Need Help Picking A College!!!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, So far i've been accepted into New Paltz,Stony brook Oneonta, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Skidmore. I like all these schools for different reasons. I'm really into a small school with a good reputation where the professor will know my name, but i just don't want to ignore Binghamton because of its Rep. I'm also looking to have a great social life in college as well. Any advice on how to choose a college thats right for me? Please help.</p>

2

<p>You need to sit down with your parents, and talk about the financial aspect of your education. Do you need financial aid? If so, you need to wait until all of the financial aid packages are on the table so that you can compare them.</p>

<p>Start with the estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) at each place. Some will only include tuition, fees, housing, and meals in the COA. Others will include figures for books, materials, transportation, etc. </p>

<p>From each COA, subtract any scholarships or grants that you don’t have to pay back. The difference that remains is what you will have to pay each year. Sometimes the financial aid award letter will include work-study and loans. That isn’t “free” money. It is money that you will have to earn toward your expenses either while you are in college or after. If the financial aid letter includes any loans other than the federally determined loans such as Staffords, be sure that you and your parents really do understand how long it will take you to pay those loans back. Lots of people don’t and they end up in big trouble. There is a discussion right now about it in the Financial Aid Forum <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1096244-how-do-colleges-justify.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1096244-how-do-colleges-justify.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If money truly isn’t an issue for you, then do your best to visit as many of these as you can. Some are close enough to each other to visit in the same day if you have to. If you know what your major will be, it is perfectly OK to contact that department and ask for more details about the classes, internships, and job placement after graduation.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>