How did you pick your college?

[jazstar87]

Im a junior in HS, i starting to look for colleges. how Did you pick your college?

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

I am a second semester freshman at Hollins University. I choose the school by going on visits and just picking the ones that felt right. So my advise to you is to get out there and visit as many schools as you can and choose the one that fells right.

 

[WDWprincessloyola]

I sort of did mine in a different way. I was looking at different colleges all over the US when I was thinking I was going to be a theatre major. Then I changed my thinking to be a psychology major with a minor in criminal justice. I sat down and drew a 100 mile radius around my house because there was I wasn't going to go farther than that. I narrowed it down because 25% of that area is Lake Michigan. I had a list of colleges off of collegeboard.com, I think, and I just started crossing things out that I knew I didn't want. Then I went for the schools that had the best location and education for psychology. That is why I am at Loyola University in Chicago!

 

[SoonerKate]

I started going to my school while I was in high school, doing early entry classes. I was damned and determined to go elsewhere -- I applied to quite a few schools (Texas, Brown, Colorado, Minnesota, Meredith and Agnes Scott), but in the end, it came down to the fact that I really liked OU and didn't want to leave.

I chose some of the other schools I was applying to based on where I saw a lot of people from my town going and being very happy -- mainly, Texas and Colorado. They're close, but not too close, which was a draw for me. My mom went to Minnesota, and I was very interested in the small liberal arts school/all female school environment. Brown was a crapshoot; I had no clue I'd even get in, and while I liked it on my campus visit, I knew I wouldn't be happy there long term.

Had I left OU, it probably would have been Meredith or Agnes Scott -- a completely different experience (large private school vs. VERY small liberal arts schools), but one I still think I would have done well with. Trust your gut, and visit as many schools as you can. Make sure you have time to talk to students who are not official representatives of the university. Sit in on a couple of classes if you can. Talk to your school's guidance counselors -- find out where students from your school have gone and done well. Even if you don't want to go where everyone else has gone, knowing that people with your background have been successful in places you're looking at can be reassuring. See if you can get in touch with alumni of your high school and see what they're happy with and what they wish they had done or known.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I put the names of some schools on a dartboard and threw darts until I actually hit the board

In all seriousness though, I knew (or thought at the time) that I wanted to be in Broadcasting, and that SU had a great broadcast journalism program. I didn't get accepted into that program, but I got my 2nd choice program at SU. I went in thinking I would changing programs, and yes, I ended up changing programs, but not to Broadcast Journalism, I ended up in Information Technology.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Well, I couldn't decide between 2 schools, so my dad told me to make my decision based on whose basketball team went farther in the NCAA tournament, and that's how I picked my school. haha, just kidding.

I ended up picking Marquette over the University of Wisconsin because I liked the size of Marquette (not too big, yet not too small). As much as I wanted to go to a Big Ten school, I couldn't picture myself at a school with nearly 40,00 students. I also got a partial scholarship to Marquette, so that helped in the decision.

 

[jazstar87]

hey thank you guys. our input really helps.!!
my parents want to force me with in the tri-state(nj,ny,ct) and pa. but the colleges they want me to go to school is where they went to school. Which is marywood and Scranton( 1and 1/2 hours away from home). Even they don't say they will, but i know they are going to come and visit me often. Plus my grandma is ten mintues down the road. Then i know they will come.

i want to go to somewhere in nyc(my parents hate the city). yet i want to go to a small school. I'm just so undecided.

 

[disneyangel7488]

^ I'm also a junior, and I also would like to go to school in the NYC area. I'm looking for schools in NJ, NY, PA, DE, MD. Have you tried petersons.com yet? There'a college search there that can help you narrow down your list of colleges by asking questions about what you are looking for in a school. Also, have you been getting college mail? I have, and I've been going on to the websites of the schools that I recieve mail from. In their mailings, the colleges usually ask if you would like to recieve more info on that school, and to either reply by mail or online.

 

[PigSoldier]

The best thing I did was talk to people already at the universities I was looking at. That way I got some honest opinions from people who actually knew what it was like to study there.

Try and find out the bad points about your colleges too, people will be very hesitant to tell you that there's a shortage of lecturers, and the accomodation's scruffy, and it's best to find it out before you get there.

 

[KirstenJB]

I was looking strongly into going to one of the in state schools here for Graphic design before the Art Institute of Colorado got ahold of me. They offered more of what I wanted, web design (I'm going to start in July in the Field of Interactive Media Design for a BA). You just have to decide what you want to do, and even if you don't decide I know some of the schools here let you have 2 years of just taking basic classes and then your Junior year you ahve to decide on a major. Good Luck!@


Kirsten

 

[natty41]

I started looking at some bigger places (ones that I could NEVER afford, but fun to look into nonetheless) like Purdue, Valpo, Marquette, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and the University of North Carolina. But when I decided on a major (I'm in nursing), none of these schools had outstanding nursing programs. I mean, I'm sure they are good, but the UWM's nursing program is ranked 9th out of 400 or so. And it's only 20 minutes from my house.

