Chapman University Top Questions

Visit the school to see if you could see yourself fitting in at that school.

I would advise them to really research the college before hand and check out the surroundings around the college.

Advice I would give to parents and students when choosing the right college is to keep your current personality in mind. I feel a lot of people romanticize how they will be in college, or how the person they are in college will be different from the person they are in high school. It is important to know yourself, and know what your true likes and dislikes are and what environment makes you feel the most comfortable. You will be more likely to thrive somewhere you feel totally comfortable. It?s also good to keep in mind what kind of student you are. Sometimes going to the best school you get into is not the right decision for you. It is also important to remember that it?s still school, and it?s important to make sure the University you pick has the kinds of classes and programs you are interested in pursuing. Don?t just keep the overall reputation of the school in mind when choosing. Make sure you investigate various departments of interest and look through the course catalogue to make sure the kind of education you want is one you will be able to get.

All prospective college students need to find a college that has the right balance of what they are looking for academically and what they are looking for in a college experience.

College is a time where you will be learing both inside nad outside of hte classroom and it's important to save money to take advantage for some outside oppertunities that the school has to offer. Study abroad was an investment for my parents and me that paid off ten fold.

I think the most important advice one can be giving in choosing colleges, is that you can never apply to too many and you should always visit the college first. I think my biggest mistake was in limiting myself geographically and only applying to 3 colleges. It is very important that, even if one "knows" where they want to go, one carefully considers all of his options. Applying to several colleges give a wider range of options. It is hard to know where one wants to go to college, as young minds are constantly changing their minds. I don't think I know a single person who knew where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do with 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} certainty. I think that one can make their most educated decision by analyzing all of their options; This includes visiting the school to which their applying, understanding all financial information of each college, knowing the student to teacher ratio, and knowing the variety of majors at that school. It is only by educated oneself about all their options that they can make the best decision and get the most beneficial experience in their collge life.

Finding the right college takes soem serious time. The main thing is to make sure that you have a strong interest in the programs offered as well as the campus itself. Do some research, visit the campus and just talk to students who go there and ask them how it is. Taking the campus tours is nice, but remember, they're trying to selll you the school. Take a walk around campus yourself to explore things and interview random students about how they're enjoying it. That's really the best way to get the most accurate information about colleges. The catalogs are one thing, but asking someone experienceing the college is another.

I would say to make sure to look at all of your choices in a very thorough way before making your decision. Make sure to think very carefully of every aspect of the school and to not make decisions based on trivial factors like facilities and location. Make sure to talk to several people that attended the University to get a first-hand feel for what the people and campus environment will be like. Also, make sure to visit every campus you are considering in person because only you can decide what will be the best environment for you. Make sure to be as involved as you can from the beginning in order to meet as many people as possible and create a strong social environment for yourself, especially if you are attending a University that is significantly far from home. Other than that, make sure to never pass up an opportunity because you only get to have your first college experience once and, in my mind, I want to look back and have no regrets :)

Enjoy!

It is important to think long and hard about this decision, because it will not only affect the next four years of your life, but in many cases, the geographic location of the college will affect where you spend the rest of your life. Weigh the benefits and consequences of each school you are considering. Pretend that you have chosen one college to attend, and then imagine your life in the next four years, and then the next ten years. Do you like what you see? Is this what you wanted, or will you regret it? Imagine this hypothetical situation with all of your colleges you are considering. When you are at your college, don't be disappointed when the experience is not what you dreamed of, because unexpected events will always stand in the way of perfection. Join as many different clubs as you can, take a variety of classes, and attend events, because college is the time and place to discover who you are, what you like, and what you want to be.