Baldwin Wallace University Top Questions

Go with your heart. Financial aid of course is a big factor, but go where you feel most comfortable and could see yourself living. You are living there for the next four years, don't choose a place that you are not at all comfortable with the area around you. Make sure there are things on campus that you would like to be involved in.

I would tell them to research colleges. Take campus visits and talk to some of the students on campus and see what there experince is like. Also go on your own preference on the kind of college you would want to go to to narrow your choices, whether it be a small college or large university. Once you pick a school work hard, make new friends, and take every opportunity u can when its giving to you. Of course it will be a lot of hard work and you will have to dedicate yourself, but it will be worth it in the long run.

I would choose the college that is best for the student. Most students want to get as far away as possible, but does not look at how much the cost of the college is, what it has to offer, and what finacial aid you will get. I think that in order to choose a college, the student must, evaluate the college, on his/her standards. The student must feel comfortable at the college, and actually enjoy being there. A friend of mine wanted to get away from his parents and enjoy freedom, well it didn't work because he is home every weekend and is tranfering next semester. He looked at the mileage of the college versus the education and the cost. Now he is more in debt in one semester, than he probably will ever be. I think choosing a college is a students responsiblity but the parent needed to be there to guide the student and make them realize what college is about, instead of how far away it is from the home.

Make sure you visit the college first.

Every student/future student is different, therefore every school is not going to be for them. It is important to seek out a school that has a personality that the student wants for themselves, or reflects of themselves. It is also important to look at the opportunities the College allows for that student. There are so many aspects to think about when choosing a college. You may decide that you want to join a fraternity/sorority, you may decide to get involved in community service, you may decide to spend a semester abroad. Keep all of these things in mind when looking at a school, along with your priorities (safety, quality of education, ect). You have to find the school that has the opportunities you want to take and will create an atmosphere that will encourage you to take these opportunities.

First, my advice is to involve as many resources as possible. Students should use internet search programs, government websites, high school guidance counselors, and parents to narrow the search. Search programs will lead them to make some difficult choices. Ideally this will result in approximately five possibilities: a dream school that if accepted and it is at all financially possible, is the one; three realistic choices, one of which is at a distance beyond your normal comfort zone (for me that was 500 miles from home), and a good back-up college (that may be a community college or a nearby state university). Also important is the fact that the final choice should rest with the student, not the parent because it is not the parent who is going to be attending classes. Once on campus, get involved! Try out for a play, be an athelete, join a fraturnity/sorority, find a club, but don't commute on weekends. Go to class -- You're paying top dollar, so get what you're paying for. The college experience is more than just academic knowledge, but the proper balance between social life and a focus on academics must always be remembered.

Overall, the college decision process is a difficult one, and many parents and students will struggle with it, even after they have been accepted to a specific institution. At the end of the day, I think the only thing that a prospective student can do is to make sure they feel comfortable and welcomed by their campus. This is essential and will help everything else fall into place. You need a home away from home. You need a place where you can picture yourself growing and prospering and really the only way to figure that out is to vist campuses. It may seem like a hastle to take so many tours and to visit so many schools, but it's worth it. First of all, the more schools you vist, the more you'll understand your own likes and dislikes and the more you'll understand what you are looking for in a school. Second of all, when you find yourself on the right campus, you'll just know. You'll picture yourself there. You'll imagine yourself growing as both a person and a student, and you'll imagine yourself obtaining your goals.

Search for a school that speaks to your heart. Pray and ask God to reveal to you where you could be used most to glorify Him and His kingdom. Then once you feel like you have a good grip on where you should go, pray and go. Never look back and make the most of your college experience. If you let Him, God will blow you away in your college years. College students are unique in that movements can be started for God that impact thousands of people for the kingdom of God. Praise the Lord God Almighty!!!

Definitly visit the college campus. It will give you such a better feel for what the college is really like. Overnights are a great way to see how the night life is. You will know when you find that "right" college. Keep visiting and don't stress!

Spend a night at the school you most want to go to, and the runner up. Wherever you feel most comfortable is where you should go. Don't go where all of your high school friends are going, branch out and engage in new situations.