Campus crusade Examine your options early when picking a college By Jason Effmann COPLEY NEWS SERVICE    If you've seen the T-shirt making its way across college campuses that reads "College -- a bar with a $20,000 cover," you might want to read on.    Choosing which college to attend has often been a source of great excitement and intrepidity for students and their families. While the number of opportunities seems to increase each year, so does tuition.    Help is everywhere, however; there are dozens of independent books and Web sites dedicated to hunting down the right academic institution to fit the whole family. And high school guidance counselors are ready when students have questions or don't know where to start. College fairs put students face to face with directors of admissions who answer questions and help get the application ball rolling.    Many times, the juniors and seniors on hand at a college fair have traveled alone or in packs with friends, and nary a parent is seen. Often, regardless of how deeply involved the family is in the college-selection process, the decision is still the child's.    MAKING THE DECISION    "I generally get students to start thinking, minimally, during the summer between their junior and senior year," said Phil Parks, a guidance counselor. "I get them to really start thinking about it their senior year. They should have the applications in to their possible colleges by Thanksgiving or Christmas."    No matter how much the importance of a good value and a strong liberal arts education is embossed into the recesses of a high school senior's brain, inevitably other determining factors creep in when looking for schools.    "I'm directing him to a warm climate so he can play golf," Patrick Bartel half-jokes with his son, Adam, a junior. "He's got two years to decide. He needs to get his GPA and his class rank up and his handicap down, and he's got it made."    Students should not just think about cost and majors, said Parks, they should be thinking about what environment will most make them happy. A lot of kids want to go to the University of California at Los Angeles, but they don't consider the travel expense or the fact they will get to see their parents once a year, if they get to see them at all, he said.    "Size is important, too. Some kids need a nurturing environment a small college offers," he said. "Others can go off on their own to a 20,000 or 30,000 student body and get along and find the nurturing atmosphere they need."    GETTING STARTED EARLY    For juniors, now is as good a time as any to start shopping around. Most students take the college entrance tests in the spring of their junior year. By the time fall of their senior year rolls around, if they're still interested in improving their scores on those tests, the number of schools should be whittled down to a reasonable size so that test scores may be directly sent to those they're applying to.    Satisfactory test scores aren't the only thing colleges are looking for in students, however. Diversity and balance are words often mentioned by recruiters and admissions representatives when asked what they look for.    "It's sort of a process of who not to take as much as who to take," said Adam Baron, admissions counselor at Wheaton College in Illinois. "There's not a science in creating a well-rounded class of freshmen."    Wheaton's 550 entering freshmen do have high standards to live up to. The average ACT score is anywhere from 27 to 31, and 90 percent of last year's freshman class had 4.0 grade-point averages in high school on a 4-point scale.    "We try to consider all students," said Christy Montgomery, recruitment and outreach coordinator for Iowa State University. "It's a big school, and we promote diversity. We look at students on the low end and the high end as well -- as long as they're admissible."    For Iowa State, that means a score of 17 on the ACT and a class rank that puts the applicant in or around the top 50 percent. No essay required.    "We get 30, 40, 50,000 applications a year. We don't want to read that many essays," Montgomery said.    There are times when parents should, and do, put their foot down, namely when the topic of finances and distance from home come up.    Parks said students should feel free to apply to more expensive colleges. The college may prepare a financial aid package that makes the cost of attending an out-of-state or private college as inexpensive as attending a state university. But, parents should think about all four years, not just the first year.    "If it's expensive and hard to manage the first year, it will be just as expensive the following year, if not more," Parks said. He pointed out most colleges increase their tuition on an annual basis, so students should ask if their grants will go up comparatively.    NARROWING THE CHOICES    Parks said students should use the resources available to them to acquire information, then begin the elimination process by matching the profile of a desirable school to the schools they've received information from.    Parks recommends students use "Barron's Profiles of American Colleges," a book that contains one to 1 1/2-page descriptions of every college in America.    Looking at what the school requires of its candidates for admission should also weed out some considerations. By that time, the number of schools should be around 20, and the information gathering can begin again.    Then they should look at the financial information, tuition costs, housing, transportation, and use it to limit their choices to a reasonable group. Remember, it's still all right to apply to that one special expensive college, and students should also apply to the inexpensive "fall-back" college say some guidance counselors.    "I don't make many unequivocal statements," said Parks, "but I do have one, students must visit the college before they make a final decision."    He said a student can tell a lot just from being on campus, they can feel if this is someplace they will be happy. Many colleges offer visit days for potential students on holidays such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day.    TIPS FOR THE COLLEGE SEARCH    -- Start early. List colleges. Don't wait until your senior year to take the SATs -- you may want to take them again.    -- Use the Internet to find out about colleges, financial aid, even take virtual campus tours (http://www.collegequest.com).    -- Evaluate your academic profile. Include your grade-point average, class ranking, SAT scores and advanced placement classes.    -- Think about what you want in a college: majors, athletics, cultural activities, etc.    -- Do research. Check out the college's Web site, read its online newspaper to get a feel for the school.    -- Talk to people. Use Internet forums and e-mail to chat with other students, alumni, faculty and college admissions officers.    -- Visit the campus. Take notes and prepare for the admission interview. Ask questions.    -- Organize applications. Note the deadline and start early on the essay.    -- Look into financial aid and scholarships. Get advice from your guidance counselor and use online tools.    -- Apply to five to eight colleges. Aim high, but include a school where you're confident you'll be accepted.    Millions of high school seniors face the daunting college admissions process each year. CollegeQuest (http://www.collegequest.com), the most comprehensive Web site of its kind, provides a one-stop solution for each step of the process: finding colleges and scholarships, preparing for SAT/ACT tests, applying for admission, tracking deadlines and even qualifying for financial aid.    The Web site has been created by Peterson's. Peterson's has been providing the academic, consumer and professional communities with books, software and online services in support of lifelong education access and career choice for over 30 years.