Deciding Which Schools

The first (and in my opinion one of the more difficult) step in the process of applying to college is choosing which schools to apply to. Applications are time-consuming, intensive, and they come with expensive application fees (usually between $50 and $80 per school), so it's important that you are really interested in all of the schools you apply to.

Research is the best thing you can do to help you decide.
Some things to consider:
-What are you interested in studying? Does this school have a good program in that area?
-Where would you like to live? (The city or area a school is located will be a huge part of your college experience.)
-What kind of school would you like (i.e. big, small, public, private, specialized like an art school?)

There are tons of books available that give overviews of different schools, such as the Fiske Guide or the Princeton Review, as well as books with reviews written by current students like The Students' Guide to Colleges.
However, there are also a large number of online resources for learning more about particular colleges. Here are a few that I found useful:
Unigo "College Reviews by College Students:"
Virtual Campus Tours
Zinch (a sort of networking site for students and colleges)
The College Board is actually quite helpful as well
It's also a good idea to look at each college's (that you are considering applying to) own website.

In the end, you should narrow down your list to the top five or ten. It's good to be aware of your standing in the pool of applicants and make sure that you have at least one school on your list that is a safety (you would definitely be accepted). It can be good to have a "reach" school too (one you likely wouldn't get into but would like to).

What's more, visiting a college can completely change your opinion of it. Some schools seem different on paper than in person, and it is good to get a first-hand feeling of each school's atmosphere.
It can be difficult to visit all of the colleges you like before you apply to them, but make sure you visit a school at least once before you decide without a doubt that you want to go there.