Villanova University Top Questions

If I could give one pice of advice to any parent or student trying to find the right college it would be to choose whatever school feels the most comfortable to you and your family because your college becomes your extended home for the next 4 years of your life.

Relax and weigh your options as objectively as you can. Avoid the temptation to choose a school based on its name and pick the school that fits you the best, go there, and do your best. Involve yourself on campus, but maintain your academics as your main focus.

I think that students should make a list of the colleges they would like to visit and then share and discuss them with their parents. Too many parents believe that it is up to them to find a place for their child to go for the next 4 years. Then bring a notebook in the car with you on all of your college visits. When you leave make sure you write down everything that you liked and disliked about the school. This way when you are trying to make a decision in you can refer back to it and not be confussed as to what school had what. Once you pick a school go into orientation and the first month with an open mind. It may not have been your first choice but make it worth it! Get involved! Go to lots of club meetings and find your nitche. By getting involved you will make friends easier and enjoy your freetime a lot more. Also don't fall behind in your work. Budget your time between friends, parties and work. remember why you are at school and don't let that $45,000 a year go to waste.

Visit, Visit, Visit. Websites and brochures do not tell you enough to make a decision. Every university can make themselves look good on a piece of paper. Visit and look at the facilities, talk to the students, sit in on a class of interest. Then you can make a better decision on the college right for you.

To students about making the most of the college experience.... Get Involved On Campus!!

Selecting the right college is a matter of identifying which school best reflects the personality of the applicant. When looking at each school, one must literally envision oneself functioning within the campus on an academic, professional, and social level. Every school will greet new students with a welcoming orientation, an inundation of information about extracurricular programs, and academic guidance programs. Therefore, the differentiating factor that should determine one's choice of college lies in the compatability between what the school offers and what the applicant desires from college. One must account for average class sizes, academic strengths, campus size and population, proximity to major cities, transportation on and around campus, social trends, and financial aid ability. Of course, one will learn quickly in college that the only way to truly judge anything is to experience it first hand. Applicants have to visit colleges that they take interest in before making a final decision. I encourage all high school seniors and their parents to take a day trip, spend a day with current students, and talk to as many faculty members as possible. Only by taking the initiative to search can a student find a school to fall in love with.

When finding the right college, you must know what you want. Ask yourself questions about class size, location, diversity, academics, housing and social life because those aspects of college will have a big impact on you. Look at the financial aid package and the possibilities of working on and off campus. When you can answer these questions with certainty, knowing exactly what you want, you will be ready to pick the best school for you and be able to make the most out of your college career. So remember have fun, be safe, but most importantly understand the sacrifices it took for you to get to college and take your academics seriously. Good luck!

Look past how pretty the buildings are or what the stereotype of the school is and go on the student population and what you want out of your next four years. Don't pick a party school because you think thats what college should be about if you aren't that big into partying. Understand that this will be your home for the next four years and do your best to picture yourself living there.

I would advise parents and students looking at colleges to keep an open mind. I looked at both large state schools and very small liberal arts school and Villanova falls somewhere in the middle. For me it is the perfect fit and I'm certain I made the right choice because I looked at schools of all sizes and types. Therefore I never doubt that I made the wrong choice and I think it's important to be firm in your decision and the best way to do that is to experience everything that is avaliable to you.

Put money aside when figuring out where you want to go. Do not let your parents pressure you, make the choice based on your heart.

Pick a college based on what your child wants, not what you think is right for them. Also, don't look at just rankings, make sure you really like the actual college as well.

the school spirit, firends and the area your surrounded

You'll know that its the right school for you when you walk around the campus and get that feeling. You can't describe the feeling until you experience it. Don't be afraid to ask students on the campus any questions that you might have. Visit everything, the gym, the dining halls, the dorms, everything. Its a big decision you're making and you might as well get all your questions answered.

There are so many things about college that I learned once I got to Villanova. First: EVERY freshman left their friends from home, and their family, and they are just as nervous as you are about starting at a new school and have to mkae new friends. It's a scaring feeling but it's also exilerating. It's the first time you really get to branch out on your own and be the person you truly are, not who your parents think you are, or your high school friends, but the person you want to be. I also realized that a major part of college, besides academics, is the social life. A lot of students come to college afraid of the "expectations" of drinking. Although there will be many opportunities to be confronted with the choice to drink, It's always YOUR choice. No one can force you to do anything you are uncomfortable doing. I found a great group of friends my freshman year who all respected my choice to obstain from alcohol. This isn't to say that they felt the same way, but they never excluded me from parties, or pressured me into anything.

choose the college that feels right.

Parents and students should first and foremost do their research before choosing the school right for them or their children. I recommend taking as many AP and honors courses as possible because they tend to go more in depth into the subject matter and will help students decide on the major that is right for them. They are also more representative of the caliber of work that is expected of a college student. Most importantly, parents should listen to their children and children should spend most of their high school careers forming their own opinions about what they like, what they are good at, and how they want to spend their time because they will also be spending their parents money (in most cases). There is no worse situation than paying $50,000 in tuition for your child to go to a university to study something they do not enjoy.

When it comes to looking for the ?right? college, there are two schools of thought: follow your heart or follow the money. However, the best advice for the college search and the experience that follows is to find a balance. When looking for the right college, find a school that has your desired major, activities, and sports but is still affordable. Following the money may lead you to a school that does not suit your needs, while following your heart may result in a large price tag. However, not all the right colleges are expensive, and not all of the expensive schools are right. Balance is also a great quality to have in college. The student must juggle friends (both at college and from home), activities, academics, and sleep. It?s a delicate juggling act, but once the right balance is achieved, college does, in fact, become the clich? ?best years of your life.?

The best advice I can give to a prospective student is when choosing a school, everything matters. Do not sacrifice one area for another. Do not disregard the social life you might have there for the wonderful or well known professors. And certainly do not disregard your academic goals for your social life. You need to find a school that you believe has a good balance. If you ignore one over the other then you will hate your college experience and never mentally grow. Once you have found your school, you can make the most out of your college experience by just going with your instinct and doing what you want to do. Your college experience will not be worth any less if you did not join a varsity sport or organization if you did not want to join. Do not be boggled down by the do?s and don?t?s (and there will be times where you will). If you can look back at all the things you did and did not do and are happy with yourself, then that is all you need. The crucial part is that you ARE TRYING to make the best of it.

The most important piece of advice that I would give students about finding the right college is to go with the school that YOU think fits you the best and the school that will challenge you the most to grow as a person. Try not to allow outside influences such as your parents, peers, or society influence your decision in which school you attend. Although it may be difficult to make this decision without taking other factors into consideration, ultimately it is your decision and no one else's. College is about growing as a person and as a student and it is important for the school to challenge you, but it is also important that you feel comfortable at that school. When making your decision, although you can consider other's opinions, make sure that the school is right for you. It should also be a place that has something that you're passionate about whether that is sports, community service, religion, whatever. Finally, try not to stress out too much about it! The college you attend is important, but there is more than one college out there that is right for you!

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