I'm having some trouble choosing which College to attend!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello. I am a high school senior and I am having trouble choosing which college I want to attend. I know the final decision is up to what I think and feel, but I would like some advice. </p>

<p>As of know, I have been accepted into 5 colleges: Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, PA), La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA), Allegheny College (Meadville, PA), La Roche College (Pittsburgh, PA) and College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME). I also have applied to a few others, but have heard nothing back. </p>

<p>I live in Philadelphia, PA and I am not sure what I want to major in, but lately I have been leaning towards computer science. I'm still unsure of this because math isn't a strong point for me and I know it is important for computer science. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to vist any of these schools (but hopefully I will be visiting La Salle soon) Here is a list of things that are important to me in a college:</p>

<p>I want to attend a small to medium sized school (No more than 7,000, but less is prefered)
I, of course, want to get a quality education
Academic resources such as tutoring, career placement after graduation, etc
Staff and faculty that are knowledgeable and easy to work with
Good internship opportunities
Small teacher to student ratio</p>

<p>Here are some thoughts on the schools:</p>

<p>Susquehanna University</p>

<p>I've heard the academics are really good here, most of the work is helpful and not just "busy work", also the professors and faculty and nice and easy to work with. The campus is very beautiful and well kept and the dorms are all nice as well. I've also heard the class availability isn't the best, which is bad for an undecided student like myself. But apprently, there is a freshman seminar specifically for undecided students that helps them make their decison, which I think is really cool. I have also heard it is very money grubbing, but I assume more or less all private college are money grubbing since most cost at least $40,000 a year to attend. Susquehanna has a great study abroad program (studying off campus is mandatory), I have always wanted to study abroad during my college education, but that is at least another $5,000 that I probably won't have lying around. Also, the school is nearly $50,000 a year. They are giving me a merit scholarship, but it is less than that of the most of the others schools I've been accepted to. Also, it is more or less required that you live on campus all four years. I have been thinking I may want to attend this school.</p>

<p>La Salle University</p>

<p>I have heard great things about the academics at La Salle. La Salle is regarded as a good college. It is also very close to home, so if there is any need for me to go home, I can. Being from Philadelphia, I know the Olney neighborhood where La Salle is is not a good neighborhood. Apperently the dorms at La Salle are old and not kept up very well. Its bad enough people from Philly are rude and ghetto, I don't want to have that while I'm at college. I have also heard about the great academic help at La Salle. They have free turtoing, tutoring specifically for math, practice exams and finals and many more things! Since I have worried about making the transition form high school student to college student, especially when it comes to academics, this was a big plus for me. La Salle is also offering me a very good merit scholarship. I have also thought a lot about attending this school. </p>

<p>Allegheny College
I have heard amazing things about the academics here. To be honest, I didn't think I would be accepted to this school! Out of all the schools I've been accepted to, this is probably the most academically strong. They are giving me a really good merit scholarship (same amount as La Salle is). My biggest (and probably my only) qualm with Allegheny is that it works in trimesters. I don't know if learning that way is best for me, so I am a little apprehensive about that. Other than thta, I haven't any bad things about this school, except that most don't like that it is in a small town where there is nothing to do. </p>

<p>La Roche College
I haven't heard much about this school. Apprently the academics are good, but the staff and faculty are unorganized at times. This school is ALOT cheaper than all the others schools I have been accepted into and apparently all the dorms have a bathroom inside, which is really nice. This school is offering me a decent scholarship :)</p>

<p>College of the Atlantic</p>

<p>Even though the school seems like it would give me a great education, it seems too focused on huma ecology for me. I love that it's in Maine, but it is $50,000+ a year and so far they haven't offer me any merit based scholarships. It seems like a good school, but after further inspection, I thnk it is the right one for me.</p>

<p>I have also applied to Dickinson College (Carlise, PA). Eugene Lang at the New School for Liberal Arts (New York City, NY), and Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA).</p>

<p>I'm not expecting to get into Dickinson since it is so selective and about 40%-60% of its student body applies early decision (I think, don't quote me on it). I haven't heard back from Eugene Lang at all sine I submitted my application in early December (accept to tell me they recieved my application) and I applied to Moravian a little on the late side, so I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't accept me either. </p>

<p>Any advice would be helpful. I type this quickly so sorry for the millions of grammatical errors. Sorry for the super long post, too. </p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

2

<p>Take a look at the course catalogs and schedules to see if the following junior/senior level CS courses are offered:</p>

<p>algorithms and complexity *+
theory of computation +
operating systems *+
compilers +
databases *
networks *
security and cryptography *
software engineering *
computer architecture +
electives like graphics, artificial intelligence, etc.</p>

<ul>
<li>= good for industry software jobs, in addition to courses for the area you are interested in working in</li>
<li>= good for preparing for graduate school, in addition to courses in your intended graduate specialty</li>
</ul>

<p>Be sure to check the schedules to see how often the courses are offered. Courses offered once every two years are easy to miss.</p>

3

<p>You said about College of the Atlantic:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You described it in less than glowing terms, then said it is the right one for you. Typo or Freudian slip?</p>

<p>You sound most excited about Allegheny.</p>

4

<p>Yeah, it was a typo :slight_smile: thanks for the reply!</p>

5

<p>College of the Atlantic and Eugene Lang do not offer computer science as a major, so if you really want to major in computer science, they may not be good fits.</p>

<p>You may want to check the course selection and offering frequency at the others.</p>

6

<p>Allegheny College follows the regular semester schedule not the trimester!</p>

7

<p>How serious are the financial issues? That you haven’t been able to visit any of these institutions makes me wonder if money is short in your household. Here is a nifty tool that you can use to compare your aid packages side-by-side: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>

<p>Remember, if you must take on more than the federal loan maximums in debt, you are almost certainly borrowing too much.</p>

8

<p>As someone who is familiar with all the schools you’re considering, I’d place Allegheny at the top. It’s clearly a cut above some of the others academically. But don’t decide until you visit your finalists. Give considerable weight to four-year graduation rates and job-placement data.</p>