Now that the Web is ubiquitous, every school has a website, be it public/private, large/small, specialty/non-specialty, two year/four year, co-ed/gender specific, etc. That makes the Web your best bet to view all your possible schools on one screen at the same time to compare and contrast their promotions and endorsements. Before logging on, think What do I want to do with my life? Then use the sites below to find out which schools are best suited to helping you get there. The best place to start is Kaplan. It is an easy website to navigate. In the Kaplan Decision Guides, you can surf the College search engine by choosing from location, campus setting, academics, admissions, cost, student life, sports, and overall opinion. It will calculate your preferences and give you a listing of schools that meet your given criteria. If your search comes up with more than one school, you can compare them side by side -- definitely easier on the eyes than tons of catalogs sprawled all other the kitchen table. After selecting my criteria, it listed three schools. The same three schools that I applied to in my senior year. Very efficient. For a more social categorizing of schools, check outoxfordjournals.org/. This site for teens offers many tools, such as advice from real college students. Check out the life section for diary entries about first-time college experiences. Each week it features a top 10 list of the best and worst schools compiled by The Princeton Review in a variety of categories such as party hardy schools, lots of beer schools, Greek life, tree huggers, dorm life, and other "important" social aspects official catalogs neglect in their descriptions. Virtual Tours After choosing several schools to pursue, you should go to the official websites. You can use your typical Web search engine or go directly to specific college search engines to save yourself some time.College Locator offers a direct route to official college or university websites as long as you know the name and location. Princeton Review alpha listing of colleges sends you to the site's ranking of the college. If the college ranking is important to you check this out. It will save you time and energy to see all the information you want in black and white when you are trying to make a decision and don’t want to navigate the entire college site. The URLs for the official websites are also listed for quick reference. Many schools offer virtual tours through the Campus Tours site in minute-by-minute live Web cams set up strategically throughout the campus. You can see the action (or inaction) as it unfolds, or hear the school’s anthem. Some sites offer better virtual tours but your computer must have the QuickTime plug-in to see them. These modes and accessories are good, but your best bet is to visit the school and experience the beauty or decay for yourself. And, ultimately, content is more important than campus beauty. I decided to go to Smith without ever visiting it -- though the brochures were pretty, my decision boiled down to what they could offer me in the quality of education. Applying You can always use a common application instead of waiting for the personalized stationery to be sent to you. Guidance counselors always have copies handy for you. There are plenty of schools that offer online applications too at CollegeNet.com and CollegeLink.com. The applications are secure documents so your information will be protected. CollegeNet also offers free financial aid service with general-to-specific answers to questions you might have. It even offers a CollegeNet scholarship to those who use the site. Just because the Web is faster don’t let it make you over-apply yourself. Choosing and applying to a school is such an overwhelming experience that you still want to be careful and focus on a select number. Plus you still have to pay the application fee, and the online applications only accept credit cards. I only applied to three schools after researching about 15, and I was very happy with the results. Make this a thorough process and start getting information as soon as possible. The end of sophomore year is a good time, but don't wait any later than the second quarter of junior year -- especially if you plan to apply early decision.