The Right Questions to Ask When Selecting a College

Selecting a college can be and is one of the most important decisions in your life, which goes hand in hand with choosing a major. Because of this importance, it must be stressed that this decision not be taken lightly. You may aim for the most prestigious schools such as Harvard and Yale, while some prefer the feel of a state school or junior college closer to home. Some choose a college based purely on the academics offered, while others, for sad and pathetic reasons, choose a college because their friends are going there. While this may, at some point, come into consideration, friends must not be the most important thing. There are a plethora of variables that need to be considered before selecting a school. I will delve into a few here.

The most important thing for most is, surprisingly, the location. Many want the independence that comes from living far away from family members. Others desire the closeness and tight-nit community of home. As such, you must decide on whether or not you want this independence. With that freedom will come multiple responsibilities. While on your own, you will feel more pressure to drink and to party. You may and probably will let your grades slip, and may end up dropping out altogether if your pattern of deviance continues uninterrupted. While a good dosage of socialization is important, one must not overdo. As well, cleaning and eating habits will not be monitored, so you could fall into spirals of disaster involving junk foods and a lack of hygiene. Yet, while the closeness of living to family does help put up a barrier to such activities, it will also limit your ability to strike out on your own. You must decide which you want (or need) more of; control or independence. If you are lucky, you could get the best of both, and live far enough away for independence but not so far away that you practically alienate yourself from your family.

Another major decision is, aptly, the major. Does the school offer the major or field of study that you desire? Within that field, do they specialize in such a way that is congruent to your career objectives, and do they let you do any research or individual study? Does the program meet the specifications of the group that oversees the programs of that type (such as the American Meteorological Society for atmospheric science programs)? When asking these questions, keep an open mind. Sometimes, more than one program will satisfy the needs of whatever career you want. As well, you may want to be more general in your searches, as most people do not specialize until late into their undergraduate studies or in graduate school. You must be flexible, but with a general plan about what you want.

One other important thing to consider is the amenities that the college offers. Will it have your sport represented by a team? Will there be places to have fun and relax around campus that interest you? Will their be adequate dining, health, fitness and social services? All of this is important, because while a school may advertise that they have your most desired major and that they have your favorite sport, you may come to find that they lack health or safety services and that the crime rate there is so atrocious that the college did not tell you about it before hand due to advertisement procedures. These details must be sought, as colleges are a service industry that thrive on student tuition money and desire your business, and thus will outline the good highlights while downgrading the others. You must look into it.

So, let us review. There are a number of questions to consider while selecting a college. In short, all of these variables must be taken into account:

Major Decisions

1) Location, location, location!

2) Major and Academics

3) Costs and Quality of Life

4) Amenities (i.e. health, food and safety services)

Secondary Decisions

5) Minors and extra course information

6) Housing and Livelihood Options

7) Extras (i.e. Shopping and goods selling services)

8) Communications
(Major and Secondary decisions can switch too)

Minor Decisions

9) Will you know anyone there ahead of time or is it completely new for you?

10) Fun things and enjoyable surroundings

11) Are there any reasons for doubt?