Cornerstone University Top Questions

College is a time to expand and grow. It is one last place for students to try new things before they enter the world of adulthood. I would humbly submit that when searching for schools, to look at several schools and not to put all your eggs in one basket by limiting yourself to just one. Choose the one that is best for you, that might not necessarily be the one your boy/girlfriend or best friend will be attending or the one that is closest to home. But on the other hand it may be the perfect school for you. You just never know until you have gone out and searched. And when you have finally found the school for you, do not hold back. Immerse yourself into the culture of the school. Get to know potential friends and the professors. This school is your home for the next season of your life. I suggest that you make the most of it.

First, make sure the school offers your major. If it does, go check it out. Look for sense of community and how open the students and faculty are to you (the visitor). Next, sit in on a class; while listening ask yourself "is this professor keeping me engaged as a learner or am I going to fall asleep?" Only four more things...eat some cafeteria food. If you are going to live on campus you may have to eat in the cafeteria and you do not want to have to starve. Stay night in a dorm if possible (this is a test of the dorm livability). Find some current students at that college or university and ask them their opinion of the school. Finally, go to financial aid and figure out the cost of the school and how that will fit your budget. If you do this with more than one school, compare and contrast after having looked at all your options. Hopefully, after all of this, you will know what school you want to attend. When you are finally at your school of choice...go to class, make new friends, graduate, and most importantly enjoy, because it goes quick.

Shop around. When you enter a campus and are awestruck. You may be in the right place. I believe that the social aspect of college is almost as important as the academic part. Find a place that glows of community as well as learning.

Parents: don't limit where your student can go. Students: do what you want otherwise school sucks!

Visit a lot of colleges

The advice that I would give is, first start looking for colleges when your child is at least a sophmore in highschool. This way you can do college visits and your son/daughter can know what it feels like to be on a college campus and see what college classes and life is like. This way they can see what type of college they want to go to a smaller sized one a larger sized college. Size is a huge factor for some kids so a college visit would be key for your childs decision and you helping them. Also money would be taken into account along with the size of the school. These to factors put together can make a college decision much easier and much more faster.

Don't go home on weekends. Stay at college and participate in open dorms. Don't be a loner.

It is important to look at several factors. First what you want to do after college and secondly what you want to do while in college. No college, no matter how academic it is, will give you a good experience if the social life is bad. It is important to make friends and have good memories on top of just academic. On the other hand it is important to look for a college that has a high rate of job placement after. If you attend a school with a great program and great social events but can't get a job afterwards it was a complete waste. Find something you love to do in college and major in it. Also remember to have fun. Sometimes it is just as important to hang out as it is to study. Take your classes seriously even the freshman ones, because they affect your GPA. It is most important to find a get involved and find a quality support structure in your peer and teachers.

Choose wisely and visit first.

It is important for students to have some focus on what they are interested in. Look at the schools that can offer you the degrees that are hirable and that companies will accept. Make sure that when you find your school that you apply for as many scholarships as you possibly can, because even if you aren't paying for it any little bit will help in the future. Make sure you meet with an academic advisor that can help you set up you semester schedules so that you won't have trouble getting into classes that you need or want to take. Lastly, if you are going for a certain career find out as much as possilbe about it so that you can be sure that you are interested in it and that you are ready to take the schooling necessary to get there.