<p>My D is now down to her top two options and at this point cannot decide. (although, ultimately has to by end of this month).</p>
<p>I would like to create a checklist for her to be able to make apples to apples comparisons.</p>
<p>This is what I have come up with thus far (both schools are similar in size)</p>
<p>Cost
Major
class Size
Dorms
Location
Clubs
Food</p>
<p>what else could I be missing</p>
<p>Overall size
Overall course choices (grad level courses outside major for example)
Greek life or not
Sports scene
General over all vibe (preppy, quirky, granola or a mix)</p>
<p>BTW, I haven’t met a college that doesn’t claim that most of their classes are under 20.</p>
<p>How about diversity, retention rate, graduation rate, and job recruitment/graduate school admission? Each factor may carry different weight.</p>
<p>Some of my kids’ considerations:</p>
<ul>
<li>class requirements
Even though most likely the same major in 2 different colleges would have similar major class requirements, the major support class and especially the GE class requirements can be very different.</li>
<li>changing majors
They are young and can change their mind on what they want. How easy is it to change majors.</li>
<li>recruiting
How good are their career services? What companies recruit there?</li>
</ul>
<p>overall fit, people, culture, what they do for fun, lots/little drinking, professors, $$, flexibility to change majors, etc., study abroad opps, internship/research opps, climate, library, campus beauty.</p>
<p>I could probably go on and on…</p>
<p>Cross-posted with 3 other people haha</p>
<p>Travel to get there/home and what it takes to retain scholarships.</p>
<h1>BTW, I haven’t met a college that doesn’t claim that most of their classes are under 20. </h1>
<p>I agree. Many schools have many smaller classes for upper division so the numbers are skewed. If you come in with AP credits, you can often skip past those big lecture classes.</p>
<p>One important differentiator in our household has been the schools’ respective academic calendars. How are the breaks structured? Will one or the other provide opportunities for travel to home during holidays or for alternative spring break service opps or will be better for internships or summer jobs? Also do the breaks help avoid harsh winter or humid summer (depending on location of school)? A four day Fall break doesn’t make it possible to get home if you live far from campus, but a week long break might help tip a visit.</p>
<p>Just food for thought for us - might not be that critical to you?</p>
<p>Oh yes, AP credits and how they can be used does vary from place to place so should take a look. And nowadays, some schools have foreign language requirements that also differ from place to place. Helps to know going in than thinking about it later.</p>
<p>I second the vote for structure of the academic calendar and distance from home/ease of travel. These are two things that often get overlooked, but can have a huge impact after the decision has been made.</p>
<p>Print out a list of courses required for the preferred degree and major at each school and compare. If, for example, she’s not a science person, she may prefer the school that requires 4 or 0 hours of lab science to the one that requires 12 hours. If she’s not a math person, she may prefer the school that requires Algebra II for the major instead of Calc. Foreign language requirements vary from 0 to 2 semsters to 4.</p>
<p>Also, check to see if a senior thesis/original research project is required for graduation. (Could be a deal killer for some students, could seal the deal for others.)</p>
<p>What kind of acedemic help is available? Some schools have vast networks of free tutoring while others tell you to find and hire one yourself.</p>
<p>Read the review sites, looking for clues to actual problems. (Lots of disgruntled students trash schools for issues related more to their own shortcomings than the schools’. However, if 9 reviews out of 10 mention a specific problem, at least look into it.)</p>
<p>Food, bathrooms and other living arrangments. (My son nixed a nice LAC that gave him lots of merit aid because the only bathroom option for freshmen was community.)</p>
<p>In terms of class sizes, don’t go by averages or assumptions.</p>
<p>Go to the school web sites and look up their schedules to see the capacity and enrollment in courses of interest (particularly in the possible majors – note that popular majors like biology, business, and economics tend to encounter larger class sizes). Also note that there may be little practical difference between “large” (e.g. 100) and “larger” (e.g. 300) as there may be between “small” (e.g. 20) and “large”. If capacity and actual enrollment are listed, that can also be an indicator of how difficult it is to get into the desired classes, or times of day for desired classes.</p>
<p>grading system ie all 90 or higher is a 4.0 or do they use +/- where a 92/93 may only be a 3.67? </p>
<p>what is requirement to keep any scholarships at either school</p>
<p>for my S2 opportunity for research was a top criteria</p>
<p>For those who want to live on-campus all four years: Whether on-campus housing is guaranteed for all four years.</p>
<p>For those who want to live off-campus at some point: Whether you’re required to live on campus for all four years.</p>
<p>Calendar can be important. Some Us still give exams after winter break, which can make a miserable holiday. Quarters vs semesters vs trimesters and other calendars. All have benefits and drawbacks.</p>
<p>Check how often required classes are offered. SHe will have to look at past course schedules so it takes some work-- but could be a valuable thing to know</p>
<p>wow, all great ideas that I hadn’t really thought of</p>
<p>keep 'em coming as this is really helpful</p>
<p>Is cost a deal breaker? </p>
<p>When my dd got down to the last two schools, we simply set a deadline on when the decision needed to be made and left her alone. The reality is that these top two schools were the top two for a variety of already determined reasons…no need to further hash that out. She simply had to decide between them.</p>
<p>At this point, presumably your daughter already knows she likes these two schools. I’d let her make her decision without further spreadsheets and criteria vetting.</p>
<p>When all things are equal (and they STILL might be for your daughter when you look at calendars, course load, etc), I’m a fan of the coin toss, and then “trying on” the decision for about 2 days, without actually putting money down yet. Declare “I’m going to school A!” Sleep on it, tell a few people you run into, truly sit with this decision that you are going to school A as if it were real and irreversible. </p>
<p>After two days, what’s her gut reaction? Relief, peace, excitement? or queasiness, unease, regret? </p>
<p>Sometimes the gut knows best.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And sometimes the choice doesn’t really matter that much. </p>
<p>If, after asking herself many questions, your daughter still considers the two schools to be essentially equivalent, then probably that’s exactly what they are. And in that case, either decision is likely to be just fine.</p>
<p>There’s no one school that is perfect for a student, with all other schools being horrible. In most instances, there are lots of suitable schools. Your daughter just needs to choose between two of them.</p>