<p>Hi I have to obviously make the decision of where I choose to committ to college by May 1. The only problem is I am puzzled and am clueless about where I should and want to go. I live in NJ and my choices are JMU, Virginia Tech, Udel, and U of Maryland. I am a smart student with an undecided major at the moment so I want to make sure I make the best decision possible. Please give me your insight on where I should go. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)</p>
<p>You need to provide more information about what your selection criteria are and what matters to you in choosing a school. How did you choose these schools to apply to? What are your financial constraints and how much FA did you get at each school? What are you interested in academically and career-wise? Each of these schools is a great fit for the right student but without more info, we can’t help.</p>
<p>I liked these schools because they were generally close and not too far from southern jersey. Price is not a major factor although JMU and Virginia tech are cheaper. I received a $5000 academic non-renewable scholarship from VT. I also received a $5500 renewable scholarship from Udel. Maryland I received no scholarships, and I am still waiting on JMU to see if I get anything. As for my major I am clueless. I have thought countless hours trying to see what’s good for me with my parents, guidance counselor, and myself. Since I have no idea at the moment I want a school that has a fair amount of options. Also my big factor is I wanted a nice campus that is not in the city or too heavily populated. I hope this helps with info. Give me your opinions…thanks again!</p>
<p>If those are your only preferences, I’d just go with the cheapest option. None of these are in the city. Not sure what ‘too heavily populated’ means to you - UMD is big. Is that the issue?</p>
<p>Why not go visit your top 2-3 choices? The cost of visiting pales in comparison to the tuition you’ll be paying overall.</p>
<p>Ok. Sorry I wasn’t much help in describing my situation, but thank you so much for replying. I’m going to revisit JMU and VT in about two weeks. They are the cheapest and also probably where I think I will end up. Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>A few suggestions to help you get the most out of your visits:</p>
<p>1) look at the course catalogs in the areas you are interested in. Check out the breadth and depth of the coursework offered. Then visit the departments and see how it feels - what’s on the bulletin boards?
2) check out the clubs and student activities - can you find enough that interests you? what do people do on a Saturday night?
3) read the student newspapers - a couple of back issues - what are the students excited about? upset about?<br>
4) eat in the cafeteria - can you do this for 4 years?
5) what’s within walking distance? what the surrounding community feel like? hows the public transportation if you want to get away and don’t have a car?
6) what are the housing options? is everyone on campus? if not, is it because they wanted to be off campus or because there’s a housing shortage?
7) how often do people get shut out of the classes they want? what’s the policy about getting in the next time if you got shut out this time?<br>
8) what kind of support does the career placement center offer? internships?
9) what percent of the campus studies abroad? belongs to a frat? participates in organized religious activities? participate in a sport? All of these are ‘culture’ questions aimed at helping you get a feel for the place</p>
<p>If you do most of this stuff, you should have enough information to get a good sense of where you belong.</p>
<p>Wow that is perfect. I can’t thank you enough for those suggestions and questions. I will use that on my tours.</p>
<p>maryland is probably the best choice for someone undecided</p>