Trying to decide which college or university will be your home for the next few years?
While earning a degree is the obvious goal of attending college, the experience can offer much more as well.
Knowing both your wants and needs from the college experience can help whittle down your initial list of schools.
AVID Teacher Ernestina Palerm Wilson encourages students to consider both a college’s location and its “campus life” when making their choices, and to get a firsthand look at the schools before choosing one over another.
“Sometimes after students visit a campus, they realize that the colleges they initially liked aren’t a fit for them,” said Wilson.
It’s important to balance your priorities and ask yourself key questions. Will being next to a beach be a costly distraction or a healthy outlet for stress? Do you want to go public or private? How close will you want to stay to your family? Sometimes being too close can be problematic if you find yourself heading home every weekend.
The size of colleges also becomes a main factor. Coming from a smaller town like Ridgecrest, many students tend to like smaller classes with a smaller student-to-professor ratio.
From my own experience visiting campuses, I learned that the biggest factor was the relationships between students and professors in a small college versus a bigger college.
A smaller-sized college may offer a greater chance of success because there is more of an intimate class experience for the students. Students with questions would be able to take advantage of frequent and valuable contact with the professors.
However, larger colleges can have more benefits and provide more for the students, such as the selection of programs, social activities, and more opportunities in general.
Wherever you end up in college, always make the most of the opportunities that are available to you.