My decision was based on which school had the best nursing program and money was a pretty big issue too. I did not want my college education to be a huge financial burden for my parents. But with UWM pretty much right in my backyard, why go anywhere else?!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Well I'm a high school senior, and just barely chose my school, but I chose one, so here goes.
I started, probably sophomore year just doing those searches on collegeboard.com. Junior year I went to a couple of college fairs and those were the biggest asset. At the time I thought I was going to be a bio major, but partway through junior year that thought got changed. I'll be starting at the University of NH next fall as an undeclared student. Try looking for schools that have some majors you're interested in. I narrowed down the ones to visit (spring of junior year and summer after) by the ones that had a few options I might like, and the ones that had the biggest variety. I also looked for schools that I had the best shot at getting merit scholarships from, since even though we're not loaded, I knew it would be tough to get fin aid, and there was a limit to how much my parents were willing to spend (obviously). My dad had his own ideas of where I should go to school but they didn't match mine. He wanted me either at Dartmouth (not a chance at me getting in there) or Penn State (9 hours away). I'll be going to school 40 minutes from home.
After I had visited and decided which schools felt right (and you have to go with your gut on that) I applied. I've heard back from 5 of the 6, and I got into all 5 so far, making the choice more difficult. I went to an open house at UNH tihs weekend. That school has always felt most right to me, and this weekend completely proved that that's the school for me. It's partly a gut thing. And partly the fact that as an undecided kid, it's got the most to offer me. My parents like the fact that it's my cheapest choice, mom likes that I'll be close by, and I like how close it is too. My other top choice was nearly 4 hours away, and in the end I decided that that distance was too much.
You really have to evaluate who you are and what you want before you can start the search.

 

[iggbees]

i picked the most expensive school i could find. i thought that the more money i spent the better the education, i never thought that meant that i'd have tons of homework! i also looked for a school where i could consider myself part of the elite. that's why i decided on the school that i did. i was also looking for a school where i would lose all contact with the real world and not to mention, men. 4 years at an all women's college is enough to drive anyone crazy. never again. no. seriously.

 

[jazstar87]

WOW iggbees you sound like my sister, who went to a women's college and paid A ton just to go to a college, and complains every single time when she get a bad mark, and ask her family why you don't you come and visit me anymore, because she lives three hours away.


OH THAT"S BECAUSE YOU ARE!!!!

I thought you thought i was wierd for going on this site.

 

[minkydog]

Duh, you probably don't want to hearr my answer.

I followed my boyfriend. School didn't have my major? no problem, i just picked another, totally unrelated. EVen though it turned out wello( I ended up with two degrees and a different guy who I'm married to 24yrs) You mihgt want to give it a leetle more thought than i did.

 

[WDWfanatic288]

the best thing to do is try to find schools that you think you would in and what you want. decide if you want-public or private, big or little, etc etc. Also try to figure out how far you want to go from home because that is another huge factor. Try to find schools that have programs you are interested in so you don't end up somewhere where they don't have your major and then you have to transfer or major in something else. Visit college fairs and get as much information as you can.
The best thing that helped me decide was visiting the college. See if you can have an overnight visit with a student b/c it makes a world of difference. There is only so much they tell you on a tour.
Another big thing, find out about the social scene. If you are a social person you don't want to go somewhere where people never go out and meet people.

 

[supercarrie]

I began looking at colleges my freshman year, had plans to go across the country and leave my family, wanted to go somewhere on the east coast. I used collegeboard.com's Counselor-O-Matic search tool a lot, changing my answers as I changed through high school. I also read lots of college guides to try and get a feel for what I really wanted. When it came down to actually applying and choosing, I realized I wanted to be somewhere far enough away from home to gain independence but close enough to be within a couple hours drive (not only because of family closeness but also because I had some health issues develop and all my doctors are at home, didn't want to switch them up.) I wanted a school with a lot of diversity and a lot of options (UCLA has everything under the sun) as well as a school that would challenge me (and it definitely has.) In addition, my parents encouraged me to seriously consider UCs since the resident tuition makes it such a good value (and it just worked out that UCLA had everything I was looking for.) But ultimately what helped me make the decision was visiting the campuses after I was accepted...UCLA just fit considering my situation. Now that some situations have changed, I am actually beginning to entertain the thought of transferring, but even if I don't, I will still be really happy where I am.

 

[Happy Dumbo Fan]

I have to say that princetonreview.com is a wonderful source of information! They are like a better version of collegeboard.com and I would recommend it more than collegeboard itself.

 

[PrincessTeddyBear]

I closed my eyes and pointed at a list.

Seriously, my father picked my first college because he didn't like the one I picked.

The one I'm in now I picked because it has the major I want and most of my classes are online.

 

[Sehsun]

I applied to all FL schools, except for Emory (in Georgia). Emory was my dream school, and I applied Early Decision there. When I visited the campus, I felt like it was the perfect fit for me and I could imagine myself living there. Unfortunately, my application wasn't accepted......but I am very happy at the school I'm at now, even though I didn't give much thought to it when I applied.

Good luck with your college search!