University of Wisconsin-River Falls Top Questions

It may sound cliche, but go to the college that "feels right" to you. Don't choose it just because you have friends going there, or your family went there. Do it because you want to. When you are finally in college, get out and meet new people- they could become lifelong friends. Don't be afraid to try new things, and get involved!

Find a school that makes you feel at home. That way you know you can be yourself and make the most of the college experience. The people you meet will become your school family and friends for life.

Check out more than one college. Tour as many as you feel necessary. ASK QUESTIONS! Try to talk to a current student at the college. Go on-line to research the statistics of the college (graduation/retention rate, etc.). Apply early. Keep those grades up in high school starting as early as 9th grade. Work hard, be serious when you visit a campus. Maybe visit a couple of times depending on the time of year you visit. Parents should check out the various scholarship web sites. School counselors are valuable resources for scholarship/application information. Take your time filling out the applications (check for spelling, re-read what you've entered) and remember, if you get into a college and it turns out not to be the fit you thougt it would be you can always transfer to another college (maybe your second choice). No reason to stay in an environment that isn't comfortable, that could affect your learning and grades. I think a person can function much more easily and succesfully if they're secure in where they are attending school. Lastly, enjoy the journey. Visiting colleges can be a great experience. They all have their pros/cons.

First, make sure that you have a goal. Many people come to college simply because they don't know what else to do. If you don't have any goals work for a while until you decide on some, otherwise you will not have motivation to succeed. Second, throw yourself into things. It is perfectly fine to be busy, many people accomplish more when they have more to do. A lack of activity can make you feel like you have no focus, nothing to work hard for. If you are interested in a club or auditing a class go for it. The worst that can happen is that you will have to stop, the best is that you will make many great friends and learn leadership skills to qualify yourself more fully for life after school. Third, no matter how busy you get, sleep enough to succeed. It will not do you any good to work hard if you kill yourself with a lack of sleep and caffine overdose. Fourth, never forget to make time for your friends, even if you flunk out of school your friends will still love you and might employ you in the future.

I would advise them to apply to a school close to home even if they think they want to go far away. By not doing so, my choices were limited when I decided to stay closer to home.

I encourage everyone to be sure that they are going to be on a campus that makes them feel most comfortable. Education standards are important when choosing a school but if you are happy with the surroundings or the size you arent going to be able to do your best. Take advantage of every opportunity you get because once out of college this chances becoming harder and harder to come across.

When looking for the right college it is import to decide how big of campus you want, what is there specialty, how far you want to go, and cost. I have found that the biggest deciding factor for me was the surroundings of campus. i enjoy the natural surroundings of an agriculturally based small town with only 6,000 students. You dont have to go far to find peace and quiet. But always remember that no matter what you need to go somewhere that makes you feel the most comfortable or it will be the worst 4 years of your life.

Finding the right college: there are many factors, like if the school has a program that a student is interested in, urban/rural, class size, school size, community size, cost, housing- there are so many factors. Once you're there, the most important thing is to get involved. Find something outside of class that you're passionate about, whether it be a sport, a club, a group, anything that gets you active in the University or community. You'll learn so much more- about yourself, others, and the world- than you'll ever learn inside a classroom.

Choose a college that has a good program for what you are interested in, but also has other things that you are interested in outside of your academic life. Go somewhere that is far enough away from home that you aren't always going home, but close enough that you can go when you need to. Overall, don't base your decision on anyone but yourself because you will probably regret it in the future.

I would say don't limit yourself to certain colleges. I was dead set that I was going to an in state college, but now I sort of wish that I would have checked out colleges in the next state over. Also I wish I would have researched private colleges too. Each school has something different to offer and I limited myself to two colleges. It would have been better if I have looked at a wide range of colleges, instead of wondering whether that school would have been good for me.

Campus size and class size were two of my most important factors in choosing this college. You want to pick a school where you think you will fit in, and I think UWRF is a place where anyone can fit in. To make the most out of college, try everything. Join as many groups as you can on campus, and meet as many people as you can. You don't want your college experience to be something you are going to look back on and wish you had done it differently.

Find a college that you love and that makes your happy with where your going and who you want to be.

Go somewhere you want to go. Don't go because your friends or family are wanting you to go there because they are/or did. This is the best time of your life and if you let someone choose it for you it may not be the postive experience that you want it to be. Most students have some type of idea what they want to go in so look at schools that have your programs so when you get there you do not have to worry about transfering to another school. Make sure the college you choose is going the comfortable for you and your needs.

Visit the college during one of the college visit days that occur during the regular semester so you can be there and see how the campus is during the school day. You need to make sure that you feel comfortable at that university and what the university has to offer for education and after curricular activities. You need to check out the program and compare the program and the success rates with a degree from that school to make sure that the program being offer is outstanding because that is the reason you are going to college for a degree and you want to make sure that the program is accredited and a well known program. Make sure your student finds balance between school and social and become involved in the campus some how. Live on campus at least one year the experience is amazing and I feel that everyone should have the experience of living on campus. Life on campus is a totally different experience than living off campus. You only attend college once make it count!

Do a lot of research before choosing a college to attend. Even if you don't know what your Major will be right away, choose a college based on the variety and availability of classes, as well as a good social atmosphere that you think you will fit into. Visit each campus you are considering and get a feel for each one, choose the one that most interests you personally. Don't choose a college to attend based on what others think, or if your friends are going there or not, etc. Make this choice for you and you only. It's generally pretty easy to transfer schools but it's easier to find the right school for you right off the bat.

In order to find the right college is to first look for the major that you are interested in. When you find the colleges that your major is or think your major may be, then look for the estimated price per semester that it may cost. I chose to go to River Falls mainly because it had my major that I really wanted and the cost was very reasonable. There is no reason that anybody has to pay such an extreme amount to go to a college. The only reason anyone pays so much is just because of the name of the college. I get the same education from River Falls as I would at Madison. When you find the school that you believe is right for you then look at all of opprotunities that the school offers. Whether it be groups, fraternities/sororities, or extra curricular activities, you must find the school that will keep you interested not just because of your major but because of the friendships that you will build by interacting with other students and socializing with everyone. Above all, it must be a college that you believe you can have fun and become an individual.

Find something affordable for at least the first two years. THere is no sense wasting your money at the big name schools when you are just doing generals anyway.

Parents, help your kids pay for school. My dad refuses to even co-sign on a student loan and my financial aid loans don't even come close to covering my tuition. I have a part-time job but I have to support myself so I ended up turning to a loan company that turned out to be a little sleazy and it looks like I will probably be about $70,000 in debt by the time I graduate because my loans have such high interest rates. My tuition is only $6,000 a year. Constantly having to worry about finances and how I'm going to stay in school makes it hard to focus sometimes. If I had some help from either one of my parents, and I don't just mean money, it would make things a lot easier. Students, become involved with your school. Don't fall into a routine of sitting around or partying. Find things that you enjoy doing; maybe you could even help some people. Self-affirming activities will help you feel inspired to reach your full potential and to feel part of something bigger than yourself.

Visist the campus you want to attend and make sure you like the setup of everything. Don't be afraid to ask quwestions!

Talk to graduates from that school or even students currently enrolled. Research the graduation rates as well as the transfer rates. Review course catalogs and compare with other schools to get the most diverse classes offered. Know yourself and what you want out of the university i.e. your goals and determine campus sizes as well as costs. Note if the school's housing is mainly on or off campus; because socializing will be impacted heavily by off a lot of campus housing and "suitcase colleges". Also research and make sure the school has any needed organizations. Lastly, check the location!!