

According to Datar, a school’s cost and location are also important factors. Datar pointed to the University of California in Berkeley as an ideal school, but said that when looking at the the more expensive private schools, he would consider financial aid offered and available scholarships. Because Datar wants to stay near his family, he would prefer to attend college in California.

When Datar was presented with the choice between a fitting but less prestigious school and a high-ranked but less fitting school, he said that he could not decide on one.

“I can see both sides, really. My parents would kind of pressure me to go for the more prestigious school. Honestly, I might take the more prestigious one; another day, I might take the more academically suitable one.”