As we grow and progress through our academic high school journey, the most pressing decision that we are faced with is college. Many people feel the need to plan out every single aspect of their life, like figuring out what profession they're going to go into during their freshman year of high school or planning for their retirement when they just got out of college. Although planning is necessary, excessive planning can be detrimental to our personal well-being and growth. Learning is part of life, and the best kind of learning takes place when we learn from our mistakes and failures. 

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Before you begin applying to colleges, you should create a list. This list should contain two things, the college and the reason why you want to attend that college if you get accepted. Now, here is where a lot of students make a huge mistake. When told to state a reason for attending a certain college, many students simply say because they are interested in a specific subject area and believe that college has the best program to offer. Unfortunately, that's not going to cut it. 

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When picking colleges to apply to, you need to take a series of factors into consideration such as:

• College Size

• Location 

• Major (complexity and quality)

• Academic Life

• Social Life

• Path for the Future

• Finances

• Environment

• Pre-med Advising

• Good medical school acceptance rate

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There is a common misconception among parents and students that in order to attend medical school, a student must attend a top tier-one college, or else they're going to fail and will never be able to pursue a career in the medical field. However, that is far from true! It may help a student if you attend a top university for their undergraduate studies and then apply for medical school, but there are an infinite number of ways a student interested in medicine can pursue a career in the field. The factors listed above play a critical role in a student's success in college, which will eventually determine their success in medical school. 

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We won't go into the depths of it right now, but the main point is that when a student attends college, in addition to the knowledge they gain, they will also be growing as a person. During those years, students will be exposed not only to academic environments but also to the society around them, forcing them to recognize and acknowledge the reality of what the world is really like. In this process, students may change their minds one way or another, which is why selecting the college you decide to attend is extremely important. You want to make sure you are providing yourself with the best environment for you, a place where you can shine and accomplish all of your dreams and goals. 

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