the "right" enrollment decision comes from yourself, not any consultants, family members, friends, etc...
I am a big supporter of attending the admitted students weekends that each school puts on, even if some schools ask you to turn in a deposit earlier than another school's admit weekend. If that's the case, either ask for an extension (many schools will give you 2-3 weeks if you give them a good reason, such as you're trying to make a very important decision in your life and want to get all the info possible) or eat the $1000 deposit since in the grand scheme of things, $1000 is nothing compared to picking the "wrong" school.
Attend the admit weekends, talk to alums (ask students or career center for some contacts, most schools are good with giving you these contacts), talk to students, sit in on more classes, talk to career center, talk to admissions office, talk to the program office (the people who run the school when you're enrolled), talk to the financial aid office, just talk talk talk to people. Go to the school and spend a day there, hanging out with a student or just roam around yourself. Put yourself into the situation as if you were going to that school.
once you do your research, you will probably have a good gut feeling of which school is best for you. Many of us had that moment last season when we just "knew" that a school is made for us. Some of us made a spreadsheet of all the factors and weights to confirm that gut feeling, others just went with it.
Some things to consider:
- Do you feel comfortable with most of the students there?
- Is the culture that you detect (not the one they put on their brochures) what you want in a school?
- What are the career potentials for that school and region? Is it easy or very hard to get to the career you want?
- Weather, Significant Others' job prospects, future desired hometown, etc...
Everyone's different, so some of those above will trump others, but you have to make that personal decision after doing your research.
Good luck and hope you all make the "right" decisions!