How do I choose which college to apply to?

This is difficult, especially when you don't have prior knowledge of the college system - I personally had no idea what it was until I went to an open day. So before you even start considering colleges, it's best to make sure you understand what actually happens in college. The key thing to remember here is that your academic life is the responsibility of your subject's faculty, not your chosen college. With the exception of some tutorials/supervisions, your course will not be influenced by your college; you will study the same content, attend the same lectures/classes/practicals, and sit the same exams, regardless of which college you go to. Therefore, it's not generally advised to choose your college based on their academic reputation. Choosing a college strategically by admissions stats is also not advised, since they vary year on year and can be misleading if they include students who have been pooled from other colleges.So what SHOULD you base your decision on? It depends what is most important to you. I found it helpful to look around and get a 'feel' for the general atmosphere, but one of my friends wanted to focus completely on the accommodation, and one chose his college because it had the highest proportion of state school students. Things you should consider when choosing your college include; rent prices, location, food, societies, gender ratio, attractiveness, sports teams, size and facilities, since these are all things which vary from college to college. However, many students are pooled to different colleges than the ones to which they originally applied, and everyone comes to love their own college, so it's not something to stress about. If you really can't decide, you can also make an open application.