I am now officially a member of that most popular of all age groups: the college-bound. Because I know a lot about the English language and mathematics, colleges all over the country have decided that I am not only bright, but their kind of bright. Most colleges seem convinced that I am a daring young liberal progressive with a cynical wit, a huge work ethic and a competitive streak half a mile wide. "We think you'd do well at a selective school like..." "Here at our school, intelligent students like you..." "The challenges you'll meet here..." Some schools think my heart is more important than my head: "We care about our students." "Here at our school, there are plenty of fun student activities..." "Come visit our community." Some colleges realize that I'm beginning to get jaded by the constant stream of mail. "We know test scores aren't everything." "See for yourself if we're right for you." "This isn't your average piece of college junk mail." Translation: Give us a chance. Find out about us. We're right for you. You know what? I'd love to find out about them. I'd love to visit them, walk their campuses, evaluate each and every one under a microscope. The fact of the matter is, I can't. I can't because I just don't have the time. These colleges like me only because of my scores, my grades, my work ethic, and my school is busy pushing me to deliver on paper after test after homework assignment. I'm doing enough just keeping up my grades as it is. I don't have time to do a "100 Colleges of the World" research paper on the side. I can't because the effort would exhaust me, mentally and physically. I know that if I think I'm jaded now, a month or two of wading knee-deep in college ads will succeed in pushing me over the edge. If I research all of these colleges with the depth that they deserve, by the time I pick a school, I won't want to go to any school. Most importantly, I can't because I don't know what I'm looking for. What is college supposed to be about, anyway? Some of these colleges are telling me that all that matters is my happiness; others are telling me that they can get me good jobs; some are promising rigorous thinking; a rare few swear they will change my life. What is a college supposed to do? Should my school be my second family? My greater high school? My job window? My favorite four years? What? What am I supposed to choose? I've never been to college; how do I know what I want? You know what? If I set aside "cynical" for a moment, I know what I want. I want everything that they are offering me. I want to be able to read and talk about clever things and smart ideas for hours. I want to be able to have fun every weekend and find out about myself. I want to make new friends and expand my horizons. I want to know my professor's name, I want to know what's going on, I want to have a lot of choices, I want a decent job when I graduate. And while I'm looking for all of these things, I am acutely aware that I am looking at food advertisements while hungry and therefore might not pick right. I might pick something pretty and end up eating rotten meat. I don't know what is important. I don't even know what's most important. And I can guarantee you no college is going to fill me in honestly. So I ask you. What do you think is most important in a college search? | 
