California State University-San Marcos Top Questions

Take a tour of the campus before saying yes. Pictures are decieving.

If you can do it, do it cheap.

Get involved with the school activites as much as possible, joining the track and field team has been a wonderful experience and has kept me focused

Do you research. College is a decision that changes your life. Know your school, the pros and cons, and be prepared to work toward your future.

Don't be afraid to step out of the box, try new things... and participate as much as possible. You will only get out what you put in. College is a once in a lifetime opportunity, have fun while you're there. Study, study, study!

Make sure that you visit the campus and get a look at the type of students that go there. You should be able to get a vibe just from the campus and students. Also, look to see what majors your school is strongest in and make sure yours is one of them. Looking at a list of clubs on campus will help you expand your social networks.

Trust your childs intuition. They don't know what they are getting themselves into but that is the best part about growing up. And what better a place to discover yourself on your own then college. No matter what school they choose or plan on choosing the important thing is they are continuing their education and in the process grow into an adult.

Students should keep their options open and not just choose a college based on where their friends are going but rather where they can see themselves spending the next four years of their life and which college will fulfill their needs both socially and academically. Ultimately the choice of a college must lie with the student because the student can only make the most of their college experience if the student is willing to invest their time into the college both at the social and academic events. If a student does want to make the most of their college experience they must be willing to get involved with their unviersity and occasionally be willing to step out of their comfort zones because college is the one time in a person's life where they can try on different hats that they weren't able to do in high school. The keys to a good college experience is getting involved and staying organized.

Visit the college more than once! Once on the weekend and once on the weekday. And go to some sort of campus event if you're looking for more of the active, involved campus lifestyle. Sporting games, rallys, anything. There will be flyers all around campus for activities. GO TO ONE.

To parents: let your child pick the college that they want to go to. My father picked the college that I had to go to - I had no choice. This only made me have a negative feeling toward my college, but luckily it turns out that I like it. This case might not be the same for others. Let your children pick the college of their choice - it is their life after all. You can only guide them in so many aspects - let them choose!

I would advise to at least answer the following questions to yourself when starting college: Is the college you want to go to close to home? Is it financially affordable? Does it meet your academic needs? It is suitable for you in terms of off campus living (retail stores, etc.)? If there comes a time that you indeed are not happy at the college you first attend, re-evaluate your needs and how thing are progressing for you academically. Get involved with an on campus group, whether it be on a sports team or in a fraternity/sorority group. Making friends around you will definately make college life easier.

In order to find the right college and make the most of the college experience, it will take a great deal of effort from the student and an alert parent to allow for the student to make a wise choice of what institute to attend. I would advise for the student to be involved in the high school AVID program so that they can have the advantage of having the information about institutions requirements and atmospheric life. The student should start visiting institutions by junior year to get a feel for what location fits best for the students. The student needs to figure out what grades its going to take to attend the dream institution and which institution will be best choice for the choice of major to study. Parents can help by visiting with the student the institutions so that they can also have a picture of what and where their child will be pursuing their future studies. The parent and student should also make appointments with a counselor at the institutions to view a tangible road map of what the college experience is going to consist of.

No advice. Go visit every campus in person during a weekday during school hours to see what it is like. Join clubs, get involved.

The best advice that I can give is that almost nothing that you experienced in high school will prepare you for college. It is an entirely different experience altogether. Never be afraid to ask a question if you don't understand something. Chances are there are a few other people who have the same question as you. Keep up with the readings. Do the homework, even if it is not being graded. Make friends with people in the class; form study groups. Trust me; study groups will be your biggest friend. If you can get tutoring help on campus, take advantage of it. Your grades will increase. The second best piece of advice that I can give is to choose the school where you think you will be the most happy. I chose a school that was very prestigious, but I was not happy there. I ended up leaving that school for another, less prestigious school. It may not look quite as impressive on my resume, but I am happy and my grades reflect that.

One advice I would give to parents and/or students about the right college is let the students pick the right college for themselves. If it's not the college they prefer then it will be hard for them to have most postive college exprience from it. The only thing a parents can do is to give them alternative choices of schools, but ultimately the student should decide which college to attend. The parents are there to guide their children/s to their choice of school to attend. ATTEND SCHOOL TOURS, parents and future students.

Definately visit the college and stay there for a couple of days before making a final decision.

have fun, meet as many people as possible, be very open minded

Look for a school that is a fit for both the parents and the students. Be sure the academic environment is something you are willign to associate yourself with. Get involved as much as possible, soak it up and don't let anything pass you by.

College is an important step in shaping lives. The manor in which you go about college and how seriously you take it will follow throughout your life. It is therefore important to put as much effort into college as you expect to get out of life. This takes a great deal of motivation and the only way to stay motivated in college is to pick a major that you are interested in. Remember, whichever major you choose will mold you and give you skills for life and any future career. It really does go a long way to determining if you will be happy with your career, and therefore your working years after college. Once you have your degree, no one looks at how long it took, so take your time to pick a degree you enjoy and that is suited to you. Also, take your time to complete this degree with your best possible work. If this means taking more time and learning the material more thoroughly, that is important. College is your opportunity to give yourself the best chance to follow your dreams, so choose wisely.

College can be a tough transition. A good way to make it easier is joining clubs that you find interest in. There are many opportunities out there for students if they want it. I tried joining organizations such as Greek Life and Sports clubs (volleyball and wakeboarding). Still I learned more through my study abroad experience. I strongly advise students to look into a study abroad program. It opened my eyes to a new way of learning. I remember my first time in the Global Affairs Office, I had so many questions and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable on the steps I had to take. After I completed my year abroad I came back to my university and felt I had an advantage over others. I was able to take a glance at the world around me and apply it to research projects by bringing in outside ideas. Advice to parents is to always keep a supportive outlook. I have established a great relationship with my parents from being abroad. They understand me better because I know myself better, which is exactly what a good college education should accomplish.