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Why a reputable college over a state college?

There's always distinctions and rankings among colleges.
#college

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Ken’s Answer

The truth of the matter is that it really does not matter where you go to college, although state colleges allow you to complete your education without accumulating great debt and still have a very useful high quality education. The most important factors relating to your education/career journey are the amount of time and effort that you put into the following areas:

  • determining what is the best career for you to follow
  • doing the best work that you can to get the best grades and learn as much as you can because that is what future employers are looking for
  • doing the best that you can to develop and maintain in person personal networking contacts that will assist you throughout your education/career journey

Here is an important video for you to watch regarding the choice of college followed by some tips that I have developed during my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting:

## 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<span style="color: rgb(103, 106, 108);"> </span>

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Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step 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 at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates 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 ##
Here are some good tips on how to lessen your expenses in college and reduce the possibility of huge college debt, in addition to considering going to a state college: ## Reduce College Costs: http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml ##
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Nick’s Answer

We live in a world where ranking lists are common. It's unfortunate that some applicants will place outsized importance on these rankings and, in turn, severely limit the institutions they will consider attending. I hope you will not do this and instead focus on choosing the right school for you. I would start by asking yourself some basic questions that rankings cannot help you with:

* How far from home would I like to be? Do I want to live in a big or small city? Do I want to live abroad or in a particular region of the country?
* How much tuition can I (or my family) reasonably afford (without loans or scholarships)? With a few scholarships, how does this amount change?
* How big of a school would I feel comfortable in? Will I need to hold down a part-time job while going to school? What might that job be?
* What do I want to study? Am I looking at schools that specialize in that type of education?

You should find that your answers to questions like the ones above will help you zero in on a more targeted group of schools to consider. From there, you might look to your personal network for guidance as you may have friends/family/etc. who have attended or will be attending those schools. Rather than relying on a ranking, I would suggest you go for an in-person visit to each of these schools. Get a feel for the campus, and aim to talk to some current students. Pay attention to the bulletin boards and look at what sorts of student activities you might enjoy.

In closing, I think it DOES matter where you go to school, because it needs to be an environment that makes the most sense for you. As long as you keep rankings lists in the proper perspective, they should not cloud your judgment on that front. Please do not think that you can only receive a quality education by attending a Top 25 school. Many "reputable" schools are also state schools--the two are not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, if your main goal in college is to challenge yourself and to really get the most out of your tuition dollars, you can do that at almost any accredited institution, whether it is highly ranked or not.
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