College spefs

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I know it's alot to ask, but It'd help me so much if I had a list of every single thing I should consider when looking for a college. Location, cost, acceptance rate, etc. </p>

<pre><code>Could one of you please write a list of every single factor I should learn about a college that I am researching? Pretty much a check list, where I can sort out colleges alot easier just by checking off the ones which have what I want. If the list is very long, it'd be great if you could post a link to a site which has the list. Thanks so much!
</code></pre>

2

<p>Off the top of my head, some of the things I considered, no specific order:</p>

<p>Location (subcategories: weather, distance from home, activities, proximity to city)
Cost
Campus Activities (subcategories: intramurals, concerts, sport clubs, university-wide events, etc.)
Athletics (subcategories: good/bad teams, fan support good or bad, active student sections, excited vibe for the teams)
Personal vibe after a visit/Parental opinion (not overbearing though)**
Major/Field of Study**
Campus (subcategories: size, layout (condensed or spread out?), upkeep, overall attractiveness)
Graduation rates
Size of major classes
Facilities--falling apart or well maintained? overcrowded or comfortable? renovations taking place if needed? IMO, renovations are a good sign
Opportunities for internships and study abroad
Academic Support</p>

<p>**Personal vibe/Parental opinion--I was fortunate enough to be able to visit every school I applied to, and some that I ended up not applying to. Me and my mom drove to all of these schools (or visited while on vacation) from Iowa and we hit both coasts, the south, and New England. I checked out 18 schools in total, which seems like a lot, but I'm glad I did. Helped narrow down the list. Anyway, during and after every visit, me and my mom didn't share our opinions on the schools until we were home. We discussed things about the schools in the car and whatnot, but tried to keep our opinions out of it. We would write down what we liked/disliked, let things soak in for a day or two, then decide if it stayed on the application list or not. We disagreed on three schools, and I ended up applying to 9, with no regrets on which ones I applied to and which I didn't. My parent's opinion was important to me--but NOT the deciding factor.</p>

<p>*<em>Major/Field of Study--IMO, find a school that has your #1 choice major. Then see if they have 2 or 3 other majors that you would love to study if you lose interest in the first. I made a mistake here. I love the school I attend, but lost interest in my pre-frosh desired major and am currently on my 3rd. It's not *exactly</em> what I want, but it's similar. I'm happy though and I love the people, the school, the classes, everything and don't want to go anywhere else. Some of my other schools that I applied to offered 3 or 4 majors that would be more fitting, but I'm dealing with my choice and so far there have been no backlashes of it. Some major switchers aren't so lucky.</p>

<p>I applied to schools 3 years ago, so the memory of it is getting fuzzy. The process is stressful, fun, interesting, and you'll learn more about yourself in the 3 months of applications in the fall than most other times in your pre-college life. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I think these suggestions are great. You will learn alot by visiting different types of schools. The tours and information sessions are helpful. As we looked at schools it became more clear to my daughter what she wanted.<br>
Important factors:
LOCATION- does it matter how far you are from home? Travel by air has become very expensive and flights from certain areas are sometimes difficult to get.<br>
HOUSING- dorms don't have to be palaces but is there overcrowding/forced triples? Is the campus split so that you have to be bused from your dorm to the academic buildings and library? Is housing guarrantied 4 yrs, if not what is surrounding housing like? affordable? Do you need a car? etc. Security issues
ACADEMICS- Is there a heavy core curriculum or open curriculum. Is there a variety of majors you are interested in? Do you care about professor contact, small or large classes?
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES- this is where we found the more rural the campus the more events the school had on campus where city schools expected the students could explore the city for outside activities. For clubs, do you want to participate in sports, music, goverment, etc.?
MATCH/REACH/SAFETY- make sure you have a good number of each.</p>

<p>Some of my daughter's friends liked the large 25,000 student campuses while she preferred the small to med size LAC's. There's many schools to fit all types of kids. Pick what's most important to you and see how many schools fit these descriptions.</p>