Missouri University of Science and Technology Top Questions

Find a college where you feel most comfortable, and that has alot to offer.

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Choose the college that fits your personality best. I chose an engineering school because I have a passion for learning how things work and because I've built contraptions in my room since I was young. I still do. Everyone has something that they are interested in and they should choose the college that allows them to pursue those interests. Get active, make friends, and get out of your comfort zone. If you dive in and get involved right away, you'll have plenty show off in an interview. Along with that, having a good group of friends will build your character so that you can impress employers and land the job of your fancy. I wouldn't have had a fighting chance in landing a Co-Op if it weren't for my involvement at the fraternity and taking on leadership roles in design teams at school. I also would have missed out on some of the best times of my life and the best friends in my life. Last, but not least, do your homework and study! To sum it up, do your due diligence in school, get involved, make friends, and do what you want!

Parents: You remember the story of Tom Sawyer and the whitewashed fence? No one wants to do something they are obliged to do. You have already picked out what school would be best for your child, but you have to accept that if you try to force your child to go there, it will become the last place they want to go. Try to find several schools that you would be okay with and casually point out some of those schools' redeeming qualities and some of the other schools' downfalls. In this way, you can quietly encourage your child to choose a school that will be a good match for them. They are listening, they just don't want you to know that. Students: Talk to your parents. After you visit a school (which you must do!) then sit down with them and make a pros and cons list. Keep all of these lists and use them to decide which school will be your best match. Whether an item makes the pro or con list, will aid your discussion with your parents. It will help to match how they see you, with who you are and what you need.

I think it's most important to find the school that's right for you and your major -- even if there aren't very many campus programs, you'll still meet people and make friends without having to deal with all the campiness and cheesiness of on campus activities. Even if you make friends though, realizing that you're attending a school that does not truly cater to your major, and doesn't cater to your other interests you'll always feel like you missed pursuing them. Just because a school has other factors that interest you like having few or many students, having a good teacher to student ratio (preventing lots of large lecture classes), or is close to your home--all of these factors are important, but if the school is great except for the fact that your major is not well represented, the school is not the right school. Keeping your major (and your other interests, which could lead to a minor or a second major) in mind is the most crucial thing when picking a college.

Make sure you visit the campus (especially during a normal school day). Walk around to see what the campus experience is like there; every campus is different. Find someone (either via friends, Facebook/MySpace, anything) who has attended or, better yet, is attending the college and ask them how they feel about it personally. If this person knows you, ask them if they feel that the college would be a good fit for you. Ultimately, you need to look inward and figure out what the heck it is you're trying to do. Are you serious about getting the best education money can buy? If so, try searching Google for some respectable, neutral sources for reviews/ratings about the "top college" in your chosen area of study. The final decision is yours, so make sure you find a place where you could see yourself graduating and entering the "real" world from.

Visit! And don't just visit on the days that are "tour days." Show up and surprise the campus when they are not expecting it. Walk around while students are attending classes. Try to talk to random students, they are actually going through what you will be going through. Try to get a feel for the atmosphere there, because it really sucks to end up somewhere you hate. Also be sure of your choose, because transfering is very hard, and you never get as much money in scholarships if you transfer. Don't choose a school becuase of its good reputation, this is most likly based on its prevouse history. Unfortunatly some schools right now think that they need to change what they have been doing right for many years. They end up destroying what they had going on. In the end you have to visit, and find out for yourself.

Visit colleges and find the ONE that mkes you comfortable and gives you that "wow, this is where I belong" feeling.

Study, study, study! Make good study habits right of the bat and continue them. Studying is the key to success at college.

If I had to give some advice it would be to students and I would say; "dont pressure yourself about things like social life and money those things will come, focus on bigger more important things like the quality of education you will recieve or the job placement of the college."