Last year, at a school-sponsored event called “After Prom,” a fortuneteller predicted that I was going to make a tough choice between two great colleges. Despite my disbelief in such prophecies, I walked off wondering how likely that would be.

To my surprise, that is what my college search really came down to: Dartmouth vs. Princeton.

In early April, I visited Brown, Dartmouth and Princeton during their preview programs. I was hoping that I would experience a sudden epiphany or receive an immediate gut feeling upon stepping on one of the campuses.

That did not happen.

I visited Princeton first with an expectation of finding pretentious students — the kind that outsiders might stereotype as Princetonians. However, that assumption proved wrong. Though I was there for merely three days, I did not meet one haughty person. Everyone was welcome to the pre-frosh, as they call us.

At Brown, I did find that students were friendlier. I actually met other pre-frosh whom I instantly connected with. The faculty was awesome. Two of the admissions officers went out of their way to connect me with another admitted student who, like me, was Mongolian.

The last visit was to Dartmouth. After landing, a fellow pre-frosh and I went on a two-hour bus ride to the campus through a beautiful forest. One aspect that struck me about Dartmouth was every student’s unparalleled love for his or her school. Students were happy to sit for hours just to share their experiences.

When I came back from the trips, I was utterly confused. I loved all three schools. In terms of social atmosphere, I liked Brown and Dartmouth better. However, in terms of engineering programs, I liked Princeton more.

Upon reflecting for days, I gave up on Brown. Brown’s big allure — its open curriculum — is severely diminished in the engineering program, where there are many core classes to fulfill. I got the impression that out of the three schools I was considering, its engineering program was the weakest.

Then came the days of endless internal debate between Princeton and Dartmouth.

I went in to see my counselor, Mrs. Dunham. As she recommended in her own posting on The Choice, I made a pro-con list for both schools on giant posters and hung them on the wall.

Visually seeing the advantages and disadvantages of each school greatly enhanced my decision-making. Though I loved the people and the social life at Dartmouth, I did not like the concept of studying for five years to obtain my Bachelor of Engineering.

Also, the possibility of being homesick for a city life, even though Denver is not a big city itself, made me anxious.

What makes me the most worried about Princeton, though, is the social aspect and the challenges of fitting in with others. However, I am confident that wherever I go, I can be happy.

Waking up warily one Sunday morning and seeing the posters on my wall, I decided to enroll at Princeton.

Just like that.

Now that the decision has been made, I am relieved and better able to concentrate on my studies. As the days go by and the prospect of leaving for college becomes more real, I am more excited than ever.

What worries me now is the necessity to change my visa status so that by orientation week, I possess a student visa. Advisers at all three schools have told me that the process takes from two to five months.

If, at the end of August, I do not have my status changed, then I cannot attend Princeton. I am doing everything I can to send in my application quickly.

Looks like frequently checking my mailbox hoping for a prompt decision is, yet again, what I will be doing this summer.