University of Central Oklahoma Top Questions

The most important thing is to visit the school you choose and talk to faculty members before you decide to attend the school. You need to make sure that you have faculty members you can trust in the school so that you KNOW that they will help you to achive your goal. As long as you have the goal to pursue, and the specific ideas to achive it, the right school will come to you. For parents, I will say one thing. Please trust your children, and let them decide where to go. It is their life, and not for you.

The best college for students is one where they can enhance their learning, focuses on diversity, and one that focuses on one's particular interests.

Just go to several campuses and feel them out. Forget about the statistics. When you find a place where you feel comfortable, you'll know. If I would've done that my first year of college, I would've ended up in a much better school than I did. Because I let statistics and scholarships guide me, I had the stress of hating the first university I attended, as well as the stress of trying to transfer to UCO during finals of my second term. Let your feelings guide through the school selection process. You have to deal with it for at least four years.

Finding the right college and making the best of the college experience is a difficult but rewarding process. I am one of the lucky ones, my college choice was easy, and to date the experience has been rewarding. To find the right college, I stared with identifying those things that were important to me. What degree programs did the college offer, did the college offer the sport I wanted to play, was the college not too big, yet not to small. I wrote these items down and ranked them, keeping me on track with my pending decision. I spent many hours with high school counselors, coaches and college advisors. I made a list of schools and did some internet research on my own. Once I was down to a short list, I began to reach out to those schools for additional information. After some onsite visits, I made my final decision. Making the best of the college experience is easy. I suggest everyone live in a dorm for at least the first year; this allows you to meet many of your fellow college students. Participate in school events and volunteer as often as time allows.

My advice for picking the right college for parents and students is easy. Do the research. Research living situations, the majors offered, and most importantly the professors. In my experience the teaching staff makes all the difference. A good professor is not one that is necessarily easy or fun, but one that has a real teaching plan. I look for a professor who knows the topic in and out and comes to class with a purpose. Some teachers are content with teaching straight out of the textbook, but that is not enough for me. After you find the right professors, then comes the college experience part. And, my advice for that is to not fill your plate with too much. Extra-curricular activities and career oriented activities are important, but it is easy to get overwhelmed. You get at least four years at a university, it is okay to stretch out your involvment around campus. To have a good college experience it is important to keep the stress level as low as possible. Nobody wants to burn out after freshman year, so have a good time while still taking the time to get a good education.

Take your time.

Don't get caught up with the name and reputation of a school. Many people feel that they have to attend the most prestigous college in order to get a decent job after graduation. Why take out $50,000 or more in loans when you are getting a degree in English, Political Science, History or some other liberal arts or fine arts program? If money is not an issue, by all means major in English Literature at an Ivy League school. But for most middle class families, attending a prestigous univeristy will require massive student loans that will require a lifetime to repay or may require defaulting. This might make sense if majoring in a business degree but most middle class families should look into more affordable colleges. These schools actually may offer a better program since many of the professors spend more time in the classroom rather than conducting research.

Do a lot of research and make the choice yourself. Don't conform to the thoughts of others. Do what you want to do.

Find a college that will support your dreams. It does not matter how much it cost, where there is a will there is a way. Open your eyes to new experences, and do not over look a school because you feel it is to far away from your home.

I would advise students to spend some time thinking introspectivally, and to really decide what they want for their long and short term goals. What do they want from the next 4 years of their lives? Where do they want to be in 10 years? After that, they need to decide what career path most suits their desires, and then look at schools which excell in that area. When looking at schools, the students should try to spend time with the some students who attend that college or university. They should discover whether or not they fit in with the general student body. They should also consider the environment, becacuse that will have an incredible effect on the students enjoyment of the school. Before deciding on a school, the student should take a realistic look at the location of the school in relation to family residences. If a person needs to spend a great amount of time with family, going to school across the country will be incredibly difficult. Finally, a student should trust his or her gut instinct. If he/she feels good at the school, chances are high that the college experience will be a good one.