How to Adult: Picking a College

When it comes to picking out a suitable college for yourself, many factors come into play such as location, tuition, distance from home and majors offered. Along with those factors, does the school have a football team? Do they have student organizations? What about housing options? Many tools exist online for students to narrow searches for colleges based on preferences. However, students often do not know if they fit their true college until all of the factors have been weighed out.

Visit/Tour
The best step after applying or thinking about applying to your school of choice is to visit the school. Get a feel of the college campus by booking a tour through the university’s portal or sign up and attend one of the schools open houses. Tours generally give you a walk-through of the campus and a brief outline of the school, while the open houses delve deeper into each school within the university and how to afford tuition. Signing up for an open house day at the university gives you the freedom to move from lecture to lecture, not only do they inform students on majors and schools, they also provide information on housing, give campus tours, explore student organizations, and relay information on federal aid. While you explore the campus it’s best to pay attention to how you see yourself fitting into the environment and how comfortable you feel.

Education/Studies
Majors often dictate what type of career a person will continue in after college which means making sure your university choice offers your major or degree happens to be one of the most defining factors in picking a university. Checking whether or not the university you’re interested in offers your major or even a graduate program puts one university ahead of the other that does not offer your specific major.

Cost/Tuition
Calculating cost of tuition varies on a series of questions: Do you plan to attend in-state, or out-of-state? Did you acquire scholarship money? Federal aid money? How many student loans do you plan on having to take out? Are they subsidized or unsubsidized loans? Will you be paying for college by yourself, or will your guardians aid you? The first step to even remotely becoming close to answering these questions requires you to look up the cost of tuition for your school and apply for federal aid. Being able to afford the school, but not able to enjoy the school-life should not be a worry a student should have on their mind as they figure out their career. Just make sure to research the tuition, scholarships, and grants you’re eligible to apply for and factor that into making a decision.

Location
The aesthetic of some campuses around the nation overtake the minds of high school seniors as the attractions and preface of the city block out all other factors of the university. The preference of location varies as some students would like to be close to home and their parents, or even living at home, while others would like to be in another hemisphere. Location needs to be kept in mind when deciding because sometimes your dream college will not be an hour drive home, but maybe a three-hour flight, or even an eight-hour drive. Keep in mind the distance from home, and if it’s worth giving up that comfort of home feeling, will you be okay on your own?

Housing
Being a foot away from your sleeping best friend or rivaled roommate isn’t for everyone which happens to be why some universities offer on-campus apartments or villages for students to live in. That being said, most universities require freshmen to live on campus their first year. Research whether or not there are multiple housing options for first-year students. Try to decide if you can stick it out for a year in a dorm, or if you can find other living arrangements.

Campus Size
A factor students do not consider when it comes to deciding on a school is how big is the campus, and what the teacher-to-student ratio happens to be in classes. This can also affect your learning style, as some larger campuses have less one-on-one classes, and you have to ask yourself what will do to make sure you’re still getting the best of your education. Plus, some universities happen to be the entire town and its population. Do you want to know everyone in town, or do you want to find your way?

Work
Some high school students have jobs in their hometown, while others plan to find a job or work-study program in their new university town. Either way, having an income can be essential in college not only to pay for tuition and books, but also for activities and eating. Lots of eating. If you have a job that you enjoy and would continue doing, is it a job where you can transfer to a different location? If not, would you be willing to partake in a work-study program at your top choice?

Many factors still remain for some students, and there’s plenty of questions to ask yourself. Happy college hunting!