Colorado State University-Fort Collins Top Questions

Get involved.

The point of college is not only to get an education that prepares you for your chosen career field, but also to grant a life-altering experience. Students find their passion(s) in college. Their gpa may not always reflect it, but life lessons are learned, bonds and relationships are formed, creativity is encouraged, tolerance for others is increased, and students become more cultured, which is important now more than ever. A student should feel at home on campus. They should enjoy what the college has to offer, as well as the city it is located in. Picking the right college should make students desire involvement with it; clubs, sports, concerts, events, jobs, volunteering, you name it. The options should be there. Students will spend their best years at the college they choose. Choosing wisely may not be as important as valuing what your choice offers. Don't take anything for granted, never wish a week to end, and participate in everything you can; all too soon it will all be over. Make memories wherever you go.

Finding the right college includes considering a culmination of factors such as school size, diversity, academia, and variety of majors available. Students should be comfortable with the school they choose, because they will be attending for four years. The right college will have the major the student desires, be focused on their academic success, and be large, small, or medium in population, depending on what the student likes. The feel of the school and its social life is also important. A student who makes the most of their college experience will want to get involved in clubs, fraternities, sororities, or athletics. Depending on the college or university, there will usually be many clubs and organizations to choose from. It is also important to utilize resources such as tutoring, libraries, and professors' office hours. Attending a college or university can be a very rewarding experience. Students have the chance to expand their minds and opinions, as well as have opportunities to study abroad and participate in internships. The best way to go into the world of work is to go to college and get an education. Make the most of it!

Your college experience is going to be something that you look back on for years to come. When deciding where to go to college, try not to let financial issues make the decision for you. If you really want to go the the most expensive school, that just means you're going to want to look for the most financial aid. Not choosing the shcool you like the most will come back to bite you in the butt. Make sure that you get involved with the school, it'll give you something to look forward to after a long day of classes. Also, try to break out of your shell if you're shy. Make new friends and make sure not to judge people for anything, they could be completely different. Try lots of new things and obviously try hard in classes. Everything you do ends up paying off.

I would advise parents and students to look at the smaller colleges and universities. Not only do you have smaller classroom sizes, but it gives the student the opportunity to be more involved and known at their school. The competition is less, you more oppotunities to do a wide variety of things, and at the end of it all, your resume will look better than someone who went to a large school and didn't get those opportunites.

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Even if the school is very convient for the parents and students because it is close, make sure that it is the right school you want to go and you feel comfortable going to

Money is always an issue but it is important to go to a school that has many different perks as opposed to a school that is simply affordable. For example, Colorado State is very expensive out of state however, if Colorado is where one would like to spend their time there is a good chance that student would be more focused and excited about being at that particular university.

When I first walked onto Colorado State's campus I automatically knew that I wanted to go there. It had something that I call "the feel". I highly advise any newly graduated high school student to pick their future college campus by visiting the campus grounds. It's completely different than looking in a picture book. Something comes over you, the student; you step onto campus and automatically feel like you belong - like there is no other school you would rather go to than the one you are standing on right then. Take a tour of the school when school is in session. That way, it would be like a normal college day instead of the campus being completely deserted. That isn't a real experience. The student should know a little about what they want. Weather, size of campus, dorm size, extracurricular programs they want to participate in, and if they want to go away to school or not. My last piece of advice is that every student should go away to college. It helps the student have a sense of "dependant independence", and really find out who they really are without using their family as a crutch.

First, the student needs to be comfortable on campus and feel safe. Also, the student needs a size that can hold their personality. Some super shy students get lost in larger universities, while boisterous students will tend to step on a lot of toes in a smaller university. A University that will allow you to talk to a professor or a department head without making an appointment, no matter the size of the University, will be a place that the student will get the academic and personal attention they will need to really become a sucessful adult as they go through their college years.

When looking for the right college it is important to examine every detail. Look at the quality of on-campus housing and dining, the layout of the campus, the quality of technology/resources, and the surrounding city. You have to remember that you will be living there for at least four years, so if there is something you can not handle at the school/city of your choice then you should rethink your choice. Also important to consider is the number of majors-that you are interested in-that a school offers. It is quite possible that you will decide to change your major, and if that happens it is much nicer to be at a school that has another major that you want. To make the most out of your college experience, simply remember to keep balance. Don't ignore your schoolwork in order to hang out with friends, or enroll in every on-campus organization that you possibly can. Simply budget your time so that you can do everything that you need/want to.

My greatest advice for parents and students is to discuss all of your options and goals together. Things you should talk about: ~ If money is an issue, go to a community college for your first two years and get all the core curriculum out of the way so that you can make the most out of the two years you spend at the college you really want. My first year's classes were in large classrooms with over a hundred students and no connection to the teacher, which seems like an education you can get anywhere, for cheaper. ~If there are opportunities for you, run with it! I have gained so much through the honors program at my school that I couldn't get anywhere else because I was able to discuss my ideas and concepts with top professors who were eager to listen to me. Also, in my first year I gained so much valuable experience through a mentor program, and have earned multiple jobs in my field of study because of that program. Those types of experiences you can only get at a school that is dedicated to what you want to do. Good luck and remember: discuss!

To find the best college, I would say that choosing a study focus that interests you is more important than the prospective jobs that some fields can have. Once a person figures out what they want to study, they should pick the school with the best program for that study, without making a large emphasis on the location of the school. In making the most of the college experience, I would say that it is very important for students to engage themselves in conversations with their fellow students as much as they can. Also, it is very important to make friends quickly and just be yourself. As long as your friends know the real you, then these friends will potentially be your best friends for the rest of your life.

first make sure that you apply to all the colleges that you would even remotely ever want to go to so that you have lots of options in the college picking. way your options when choosing a college and visit the cmapuses before deciding. then once you move to your chosen college for your freshman year make sure to start early making friends and meeting people in your classes and dorm (especially if you are attending school out of state) also join any clubs or sports that interest you. and finally focus on and dont let your school work suffer = a great college experience.

do general ed at a community college, then transfer into a college..have fun and don't switch majors, just get it done

In finding the right college, I think it is very important to look into more than just scholarly history, but also to visit the campus and look at extracurricular activities. For many people I know, they went to college based solely on the academic aspect, which of course is very important, but it is hard to do well acadmically when you are unhappy with your surroundings. Being in college is like no other experience, and it is not something that one should waste. It is important to make the best of it the whole time through and it is important to try to find the best place for yourself based on who you are.

Get Invovled!

You need to have an idea of what you want to do with your education. May be a year of travelling and finding yourself can help with this. Also you need to spend some time with oyur child at some of the colleges you all are interested in.

As a current student I would advise others to choose the best place that fits you by visiting the campus and their website to see if they share the same interests as you or if it is at a location you prefer. If you don't know what you are looking for, it's ok because more than half of freshman that enter college don't know what they want either which gives you a chance to explore what the college offers. And also stay open minded about other colleges/universities, don't apply for just one, apply to at least 5 so you have a good chance of getting into college you were looking into. Also to the parents who's children will soon be future freshman, you need to be suppotive no matter where your child goes because you are the first person they look up to.

Myself entering college as an Open Option, or no major, student: It is important for a student that is Open Option to have options for classes, majors etc. not only because it allows flexibility without changing schools but it allows the student to enroll in classes that teach subjects unknown. Also as a word of advise, the first two years or so are just core classes, non-major, so don't be discouraged because a major isn't chosen; furthermore, a major is a guideline for classes and can be changed almost anytime.