Johns Hopkins University Top Questions

The two most important objectives when searching for a college should be terrific networking opportunities and a comfortable atmosphere. If a student is not excited and happy in her college environment, she will never have a strong enough drive to truly succeed in college. Additionally, volunteer experience and internships are very important for whatever comes after her time as an undergraduate. This makes networking incredibly important to a student's future. Choose a school that is well-known and is universally respected, so that all of the student's hard work is not in vain.

Consider the size of the college and the financial aid package.

get involved around campus, you won't regret it.

Be open minded. It's not about the big name, it's about what's best for you and what's the right fit.

The one thing I can say is branch out, try new things, and find a passion in life that drives you. Too many students at this school and others across the country are so focused on the end goal of a particular career that they forget to enjoy college. Yes, college is expensive, and students should strive to achieve a great GPA mixed with internship or research experience. Yet, college is expensive, and part of the cost is for broadening personal horizons. Invest in a social life, make interesting friends, join unique clubs, and take unfamiliar classes. Devote a good deal of time to beefing up your resume and pursuing your dream job, but save some time to learn about yourself. Attending a university is not only about learning new skills and facts to use in the career world, it is also about receiving an education. And an education is just as much about the experiences you have and maturity you achieve as the facts you learn in the classroom. So if you are pre-law, take that class on the brain. If you are pre-med, take painting. Work hard, yet have fun and leave college with no regrets.

The college entrance process was terrifying for me because I felt powerless--I knew that in order to attend any school, I would need a large scholarship, which made me feel disadvantaged. My general advice, then, would be to encourage especially the students themselves to really take control of the process. I think it was really important for me to be the executive decision maker; I researched schools, organized the visits, planned my tests, and did all the applications myself. This isn't to say that you shouldn't accept help from your parents, but this is a really important decision about the rest of your life, and to be able to put the work makes you more knowledgable and thus more comfortable with what's happening. When it comes to making the actual decision, I would again speak to students instead of parents. I think that it's extremely important to strip your decision of all outside forces--what name looks the best on your resume, what your parents want---none of those things are going to matter much in the end. If you are empowered enough to make the right decision for yourself, it will be respected.

Make sure that the college is a right fit for what the student wants to do. Names are not important.

If life was like a game, then college is like hitting the restart button. You get a chance to do everthing over again- make new friends, have a crazy new hair style, become a goth girl, etc. You can be a new you! and the best thing about it is, that you get to choose who you're going to be. People say that college was the funnest time of their lives, and i can see why. Definitely do everything you wanted to do in high school but you were too shy to do (like joining a math club.. idk). Make the most of your time there, and have fun with it! However, your likelihood of enjoying college life heavily depends on you finding the right school for you. Definitely take advantage of the campus tours, and shadowing programs. Having a personal experience at a school that you might attend for the next 4 years (or more; hopefully not!) is important. Talk to random students on campus; ask them if they like it there. Dont believe everything that the tour guide or admissions people tell you. Afterall, they're gettig paid by the school.!

Find an institution that actually cares that you are there. A place that will support, nuture, encourage and challenge your academic and personal growth and development.

Students and parents should not over-stress during the application process. All that the student has done up until the application time is what the student is capable of; therefore, he/she will get into the school that is suited for him/her. Also, it is a smart move for the student to have an idea of what he/she wants to study. They say college is the time for discovery, and that you have plenty of time to pick a major, but I do not think so. Majors have many requirements, but the core curriculum for some colleges. In order to get ahead, the student should stick to one major/minor by fall of sophomore year in order to apply for the right internships or jobs necessary and build experience for the next step.