Visit the school "That's the most important thing," says Fordham's Cindy Vojtech. "If you're a prospective varsity athlete, meet the coach and try to get a feel for the community that you may be part of."

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Don't get caught up in name brands "To think that you have to attend Stanford or Harvard or Princeton is ludicrous," says Stanford's associate admissions director Joan Lippman. "There are so many places to find fulfillment at the collegiate level. Make the best decision for you." Vojtech seconds that. "When I first told my California friends where I was going, they'd say, 'Florida?' " she recalls. "No, Fordham,' I'd answer. 'Where's that?' They all know now."

Be realistic "I wasn't a Division I basketball talent coming out of high school," says Korey Coon, who was named outstanding Division III student-athlete basketball player in his senior season at Illinois Wesleyan. "I went somewhere that fit me and my skill level."

Follow your heart "Nobody in Division I-A recruited me out of high school, and look where I ended up," says Pat Eilers, who transferred from Yale to play football at Notre Dame. "You can't listen to what anyone else says. It's better to fail than never to try."

Finally, give yourself — and your school — a chance "I know that mentally I couldn't have handled being a varsity athlete when I was a freshman," says Michael Smoron, a Notre Dame grad. "As I acclimated to campus and college life, though, I learned how to balance studies with sports. It takes time."

"There is no right answer for everyone," cautions Eilers. "But you have to make a choice. Make it and then make the most of opportunity." Or, as former New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Good advice — and from a guy who never even attended college.

Source: TIME/The Princeton Review's The Best College For You 2001