Apply early, and often. Make sure that you visit the schools you're considering. Try to get a sense of how the campus feels and ask yourself if you could grow and learn in that environment. And make sure you enjoy your senior year of high school along the way.

When I looked at Carleton at first, I was sure I wouldn't get in. The students featured in the admissions materials seemed intimidatingly amazing. Don't limit yourself to those colleges where you think you'll get in easily, because you might be pleasantly surprised. Also, apply to schools that seem interesting to you regardless of how well-known they are – none of my friends had ever heard of Carleton, but now that I'm here, I can't imagine going to an East Coast school that everyone at home would have recognized.

Don't pay attention to US News and World Report college rankings. What matters in a school is personality. If you like the personality of Carleton, or Wash U, or the University of Chicago, or Williams, or Harvard, better than the personality of Princeton, don't pick Princeton because US News and World Report ranks Princeton highest. At this level, you'll get a top-notch education no matter which one you pick. What you want is to get that education in a place where you feel comfortable and at home. No ranking algorithm can tell you where that place is.

When visiting schools, don't get nervous if you don't find that One perfect school for you. If none of your schools say "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ATTEND ME!" That's probably because you'd be happy at many places. What's important is finding the little things - the quirks - that set one small liberal arts college (or one huge university) apart from another.

Visit everywhere you might go and stay overnight. The overnight stay, although it takes the most courage, is the most important. It gives you the best feel for what the students are like, what the food's like, what it's like to live at a place.

Listen to your parents, listen to your peers, listen to your counselor—but also listen to yourself. If you find a school that fits YOU, then follow that intuition. I was hard-pressed to go to Vassar or Cornell by my family—and, even though they are great institutions, they were not the right fit for me.

Make a list about what you're interested in, and keep adding things you are fascinated by until you can't think of anything more. If your list seems long, look at Liberal Arts schools.