I remember when I was considering buying my first house. It was pretty exciting to think about — and a little intimidating. I absolutely made some rookie mistakes.

I remember before I went to see a mortgage officer, I looked at the price of a house and divided it into 30-year payments. I thought that’s how a mortgage worked. So when I met with a mortgage officer, I was highly disappointed to learn there were a lot of expenses I had not accounted for and therefore could afford far less house than I realized.

Once that was sorted out, my realistic budget determined what I should and should not look at. Then I got to go around and visit houses in my price range.

I remember seeing the first one and thinking, “This is great!” — until I saw the second one and realized the first one had a really awkward kitchen. Another one was at an amazing price, but the neighborhood was not so amazing.

And the process went on like that; each house teaching me something about what I did and didn’t like. In the end, I did not get my perfect house, but I absolutely made an informed choice and avoided some serious regrets.

College tours are very similar. The more places you see, the better you understand what you’re really looking for.

It begins to sink in that while every college offers a degree, the structure behind how they do that and the experience can be quite different from school to school.

For example, at some schools, students compete fiercely with one another, while in other places, students compare themselves to their own potential and are more collaborative.

Some schools emphasize research, while others emphasize hands-on experience.

There is an endless list of things you don’t even think about in the beginning of the process, but college visits can teach you.

It doesn’t even have to be a school you are serious about. Just go with an open mind and build your “must have” or “deal breaker” criteria list. 

And then come the “aha!” moments.

One of the best parts of my job is when a student ends up at a university they had never heard of when we started the process. It happened this week.

A student had applied to the University of Nevada, Reno, and it was a pretty likely school for her. Oftentimes, students dismiss their likely schools as not serious contenders because of their high admission rates and assumed lower prestige. Then she toured. 

The school was incredible. She loved the school spirit.

They invited her into the cadaver lab (few schools have these for undergraduates, and if you’re interested in medicine, it’s really valuable); they gave her a generous financial aid package; she met the person who would supervise her as a trainer in the athletics program; she met professors in the honors college; and the list goes on.

By the end of the day, she was sold. But, at the beginning of the process, she never would have guessed that school would be her final choice.

If you’re planning to apply to college in the future, go visit schools now.

Do your window shopping so when you’re ready to apply, you’re applying to schools that make sense for what you want. And you will know what you want because you have seen the options.

Don’t trust the rankings, the admission rate, or the prestige factor to give you all the answers. Use those critical thinking skills and find what works best for you specifically, and the school that will value you for exactly who you are.

You are not only looking for a degree but also for the experience that will add value to it.