I’m a high school sophomore, and I’m looking at colleges now. I’m wondering what other people value when it comes to looking at colleges so I can consider as many factors as possible. Thanks.
I’m also a sophomore. Like people have been saying on your other post, I agree that first and foremost come where you can afford and where you have a shot at getting in. After that, location (how far away do you want to be from home? Is there a part of the country that you particularly like? Do you care about weather? Would you rather be in a city with lots of opportunities, or in more of an isolated place where campus life and school spirit might might be stronger?) and size (do you want to be at a tight-knit small school where most people know each other, a huge school where you can blend into the crowd, or something in between?) are really important.
I’d suggest visiting several colleges of varying size this summer, if possible. Three or four visits would start to give you an idea of what is important to you. If you can go to specially designated open house days, there are often student and faculty panels that are informative.
Talk seriously with your parents about how much money is available to you for your education. And then learn about scholarships and deadlines for each college you are applying to.
Be realistic about chances of admission. If you apply to a college that accepts 15% of applicants, don’t assume that you are assured of getting in, even if you are in the top 10% or 5% of your class. There are 37,000 valedictorians in the US, and 100,000+ who were first, second or third in their class. Study the common data set for each school that you are interested in. And ask your guidance counselor to show you a copy of your school profile that they submit to each of your colleges, along with your transcript.
The biggest criteria:
a. Does it have the range of academic majors and programs that you are interested in studying? While a very large percentage of college students change majors, many can at least figure out a general range of majors of interest. The more undecided you are, or the greater that range of possible interests you have, the more constraining this criterion can be, in that suitable colleges need to have good or acceptable strength in a larger number of academic majors and programs.
b. Is it affordable without needing parent loans or parent cosigned student loans? You need to talk to your parents about what they will contribute and to get basic financial information to run net price calculators on college web sites. If a college is not affordable on need-based financial aid, then you need to make the reach/match/safety assessment based on the chance of earning a large enough merit scholarship, not merely admission.
Remember to start your list with a safety that you know will admit you, you know will be affordable, has the academic majors and programs you want, and is a school that you like.
The things I valued most during my search: geographic location, size, prestige of degree program I was interested in, likelihood to give me a scholarship. I knew I wanted to be in a major city, preferably in the Northeast, at a large school, with a respected/top ranked journalism program (my intended major), that gave merit aid. Now, that said, I applied to two schools that did not meet two of these criteria, because I was 17 and blinded by ~New York~ and prestige that was unconnected to my intended major. If I were looking now, I’d apply the same criteria, but would focus more on the strength of journalism program + merit scholarship angle… I loved going to school in a major city, but in hindsight would have been OK at a different type of school (in a college town, for example). I hyper-focused on “big city” unnecessarily. That said, knowing whether or not you can live in a rural college town or not is still important.
So that is to say, personally: I would focus first on places likely to minimize your out-of-pocket cost/debt, then on a cocktail of ideal school size/strength of major program you’re looking at (b/c school size does matter) + location/school culture. But even beyond these criteria, I would stay open to a few outlier schools that might not be “perfect,” re: location/size if they are strong for your major and/or likely to work out financially. Nowadays, the smartest thing is to get the best possible education for the least possible amount of money. You never know which school will make you the best offer.
I cared about whether or not they had my major (Journalism), a TV station, and how reputable that school is in journalism and academics in general. In addition, I only applied to schools with D1 sports and were at least 25% minority. The distance from home did not matter, but I only wanted schools in a vibrant an lively community (no rural areas). One thing many people look over (that I didn’t) is when you actually get to take classes for your major. At many schools, you’re stuck in general course for the first year to first two years. I didn’t want that. It doesn’t make sense to spend tht much on general courses. The college I chose allows me to take courses for my major as a freshman.
Thank you all very much! @lalalemma @MidwestDad3 @ucbalumnus @proudterrier @CaliCash
I’m looking for a school that is somewhat prestige in the major I want to study (engineering) and in a large city with lots to do. I’m also a massive sports fan, so being a good sports school didn’t hurt.
Thanks! @Broncaholic9
Cafeteria food
Mainly you want to focus on a few primary aspects.
• Affordability
Run some net price calculators with your parents and start talking about financials early. You can only borrow $5,500 for freshman year and it goes up $1,000 as the years go on (Sophomore 6,600 dollars, Junior 7,600 dollars etc.) Anything else leftover has to be footed by your parents either through PLUS loans or personal savings from accounts. Get the conversation rolling and don’t let it slide under the rug. It’s better you know now what you can afford so you don’t experience heartbreak down the road.
• Academics
Does the school have your major? If you’re undecided, does it have a wide variety of programs in topics you’d like to explore? If you know what you want, it’s easier to view the academics and know what you want to see in the faculty, courses, and (possibly) labs.
• Campus
What type of campus are you into? Some people like the small rural/suburban vibe and others thrive in the urban cityscape school that spans across metropolitan hubs like NYC or Boston. You’d have to visit yourself to get a feel of what you like. If you’re interested in Catholic/Christian colleges like Notre Dame or Boston College, you’d have to get a feel for that and narrow down all types of criteria (Political affiliation, amount of students, relative size, religious affiliation, weather, location, etc.)
It’s important to have a safety that you like, you’d definitely get in, and is absolutely affordable. It’s not a safety if you don’t like it.
@patriot420 @TheDidactic Thank you, that was really helpful!
The most important things for you when looking at colleges are the following:
- Affordability
- The school itself (Is it competent? Provides quality education?)
- Good Facilities
- Excellent Professors
- Values of the school