Write down your limitations. Before you start reviewing the lists of undergraduate programs, write down the things absolutely necessary for you. This may include budgetary restrictions, location, and whether online classes are offered. If you plan to study a specific area in business such as marketing or finance, be sure to include the fact that a marketing or finance degree is offered.
Write your wish list. For example, if starting salary is important to you, write down your desired first year annual salary. Perhaps you'd like attend a business program with a strong internship program, or one that has a lot of graduates recruited by a company you especially admire.
Gather the necessary documentation. There are several lists that rank business programs. The most well-known is the listing of the best undergrad B-Schools by "Bloomberg Businessweek." There are also rankings such as Best Value Colleges from "USA Today" and Best Colleges according to "U.S. News & World Report," which ranks according to different criteria. If there are some colleges you already know you'd like to check out, contact them or go to their website and ask for their prospective student packet.
Choose between 10 and 20 business programs that meet your minimum criteria. At this point, you may see something about a particular institution that especially interests you. For example, you may find out that the foremost authority on financial fraud is one of the professors on staff at a particular college. Add it to your wish list as a reminder to look to see if the other colleges you've chosen have the same thing.
Rank the business programs according to your wish list. Pull out your list rank each college according to your wish list. Use a 1 for "does not have this item" and a 5 for "the best one of the bunch." You may have to dig into the college's websites or make a phone call or two to determine if a program has what you want. For example, a student interested in majoring in marketing may want to procure an internship at a top advertising firm. Finding out which program best accommodates this desire might mean talking to some former students. Don't be afraid to ask officials at the colleges for some contacts for this purpose.
Schedule a campus visit of your favorites. There's no beating the feel of a campus visit. The welcoming manner of other students and faculty, the dorm room setups, and the "feel of home" are important factors that you cannot gauge unless you visit. Be sure to attend some of the business classes offered to see if the professors' teaching skills fit your learning profile. If a college just doesn't feel right or the business classes don't excite you, it isn't right for you, no matter how good it looks on paper.
Apply to your colleges. Most application fees range between $20 and $100. Apply to at least two you have a good chance of getting into, one you probably will not get into and two where the probability of acceptance is 50 percent. Getting into a business program may require an essay about your career aspirations. If you do not have a particular career in mind, your essay should focus on why you have chosen business as your topic of study and how a business degree will help you achieve success.