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How can people handle choosing the right college for themselves when there are so many choices to choose from?

There are a lot of things in colleges that catches my eye. For example medical interests like bring a doctor or a nurse.

#college #deciding #omg

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Subject: Career question for you

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Ken’s Answer

The answer is very easy. It really does not really matter where you go to school. The most important things are how well you do with your school work and how well you do with networking to enter and advance in your career area. A very important thing to remember is to keep it simple and local and affordable. Too many people get into great financial debt, which is very difficult to repay. Look at education as any investment. You want to keep the investment as low as possible to make possible the highest rate of return. Many successful people like me got their start at a local community college and completed their education at a local state school. Here is a helpful video: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first important step is not choosing the college, it is choosing the proper major or career area to study in college. It takes a special person to enter into a specific career field and meet the demands which that career area presents. The first step is to get to know yourself to see if you share the personality traits which make that make one successful in that area. The next step is doing networking to meet and talk to and possibly shadow people doing what you might think that you want to do to see if this is something that you really want to do, as a career area could look much different on the inside than it looks from the outside. When I was doing college recruiting, I encountered too many students, who skipped these important steps, and ended up in a career/job for which they were ill suited.
The first step in making that career decision is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person who works with and tracks graduates at your high school and college which you might be considering to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Alejandro’s Answer

Remember that you make a school good or bad, not viceversa. This is the same issue in all countries but at the end I understand that is a simple decision, you can collocate costs, programs, benefits, teachers, paths, subjects, but at the end those things are there as a marketing, so I will suggest to select an inclusive place where they giving you the support/empathy as a student.
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Simeon’s Answer

Generally, it's easier to start out by applying for the scholarships from the different colleges and see which one gives you the best deal. After that, I'd consider which professors are teaching at the college and if you'd like any of them as a teacher or mentor, especially if they are one of the professors that teach for the major you're considering.
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