University of Missouri-St Louis Top Questions

"The Rules" of College 1. Choose the school that YOU want to go to, not the one your friends like, or the one your parents like. $50,000 worth of student loan debt later, you will appreciate having made your own choice. 2. Never, ever, for one second believe that the Professor is going to tell you everything you need to know. READ THE TEXTBOOK! Don't plan on getting all your information from sitting in lecture alone. 3. Do your homework, even if you're not gonna get "graded" on it. You are technically getting graded, and without doing a few of those practice algebra problems you WILL fail the oh-so-important test. 4. Call your parents once in awhile. They are paying for you to go to all of these frat parties you know, so at least give them a heads up every few months or years to let 'em know you're still making it to class! 5. Don't get homesick. You've moaned and complained all through your senior year about how you wanted to be on your own SOOOOO bad, and now you wanna come back? No way! Learn to love campus.

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I would advise parents and students to visit the school they plan on attending. Talk to the students about their experiences on campus. If the student knows what area he/she wants to study, it's important to talk to the students and faculty in that area . Once a student has chosen their school, my personal suggestion to them---after having not done this myself---would be to choose a college that is away from home, live on campus, in the dorms, be active with school, join a sorority or fraternity. The people you meet in college can be lifelong friends. When I first entered college in 1999, I chose a school in my home town. I was 30 minutes from my parents and was within my comfort zone. Because I did this, I don't believe I got a "full" college experience. My suggestion is to make the most out of college, not only academically but socially as well. Socialization is just as important as the academics.

First, identify exactly what you want from your college experience, be it price, convenience, prestige, etc. The right school is the key to academic success at this level in your education. Your major can be changed easily but transferring is a major hassle. Visit the campus multiple times in order to get a good impression of whether it suits you., and if you can relax there. You have to be comfortable with your university as well as it having the right program for you. The only thing I can say about the college experience is while the work never ends, college does. Take every opportunity in order to enrich your life and find out where your interests lie.

To find the right college involves a lot of considerations. Location, number of students per lecture, and also, the availabilities of clubs or organizations on campus. If you have a good location, then safety wouldn't be a big worry. Also, good location allows one to experience the town/city life. The number of students per lecture allows one to engage to their professors more in depth. The professors will be able to talk to you about their concerns, and also your concern to the class. Lastly, being in organizations allows the student to experience the true college life. Being a college student isn't all about being a good student, it's also about what you have put out to your college, to the society while you're in college, and what you have earned to yourself.

You should pick a college that is orientated towards success and not just getting the most money out of you. There are colleges that want to bring in as many people as they can, while there are others that truly care about the students that they already have, and want to make them the best that they can be. Find out what degree you want and look for a college that has a good reputation for that particular program. If you like smaller class sizes, look for a college that has small class sizes. You should also make sure that whatever college you want to attend is acredited and has classes that will easily transfer elsewhere if needed. Colleges should adapt to you more than you should have to adapt to them.

In finding the right college, you must look at beyond the academic life of an incoming student. Sure academics are important, and are surely one of the reasons why people attend college, but since so much of your life is non-academic, look beyond just academic lifestyles. Getting involved on campus is a great thing and there probably are college or university organizations that provide a link to various different interests on campus with like-minded people. Getting involved really helps one grow in college as a well rounded and developed individual. However, do NOT get so involved that your life revolves around different social interactions that happen, because while fun, they are not the reason you are atttending college. While your college years should be spent wisely, do not forget to have fun. There should be equal effort put into having fun, and being a good student. Later on in life, it will truly pay off to be able to balance different aspects of life out. While different schools may have different prestige levels, all schools are schools, and all should teach regardless. Look for the best college for you!

Go where your heart leads you. You don't need the biggest or popular university to study at, go where you can find a home. Get involved on campus, no matter what it is, you will meet awesome people and it will change your life forever. Most importantly be yourself and stay true to you are!

Don't worry about your study or learning habits before attending college. Those attributes are easily aquired as you start your classes and obtain an undergraduates degree. Spend your time working as hard as yopur can to find grants and scholarships. In the long run it will really pay off. Trust me.

Concentrate on academics the most. All the other activites are hype and not make a diffeence in your life.