All the regular stuff. 
Even in the best of times it is tricky to know where to start in coming up with your preliminary college list. Poor list-making often means finding  yourself at a college where you are unhappy, and immediately thinking about dropping out or transferring. This situation can have negative long term effects, and in the short run, cost you time and money.

Do you know the average time to a bachelor’s degree? Because of various kinds of mismatches, whether academic or personal, it is a little over 6 years. It's an indication of the generally poor job many students do in researching and organizing their college list.

A common mistake is to come up with a college based on a single attribute that is largely irrelevant when it comes to your academic and personal preferences. Choosing colleges based on such things as, “I saw their football team on TV and there was a lot of school spirit,” or “My uncle went there.” “It has nice weather most of the year,” or “One of their professors won the Nobel Prize,” is not the way to come up with a good list.

A far better method is to cast a wide net, initially starting with a list of a dozen or more colleges. Actively engage in college discussions with everyone you can think of - parents, relatives, neighbors, high school friends, teachers, guidance counselors, and in particular, anyone you know who is currently in college. In addition, many colleges and higher education Web sites have chat rooms where you can “speak” directly with students at the schools you are interested in.

Use a college search program, and see what it comes up with. Whenever you hear the name of a college that sounds like it might be the school for you, go on the College Board Web site and look at the detailed statistics where you can find out a great deal about the school – characteristics of the student body, admission requirements, courses and majors, costs, financial aid, etc. If the college passes this screen, go its website and poke around. It’s amazing how much you can learn about a college online, including in most cases the ability to take a video tour of the campus. It is the next best thing to an actual visit, and much less expensive. 

In the early stages of organizing your list, if you find yourself traveling near a college that might be of interest, take a quick look. Ninth and tenth grades are good times for getting an early impression of the type of environment where you will be comfortable. Once your list is narrowed, usually in the 11th grade, you can schedule a more official visit with an admission session and campus tour.