J.
The first thing you should concentrate on is finances. Go to a place where you can easily take out a loan or get the most scholarships that way less stress will be placed on you through the academic year. The second thing you should base it on depends on your career concentration and if that University has a qualified program to pertain to it. The last thing you should take into consideration is how the weather makes you feel and how it might limit your extracurricular activities. Making the most of your college experience is dependent on the participant; it is up to you to decide how hard you are willing to work and if those long hours are 'worth it'.
Shannon
Go with your gut. Remember this is your life and college is sbout preparing for the rest of your life. It is important to have fun and enjoy school, but it is also important to be able to work hard. Think hard about your major, and remember that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.
Carissa
Find a college that is a good distance from your parents, but still close enough to home that you can go home over the weekend. Each person needs to find a school that fits them, so go to many schools and look around. It won't hurt to try the school on. Get to know what the school is about, what the school put emphasis on and the clubs you would like to join. There are many schools to choose from, so don't settle for one that you may come to hate later. I happened to find my school close to home, but we are not in the middle ages any more, and it is easy to travel, so think hard about the school you attend, it will make you into the person you will be some day.
Amy
Choosing the ?right college? is so important; where you attend undergraduate school can define your career for the rest of your life. I was lucky because I already had an idea of where I wanted to attend. As surprising as it might seem, using the books and magazines that had descriptions of all the colleges and universities can be incredibly helpful. Most students have a pretty good idea of where they want to go to school, it usually just depends on where they get accepted. My advice to parents is regarding a support system that they must have for their son or daughter. Having my parents behind me every step of the way on my path to college was irreplaceable.
It is important to remember why you go to college in the first place. You will study more that you thought was possible. But the awesome thing is that when the study times are over, college is where you have the most fun. Get involved with things that interest you! Don?t do something because it is the norm, you can finally do things YOU want to do. College is the place to discover yourself to your fullest potential!
Clifford
The first advice I'd give is that its extremely important that the final decision go to the student, since ultimately he/she will be the one receiving the education there. The second would be for the student, and the parents as well, to take time, before even visiting the college, to decide what the student is most interested in studying and the type of career, he/she is interested in, too . Once this has been figured out, the student can then take the next step and search for the colleges that have that specific major and how much the college's program(s) are oreinted around that field of interest; this may even include what kind of extracurricular activites the student is interested in. One final word of advice to the parents and students would be to visit the top colleges of the student's choice (it might not be bad to take the parents' opinion into account on this one) during the school year, just to get a feel of the campus life. Above all though, the student should choose the college that he/she could most see himself/herself attending and ultimately graduating from.
Corey
When choosing a college, find a college that suits you the best. Find a college that you are comfortable with. You may want to look at the services the college provides. Many colleges offer schools that specialize in certain majors. Some are strong some are somehate strong. It all depends on what you are looking. Look into a Greek life. Greek life alows you to be part of an organzition that is based in on brotherhood or sisterhood and you can interact with one another. Another aspect of college you may want to look at is the athletics. Some colleges are big in athletics.
Amy
Parents and students should be able to recognize their priorities and utilize these priorities in determining which college is best. Furthermore, the priorities of the student should always outweigh the priorities of the parents. After all, it is the student who will be undergoing this college experience for the next four years of his/her life. If the student prefers the learning environment of a more expensive school, but the academic experience is a higher priority, then finances should not hinder the student from attending the college of his/her choice. The experience and the journey is always more important than the outcome. With that said, the undergraduate school probably doesn't make a significant difference in where the student will end up in life. Also, while colleges may offer different experiences, any student can make the most of it and still graduate with a life-changing 4 years. It's just that if the student successfully chooses the right college, it may be easier to enjoy and maximize the college experience.
LoJ'ai
Them most important advice I would give to prospective students and parents about choosing the right college and making the most of their college experience is to make sure they o their research on the institution and weigh its pros and cons. While doing this it is important that the student and the parent keep things in mind like their academic program of interest, diversity, extra curricular activities of interest, cost of the institution, and anything else they find important to have at their desired institution. I would highly reccomend visiting colleges of interest before deciding whether or not to attend them. The reason being is that seeing the school first handedly and obseving the way people on campus operate can better aid the student in deciding if they would feel comfortable and be able to fit in at the school. Most importantly, once in college, it is imperative that students utilize all resources such as tutoring to aid in their academic successs. It is also very important to be involved and to begin networking for many people they meet and build ties with may be able to aid them with their career in the future.
Stephanie
Something that has helped me so much with my college experience is being near my family. It's hard enough transitioning into a new process like college life without having the people you love around to support you. I would suggest that new students not move too far away from home or to places where they have family to help make the whole transition easier. At the same time you must be thinking that some schools are more known in the field you are hoping to study. This is true and I think it is important for students to choose a school that specialized in the field of study they want to go into. However I noticed that many of the classes I took in my first two years of college were just prerequisites for my major classes and these classes could really be completed at any school. A student could stay close to home for even just their first year of college and then transfer later to their dream school. This might also be helpful in choosing the right major, just in case you end up changing your mind.
Christopher
I think that the only piece of reasonable advice I would offer as a current college student would be to take advantage of every offer that is placed before you. When I say "offer" I am referring to any internship opportunities, work-study credit, getting involved with your camps, join a club, and becoming involved in student politics. It's amazing to see all of the options that are presented to the students because chances like these don't come along in the real world. Just make sure to become an active students and not a student who just shows up and "goes through the motions." Live it up and drink (water) it down.