The College Search: How to Choose the Best School for You
Searching for college can be a difficult hurdle by itself. When I began this process in my senior year, I barely had any idea of what major I wanted, let alone where in the country to look at. Choosing colleges to apply to and attend consists of a series of important decisions.
There are three general areas you'll want to consider to choose where to apply and attend:
- Location
- Price
- Program Quality
LOCATION
You may have a specific location in mind, or you may have no idea and feel overwhelmed by choice. Either way, there are several location considerations to make. First, you may want to stay close - but not too close - to family. When it comes to moving in and out every year and visiting for weekends and holidays, it's much more convenient to live about an hour to five hours away from family - whether your parents, grandparents, or aunt and uncle. Another very important location consideration that you may not be thinking about yet - I know I wasn't - is how close you will be to opportunities. Look for schools in or near a mid- to large city, and you'll maximize the amount of internships and jobs there will be within driving distance.
Some things to do with location may be simple - do you want to live where it's hot and sunny, snowy in the winter, or someplace more mild? Will you be going in-state, and receive cheaper in-state tuition, or out-of-state? For military members or their dependents, out-of-state tuition can be waived if you do the right paperwork. Are you aiming for an Ivy League? Try to choose a general region where you prefer to attend. From there, you can find lists of schools on US News and other websites, and filter by things like degree and price.
PRICE
For some students, price doesn't matter. However, I would bet that that is not true for most people! With price, public colleges can range between $20,000 and $40,000 per semester for your undergraduate degree. This is a lot, but don't panic! You have options. First, it is likely that you can receive state or federal grants and scholarships. About 20 states have some kind of tuition assistance, so if you graduate high school in that state, meet certain GPA and class requirements, and apply (sometimes applying is automatic when you do your annual FAFSA), you can get 80-100% of tuition paid. If you don't know if you qualify or how to apply, make an appointment with your school counselor now, even if you're a freshman in high school! Figuring out those requirements now will make it easy later. If you're already enrolled in college, you might qualify to apply for these programs if you previously didn't meet the GPA requirement, or if your performance dipped your first couple of semesters. Also make sure to fill out the FAFSA by the priority deadline to maximize the potential scholarships you may be offered. Check out "Funding Your Education" for in-depth information about loans, scholarships, and more!
Through an online search or on the college website, you'll likely find a statistic about financial aid that will help you compare schools. More expensive schools that offer 80% of freshman more financial aid might actually be more attainable than a cheaper school that expects you to cover everything. Find all the information you can about financial aid opportunities, including scholarships, grants, fellowships, and student employment, to compare schools. Look up on-campus housing, if there are first-year on-campus requirements, and if you can waive that if your parents live nearby. Off-campus housing is inevitably cheaper than on-campus, and makes it easier to cook and avoid expensive meal plans, but there are benefits to on-campus too. You can easily find current listings off-campus apartments by searching for apartments for rent in the college city. Compare your housing options, and don't forget to look at the college fees too!
In general, as with both financial aid and how hard it is to get into a school, you should pick 1 "safe" school, such as a community college, 1-3 state public schools that you're fairly confident are in your range, and 1-2 "reach" schools, or dream colleges. This means one school you know you can afford easily, a few schools that you'll need to get some financial aid for, an a more expensive college that - hopefully - should offer you a large aid package if you are accepted. However, applying to college itself is quite expensive, with applications costing $50+ each. Figure out if they offer waivers - some might offer need-based waivers, others if you're part of an organization, a military dependent, or if you attend a recruitment event. Another way to avoid overpaying in applications is to pick your favorite of the mid-range colleges and apply early decision. It can be tricky to meet deadlines, but if you get in, you might only apply for one more (your "reach" school).
I also encourage you to apply to your school's Honors College, which can offer additional scholarship opportunities and more (even if you don't get in as a freshman, you can - usually slightly more easily - get in after your first or even second year). Another extremely feasible option is to attend community college for two years, if money or your grades make it a better option, then transferring to a nicer one. You can improve your admissions chances by showing you can do well in college courses while saving tuition money, and employers ONLY look at the school you graduate from - where you got your degree.
PROGRAM QUALITY
If you do know what degree you're interested in, go to the colleges' websites and look up an example four-year sequence and the course offerings/requirements, to compare how interesting the classes look. You can also see what kind of flexibility is offered within the degree (how many electives and choices you'll have), how many credits are required (standard is 124-126), and if the degree will allow you to do a minor or emphasis. The college will publish employment, graduation rates, and average GPAs somewhere on their website. Compare those rates and especially take notice of disparities in graduation and retention rates by race and gender if you're a minority; some predominantly white schools may have a bigger gap than others, indicating that the campus climate might not be welcoming or comfortable to you; this is a warning sign, and you'll want to assess if you think this will be important to you and if you'll be willing to deal with potential challenges.
See what amenities are included in your student fees, like free campus shuttles and the gym, based on how important those are to you. Check out the colleges' career counseling page and see if they are active and if they put on events you're interested in, like career fairs for your field. You can even call up the career office and talk to a representative to try to get a feel for how helpful they'll be in getting you future internships or giving graduate degree/career advice. Find the department page for your major on the college website, and see what kind of things they do - do they send undergraduate students to research conference? Who are the professors and what are their research interests? Do they offer any department-specific scholarships?
Depending on your degree, college reputation might be important. Do some internet and word-of-mouth research to see if your school is known for having a good program in your area of interest, and for programs like teaching and nursing, what kind of placement and clinical/field programs they have. Does the school have relationships with internship programs of interest to you? You might also search what kind of clubs or professional organizations they have.
To conclude, making the choice of where to go to college for 2-6 years is very important, and can be quite a process. Don't forget to have fun and get excited! Visit if you're able, get a free T-shirt, and know that no matter what choice you make, college is a time for making mistakes and changing your mind, so it isn't the end of the world if that happens. Choose what is best for you, and follow your passion.
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Related Topics: Funding your Education, Getting Ready to Register, How to Write a College Application Essay in 2021
