University of Portland Top Questions

Going to college is a momentous accomplishment for anyone. Such an important decision requires a lot of thought and soul-searching. I would say that the single most important factor in choosing a college is to know yourself. Know if you are happy with where you are in life, and know what you want to do. By choosing the right college you can change who you will become. It is my personal opinion that most people should leave their home town just so that they can experience a different part of the nation/world, and more importantly so that they can mature by finally having to make serious decisions for themselves. Unless you are one of the very few and fortunate you have no real idea of what you are going to be doing 20 years down the road, so give yourself the benefit of the doubt and take a wide variety of courses and extracirriculars and don't lock yourself into a particular major. Finally, college will set the stage for the rest of your life; take the time to get to know who you are and BE YOURSELF. That is what it all comes down to.

Parents help your children with the application and touring processes! it is an important decision where you are going to go to school, and I regret not having had more help with that process. Pick a college based on either the subject you want to study, the location, or the type of school. Don't pick a school because it is a big party school. It's just going to distract you from your studies. Remember that you are paying A LOT of money for this, and it's important that you get the most out of the experience that you can. Drinking and doing drugs is going to mess with your memory, let alone your overall health, and therefore make you do worse in your courses. Retaking a course is a bummer, not to mention extremely expensive! It should be avoided at all costs! Do your bests in all of your courses so that this doesn't happen to you. Overall, just have fun, get involved, be friendly, make friends, and study hard. Remember everyone around you is going through some of the same struggles as you, and it is important to connect!

Make sure you talk to people who are attending the college and make sure you apply to lots of different schools so you have lots of options.

Do not just pick a college for one reason and definitely do not let money be a primary issue. Get involved: either with student governemnt, clubs, intramural sports, on-campus jobs, or athletics. Enjoy and experience dorm life then persue cheaper options. Don't get carried away with a social life, school is still important. Take advantage of the availability of professors, they usually are very willing to help you succeed. Don't forget about your family, your previous friends because you will make new ones, and don't forget about your faith. Don't be afraid to try something new and don't be afraid to be yourself. If someone gives you a hard time, learn from it and move on becasue life is full of difficult people. Anyone who is not accepting of you is not worth your time. Remember, everything happens for a reason and everything works out in the end.

Visit the colleges you are looking at and talk to students on the campus. Make visits to offices on campus and see how available services are to you. Set up interviews with professors in the departments you are looking into and see what the career service center can offfer you. College is not only about what experience you will have will you are there, but about what you can gain once you leave. Relax, no matter where you go, it's what YOU make of the time you spend there. Good Luck!

I don't think you can ever choose a college correctly without visiting it first. I travelled a lot before I chose my college, and I still wasn't too sure that's where I would stay. To be honest, if you don't like the college, you can always transfer. This is not the end of the world and it happens to a lot of people.

Make sure you visit the college before you decide to go there. The feeling I got while on campus was 95{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the reason I went. If you feel like you belong there, you probably do. Also make sure they offer what you want to study. As a student-athlete, I am SO GLAD that I didn't choose a school based off my sport. Your sport can only take you so far... until you get injured or too old to play. Your degree is what you'll do for the rest of your life. There's a reason the "student" comes before "athlete" in "student-athlete." You are a student first.

try everything

To parents worried about finding the right college for their children: do not show your stress in front of your student. He or she has enough stress without you adding your own. To students worried about finding the right school: it will all work out. Pick the school with the most pros on your list and that feels right. If you get there and don't enjoy it, the credits you took that first term are not a waste. They will most likely transfer. Transfering is not bad! To parents about making the most of students' college experience: let them go. Be there as they need you but not overbearing. Checking in is okay once a week or so but let them call you. Realize that they are experiencing new things every day and learning how to live without your direction. To students about making the most of your college experience: get involved as soon as you feel comfortable! Notice I said, comfortable, not possible because you don't want to become committed to something you don't like. Remember: this will be one of the best times in your life, but not the only time in your life.

The advice that I would give a student is to truly follow your heart. Pick the school that is best for you - not what is best for your parents or anyone else. Granted, money does make a difference in where to go to school.... Yet, I think that even if a school is expensive but it is a right fit for you, in the long run paying off the loans in the future will be completely worth it. You'll have the job of your dreams! College is an important time in an individuals life so make sure the school you pick is the perfect fit. Make sure that the school has the programs you want and the class size meets your needs. Also, I strongly encourage visiting the campus beforehand, even sitting in on classes, or meeting with the administration to talk about the school. At college, you will make the friends that you will have for life and you will learn what sparks your interest. Make the most of your college experience because the four years goes by incredibly fast. Study hard, make friends, and you'll do wonderful. Your college is out there. Now go find it!