How to Choose the Right College

Brayan Sanchez was accepted to a handful of colleges, some in New York City and some elsewhere in the state. As the first member of his family to attend college, distance was a key factor in deciding where to enroll.

Other things that mattered? Financial aid was a big consideration. And then there was the intangible feeling of the place.

"I caught a feel of the campus and, like, the school itself, and I see myself there for four years," said Sanchez, a senior at Civic Leadership Academy in Queens. 

Yesenia Garcia-Fortuna is a college program manager at the Boys Club of New York where Sanchez participates in college-support programs and tutors younger kids in math. She said she always includes the family in the college application process, and tries to allay people's fears about the costs.

"A lot of folks go into this process not understanding what access there is to funds out there," she said. "I think sometimes families discount schools thinking they're not going to be able to afford the sticker price."

Sanchez, for one, is taking advantage of the Educational Opportunity Program offered by the State University of New York.