Factors to Look At When Deciding

Hi everyone!!

I’m currently a senior in HS and have been accepted into four major universities so far and am waiting on two more decisions. However, I’m having a very hard time deciding and I want to make sure I make the best decision. I’m in the process of making a spreadsheet, weighing the pros and cons of each school. I’m including basic info such as cost, if they have my major (which they all do of course), location, social life factors etc. but I’m not sure all of what to include. I’m just not sure of what kinds of factors I should be looking at. If anyone could shoot some ideas my way that would be greatly appreciated!!!

The spreadsheet is a good start. My daughter did the same thing and found it helpful. You should also include such factors as travel time and expense, activities available on campus (though if you are looking at large universities, this may not be as relevant as it was for LACs), and type of housing. Look at the party culture as well. If you’re not much of a partier and that is the dominant activity on weekends, you may be happier somewhere else.

But most importantly, go and visit each one if you can. It’s hard to quantify fit and you may find that one just feels better, all else being equal. If you can’t visit again, and everything looks fairly equal, then you should feel comfortable just picking one. You’ve done your homework and you won’t go wrong.

Regarding your major (or other possible majors), take a look at the following at each school:

  • Do you have direct admission to the major, or do you enter undeclared?
  • If you enter undeclared, does entrance to the major require a high GPA or competitive admission, or is it just a formality after passing (C or higher grades) the prerequisites?
  • For the junior and senior level courses, take a look at what in-major courses (required and electives) are offered, and how frequently.

Also, consider the following characteristics of the school:

  • Net price after financial aid and scholarships.
  • For any scholarships, is there a high GPA requirement to renew? If so, would losing the scholarship force you to drop out or transfer due to being too expensive?
  • Overall degree requirements, including general education requirements.

In addition to the factors above, consider:

Programs: undergrad research programs/funding/opportunities; study abroad programs and credit policies for classes taken off campus – are only credits from certain programs accepted, do you have to petition etc.

Social life – role of greek life, what percent of students participate, is it a central part of social life on campus. Dorms-guaranteed on-campus for 4 years or not. Themed learning communities or special programs (substance free, foreign language, service housing etc).

I would definitely look at the course catalogue to see what your course of study would look like at each. I’d also research how easy it is to get the courses/major you’d like/need. If you think you would like to write a thesis, is that possible? Who teaches those classes? What’s the format? Large lecture, small seminar? How do you learn best?

Personally, I think visiting is key. Is this a community you’d like to be a part of? What will your non studying time look like? If academics are your job, what’s the rest of your life going to be?

And as mentioned, do a deep dive on all the websites to see what unique opportunities each offers. Something might leap out at you as highly attractive, whether it’s special interest housing, study abroad, internships, etc.

Also if you are interested in honors colleges, they can vary a lot. Some require a set of core honors classes be taken.
Some require a set number of classes to be taken as honors. Some let you decide to take or not take honors classes but provide access to honors housing and priority registration.

Also look at health insurance requirements and possibility of waiving the university insurance, that might cost several thousand $ more a year.

Look at tuition cost for all four years, sometimes upperclassmen have to pay more. Or after a certain amount of credits, which can be reached by sophomore year if you have lots of AP credits.

Housing costs for upperclassmen can also be costly and some schools require the students to live on campus for set amount of years.

Spreadsheets and analytical tools are very helpful helping to isolate schools make sense and you have a great start.
–You may also want to look at things like (as noted above) do you have a direct admit to your major of choice (which I think is big)? is the coursework different at any of the schools (ex. does one have a large core curriculum and one have no core – either of which may be appealing to you)? you may want to consider size of classes and if they are taught by professors or TAs?
–In addition you can try to isolate some of the “softer social” things you may want in a college. Ex. – does the school have things you would like or not like – such as Greek Life, big time sports, religious affiliation and anything else that is important to you?

And while a spreadsheet is a great way to pull information together, don’t disregard gut feeling as part of the process. Consider if one campus feels more like home?more comfortable? has people you feel more drawn to? seems more exciting to you etc.

things off the top of my head: 1) size of campus – easy to get from one end to the other? Or do people have to be shuttled?

  1. weather. Palo Alto? Milwaukee? Big difference

  2. Cultural offerings. Art, museums, performances, theater – on campus or in town? Or is there very little?

  3. Rural or urban? Does it matter? How is the nearby town? Can you get to another big city quickly if you wanted to?

  4. diversity. Is 92% of one race okay for you?

  5. Co-op opportunities?

  6. Institutional support of study abroad?

In dream land, visiting all the colleges would be great. But some don’t have the financial means to visit 4-6 colleges, but even if they do, where do they find the time if they are involved and committed students? Going on weekends doesn’t give a good pic of a college so it means missing school. So it is important to narrow it down to a couple that stand out. Base it on the biggies - size, spirit, academic reputation/level, location (rural/urban and how far from home, etc.) demographics, and weather. Pretty much what @T26E4 said.

Thanks everyone for all your great responses. Out of the four I have been accepted too I have been directly admitted to my major and have been accepted into their respective honors colleges. There are two I haven’t visited and one I don’t plan on, as it’s a large back up for me. I’m planning on visiting the fourth school sometime next month and then I have to wait for scholarship and aid to come back. I’m excited to finalize my spreadsheet and really come to a conclusion on such a big decision. Thanks everyone!!