4 answers
Ethan
Student
Scranton, Pennsylvania
9
Questions
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How to know what college is right for you?
Finding the right college for me is proving to be difficult. I was always thinking about going to Penn State, but now other people's advice are steering me away from going there. It also doesn't help that I am still unsure about my major. To provide you with my preferred qualities for a college:
I would like to go to a D1 school.
Located in the eastern half of the country.
I would like to know some tips to narrow down my options. #career #college
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4 answers
Alma Aguilar
Sr. Billing Support Specialist
16
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Alma’s Answer
Hi Ethan,
It sounds like you have a list of schools you are looking into. The best thing to do in these Covid times will be to reach out to the college admissions team at each school on your list to see if they can connect you with some of their current students.
I suggest having a video or telephone call with 2 or 3 students to get a good understanding of the school's culture and determine if you can envision yourself there. This will also help you learn information about the school beyond their website.
Best,
Alma
It sounds like you have a list of schools you are looking into. The best thing to do in these Covid times will be to reach out to the college admissions team at each school on your list to see if they can connect you with some of their current students.
I suggest having a video or telephone call with 2 or 3 students to get a good understanding of the school's culture and determine if you can envision yourself there. This will also help you learn information about the school beyond their website.
Best,
Alma
Keith Massie
Associate Professor
15
Answers
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Updated
Keith’s Answer
Choosing a school is a big decision. When I was younger, I simply used the US News rankings and evaluated where to go based on the quality of a school and its cost. My dissertation focuses on these rankings to some extent; however, I would actually not suggest them.
The smartest decision, in my opinion, is to go to community college. While it does not give some of the same social status as a big name college like Penn State, its value cannot be overlooked. First, it is MUCH cheaper. The first two years at a major university are only general education courses. Such courses are often accepted as transfer credit from community colleges, so students who complete community college save thousands of dollars. Second, if you don't know what field to go into, the community college provides you time to reflect and explore. This is quite important because if you pick a field like engineering or nursing, those fields are not offered at every big name school. Thus, you could go off to a big name school only to find that what you desire as a major is not available and you have to transfer (or accept a different major that you value less). Lastly, no one in the future will know that you went to community college first, if you get a degree from a big name school. Your future bachelor's degree from Penn State or any other D1 school will be identical to the person who paid thousands of dollars more for it (because their first two years were not at a community college).
If you're like many students, you want the status of going to a big name school. In some ways, such status is not meaningful and one simply gets lost in the shuffle due to the size of the campus. In other ways, that status matters if it means access to resources--for example, smaller schools may not have an electron microscope for chemistry majors to use and learn from. But those resources are never really available to Freshman and Sophomore level students, which means you can still get that access as a transfer from a community college.
The smartest decision, in my opinion, is to go to community college. While it does not give some of the same social status as a big name college like Penn State, its value cannot be overlooked. First, it is MUCH cheaper. The first two years at a major university are only general education courses. Such courses are often accepted as transfer credit from community colleges, so students who complete community college save thousands of dollars. Second, if you don't know what field to go into, the community college provides you time to reflect and explore. This is quite important because if you pick a field like engineering or nursing, those fields are not offered at every big name school. Thus, you could go off to a big name school only to find that what you desire as a major is not available and you have to transfer (or accept a different major that you value less). Lastly, no one in the future will know that you went to community college first, if you get a degree from a big name school. Your future bachelor's degree from Penn State or any other D1 school will be identical to the person who paid thousands of dollars more for it (because their first two years were not at a community college).
If you're like many students, you want the status of going to a big name school. In some ways, such status is not meaningful and one simply gets lost in the shuffle due to the size of the campus. In other ways, that status matters if it means access to resources--for example, smaller schools may not have an electron microscope for chemistry majors to use and learn from. But those resources are never really available to Freshman and Sophomore level students, which means you can still get that access as a transfer from a community college.
Simeon Snow
Risk Assurance
1790
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Simeon’s Answer
Unless you want a pretty specific degree, which university shouldn't matter. I'd focus on applying for their scholarships and seeing which one gives you the best offers. I applied to multiple colleges and I was saved a lot of time by seeing which colleges would be the easiest to pay for. The one that I ended up choosing gave me a 70% scholarship on tuition along with some additional scholarships. Also, fully agree that you'll want to see what the culture feels like. Campus visits are important for figuring out; each college tries to sell themselves as heaven on earth, but that obviously can't be true of every university. Talking to real students there is a big plus as well. The admissions people are paid to get more people in the school, so they're not incentivized to give you the whole picture.
Lydia Schlatter
Assurance Intern
3
Answers
Columbus, Ohio
Updated
Lydia’s Answer
Hey Ethan!
I think you're on the right track with coming up with a couple qualities that you look for in a school, and I think it could be good to expand on that. I'm currently a student at the Ohio State University and I picked Ohio State because I also wanted to go to a big school with a lot of opportunities and a great business school. I wanted a college that had a good social scene and greek life but also had students with other interests and who are very invested in their school work. I really like that at a big school like Ohio State there are so many different groups of people with their own interests that you can always find people that are like you. It is also important to think about how you want your life to look while you're in college. For example, do you want to be right in the middle of a city, or in a college town , or maybe a college in an area that has a little bit of both?
Academics are obviously an extremely important aspect of choosing a college and before even looking into everything else about a school I would make sure they have what you are looking for in terms of majors and academic prestige. Lastly, it is super important to think about cost. I obviously don't know what your personal financial situation is like but everyone is different. For me, it was important that I go to an in state school since in state tuition is way less than out of state. Of course there are great scholarships out there and different ways to finance your college education but it is really important to be aware of what your situation is like. You really don't want to graduate college just to come out buried in student loans.
Making the choice about where to spend the next four years of your life is super exciting but also very stressful! Make sure you're thinking about what is really important for you and will benefit you most in the long run. Try not to think about what you're friends are doing because what's best for them isn't always best for you.
Good luck making your decision!
I think you're on the right track with coming up with a couple qualities that you look for in a school, and I think it could be good to expand on that. I'm currently a student at the Ohio State University and I picked Ohio State because I also wanted to go to a big school with a lot of opportunities and a great business school. I wanted a college that had a good social scene and greek life but also had students with other interests and who are very invested in their school work. I really like that at a big school like Ohio State there are so many different groups of people with their own interests that you can always find people that are like you. It is also important to think about how you want your life to look while you're in college. For example, do you want to be right in the middle of a city, or in a college town , or maybe a college in an area that has a little bit of both?
Academics are obviously an extremely important aspect of choosing a college and before even looking into everything else about a school I would make sure they have what you are looking for in terms of majors and academic prestige. Lastly, it is super important to think about cost. I obviously don't know what your personal financial situation is like but everyone is different. For me, it was important that I go to an in state school since in state tuition is way less than out of state. Of course there are great scholarships out there and different ways to finance your college education but it is really important to be aware of what your situation is like. You really don't want to graduate college just to come out buried in student loans.
Making the choice about where to spend the next four years of your life is super exciting but also very stressful! Make sure you're thinking about what is really important for you and will benefit you most in the long run. Try not to think about what you're friends are doing because what's best for them isn't always best for you.
Good luck making your decision!