You should be actively working on your preliminary list of colleges -- the fifteen to twenty schools that have caught your eye as you have begun your research. Remember the goal is to create a list of schools that will provide you with good choices in your senior year. Each college should be a "first choice" -- campuses with compelling reasons for you to attend. Your list should not consist entirely of highly selective schools or only those colleges with names most familiar to you. There are more than 2,600 four-year colleges and universities, after all. While whittling that number down into the fifteen or twenty that work for you sounds like a big task, it's actually not that hard once you have given some thought to what you want and what the colleges offer. And it can be a lot of fun.

For more information on creating a preliminary list of colleges including tips on research and achieving a list that balances admissibility and cost, see Chapter 8, "Creating an Initial List of Colleges," in College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step. 

Following is an article by Angel B. Perez, vice-president and dean of admission and financial aid at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. Perez offers an eloquent description of the experience of recruiting international students, where as "storyteller-in-chief" he translates the experience and values of an American education for students around the world. A must-read for all who are interested in or curious about why colleges value international diversity. This article originally appeared in The Times Higher Education in the United Kingdom.

I was in South Africa giving a college presentation to young women at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls when I asked if anyone in the audience had questions for me. "Before you came to Africa, Sir, did you believe there were wild animals roaming around in the streets?" asked an eager young woman. As the audience giggled, I laughed and replied, "No I did not, and for my safety, I'm glad to see my beliefs are confirmed."

She was half-kidding, of course, but her interest in the perception of Africa in other countries was genuine. What followed was a powerful conversation about perception versus truth, and how education transforms how we experience each other's cultures.

To do well, follow the advice your parents have been giving you since your first standardized test in elementary school:

• Get a good night’s sleep.

• Eat a good breakfast.

What’s a good breakfast? Your morning meal should have three components: protein, a complex carbohydrate, and fat. Some good choices? Bacon, eggs, and whole- grain toast; peanut butter and jelly or tuna on whole-grain bread; even beef barley soup. No doughnuts, Pop-tarts, or coffee— you might crash from a sugar or caffeine high in the middle of reading comprehension.

College-bound students with Asperger's syndrome face special challenges. Educational psychologist Jane McClure joins us this month to discuss those challenges and how they can be met successfully. Read on for her advice about college visits, easing the transition from high school for such students and more:

You have probably heard the term “Asperger’s” since the diagnosis has become increasingly common over the last ten years.  Asperger’s syndrome (or Asperger disorder) is an autism spectrum disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests, according to experts James McPartland and Ami Klin. Physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language may also be present.   It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of language and cognitive development and is sometimes described as “high functioning autism.”

Many students diagnosed with Asperger’s are very bright and are eager to attend college.  But they may have struggled at various times throughout their academic careers with behavioral, social, organizational or other issues.  Some students continue to have a very rough time during high school, while others have gained an understanding by that time of how they are “different” from other students and have learned how to cope with their uniqueness.