The Evergreen State College Top Questions

I would say visit all the colleges you are thinking of and try to spend some time at each. I didn't realize how much location would impact my life. I really regret not chosing a bigger city. Also interact with many of the people there and try to get a feel for the campus climate. It can be very loney going to a school with people who dont agree with you or respect your values. These elements can be as important as academic ones.

Research each college thoroughly. Visit the campus at least three times, watch how students interact with each other. Interact with them, too! Eat at thier cafeteria, walk around thier grounds, explore thier forest, and go window shopping in the local area. Get a feel for the placement of things and think about how suited it would be to your lifestyle, or how you could change your lifestyle to be succesful there. Look at two colleges, at least, and keep an open mind about traditional and non-traditional methods of teaching and learning that they provide. If a college is rated top in the nation for a selected feild, there is a good reason, and try to discover that reason on your own by doing reasearch and asking questions. Don't follow what the media says about any institution. Every college has bad aspects and good aspects. Remember, your child is an adult now and can make decisions for themselves. It is up to them to stay away from the bad social aspects that one can find on any college campus. If drugs are an issue, select substance free housing.

you have to want to be where you are. if you dont like your classes you wont go, you wont do your work, you wont get your credits. if you dont want to be at the school you choose find a new one. it is the place you meet or dont meet people who are like you or are interested in the same things. if you make the wronge choice its ok you can transfer just dont drop out find the place that fits. if you cant afford 4 years at the one you really want then do 2 years at a local cheaper school and transfer to the one you really want. make it worth the money and make sure it is what the student wants and not the parents!

The book Colleges That Change Lives!

A college experience is for most a once in a life time chance, so choose carefully and take your time when deciding on the right school, it is a good choice to visit the school and get a feeling for the city around the school if the chance is given. I know many students who have come here to my school in the northwest to find the evironment and weather around here depresses them to the point that they cannot focus on their studies. It is important to know these factors before hand, there is nothing worse than wasting several thousand dollars to find that the surround environment of the school you attend is to much to handle. Know your school and you will know if it is right for you.

Choose a college that feels right. Don't overly concern yourself with the perceptions of others, the prestige of the name, or what people tell you. What's most important is that it feels right TO YOU, the student. If you're not comfortable there you won't be working to the full extent of your ability. Each college has positives and negatives. If you're somewhere you feel safe and happy, you will find and embrace the positives and be able to ignore the negatives. Visit the campus, watch the students, explore the classes, talk to professors. This is one of the biggest decisions of your life! When you're in classes, remember you get out of college what you put in to it. If you slack off and do the bare minimum, you'll be unhappy and wasting your and your parents' money; you'll also deeply regret it. If you strive to do your best, do the reading, participate in discussions, make friends and form study groups, your college experience will be not only academically enlightening but emotionally as well. You will grow incredibly, find strengths within yourself, and always look back on these years with fondness.

Choose the college that inspires a deep desire to be active (academically, socially, and most importantly, in your own personal growth as a human being). This is the college that holds your future's most rewarding experiences.

VISIT! There is no romance, no adventure worthy of spening one or more years in a place where you find yourself miserable.

Choose the school that you feel is best. Don't simply choose a school because you think it will be economically advantageous.

Since I am a transfer student, make sure you love EVERYTHING about the campus before you decide to live there. Environment is really important.