Washington University in St Louis Top Questions

Visit your prospective school if possible. Go to a class that you find interesting, and see if people are engaged in the topic. If they can't be bothered to pay attention and learn when they have the chance to pick their own classes, you might not want to be at this school. Also, look around. Are people crying over exam papers, or smiling and laughing in between classes. Look for a place where random students seem cheerful, because the school can't make them act like this (but they can force the tour guides!). Just remember the grades aren't everything. Do well, but also take advantage of all the activities. You might not regret getting an A instead of an A+, but you might regret not making friends or taking the time to enjoy your life. College isn't a break from life, it's part of the experience! Enjoy it!

Let your child go wherever he/she wants!

Finding the right college or university means finding a place where the student feels comfortable, but will be challenged. A good way to gauge their comfort level is to compare the college to the student's high school, keeping in mind how much they enjoyed their high school atmosphere. If they want something completely different, then exploring many locations and school sizes would be good. If high school was very enjoyable and comfortable, then looking at colleges that offer similar qualities is often helpful. Of course, keeping in mind the student's aspirations, interests and hobbies is also important, but when you're looking for a "type" of school after having narrowed down your list to the ones that offer good programs for the student's possible major, this is a good way to do it.

Selecting the right college is one of the most important decisions in a young adult's life. The process can be both exciting and nerve-wrecking. The first piece of advice I would offer to you and your family as a prospective student in selecting a college is to clearly define your expectations and goals. No one college is perfect, so you schould prioritize what is most important. The college experience is a 4-year committment and a life long investment. Make sure your investment will repay you well. Secondly, you should consider the reputation, cost, location and size of the schools. Would your needs be better served at a small private college or a large public university? There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Have an overnight stay to get a better sense of what life will be like as a student there. What you value from education is extremely important. To make the most of your college experience, do not be afraid to explore new situations, interact with and befriend diverse people, and grow at your own pace. College is a time to learn about yourself as a person, so take the time to do so.

College is one of the rare times in life when you are given the chance to explore, try out new directions, and focus wholly on finding out what interests you. There are many pressures on students to choose a particular type of college - a big-name school, the school where friends are going, a parent's former school - but ultimately, you will only get the most of college if you are comfortable with the atmosphere of your chosen school. If it is financially feasible, visiting your top choices and talking to students and professors will be essential to finding the right place. Getting to know a college is like getting to know a person - you can't get the full story just from articles and pictures. You may not know what to look for yet, so try considering these questions: how big is the campus, and where do you see yourself spending most of your time? Do the students travel in groups, or are most of them solitary? Can professors be found across the campus talking with students? What do the students say they like most and least about their school? Most importantly: never forget to listen to your insticts.

Finding the right college enlists two different approaches. First, the emotional approach: Does it feel right? You have to be open to your gut instinct about a place. Even if it looks great on paper, your next four years may be miserable if you don't really listen to your own personal response to the campus and the students. So I must stress how important it is to visit, if possible, your selected schools before you make your final decision, even the schools you?re not very set on. Sometimes you'll be surprised at which schools you find you connect with. Second, the mental approach: Do thorough research on your possible schools to the fullest detail, from the percentage of students that graduate to what the students think of the food on campus. Once you have chosen your school, in order to make the most of your college experience you must be open to new things and people and to change. Try to remember who you are and don't lose sight of your academic responsibilities, but be willing to find out new things about yourself outside of 'academics'. Your college experience is what you make of it.

I would say that it is ok to set boundaries as to where your kids can go, but I think it is important that they choose where they will feel comfortable and be able to do thier best.

go look at the schools you/your child are applying to, and see where you fit in and where you think you will be happy and do well

First and foremost, parents should advise their kids to go where they think they'll be happy. Students should also try to go to school where they think they want to live after graduation. Now that I am applying for jobs, I find most recruiters are from the Midwest, where Wash U is, and I wish there were more recruiters from the NE.

Flexibility is the key to finding the right college - what you think you want to do when in high school often is not what you want to do later. Attend a school that gives you options. Know what you believe and have goals to attain this ? use the diversity of college to challenge your own preconceptions and have the open mind that will not get offended, but learn from these challenges. Get all the free Tshirts you can. Don't strive to live for what your parents want you to live for; make sure that what you study is something that you enjoy and find worth doing. Too many live for the image others put on them. Talk with your professors when you're interested. Professors know more than you think, and are generally engaging conversationalists. Take advantage of the unique experiences of college: you will have many tests and assignments, but if you have the chance to see something truly phenomenal, don't miss it. Ask yourself what you will regret not doing 20 years down the road. Go to class. Keep in touch with family and friends. Lastly, explore and find out what?s unique about your experience.

Make sure its some place where you can really find and learn things about yourself BY YOURSELF.

This decision is all about you. You have to find a place that fits you. Don't go somewhere becuase you think it will get you further in life. If you are persuing what you want to be doing in a place that you love, you will be happy. Also, don't underestimate the importance of the community. You will be living there for quite some time and it needs to be a place where you are comfortable. You need to visit where you think you want to go; it really helps you figure out what will and won't work for you.

When looking into colleges the student will need a lot of help from friends and family, so parents, do your job. You have helped you student to well this far; do not let them face this challenge on their own. Help them find the right school. A school they will be comfortable in. Ask them questions regarding their academic goals, their need for social stimulation, and their regional preference. All of these will help determine the type of college that should be explored. Visit every college you apply to and do so early, if possible. No visit is a waste, even if the student decides not to apply there. Make sure, especially if your child does not have a good college counselor, that you know what to expect in the application process. Do some research early on so you can give your child a head start. Do not underestimate the benefits of planning ahead. Students, work with your parents and be open to receive any help offered. College is daunting and the application process can be greatly simplified with proper knowledge and helpful advice. In the end, don't stress. You ARE prepared. Let the chips fall where they may.

Finding the right college is a tough decision, but you have to go with how YOU feel about it, not what other students or teachers or even your parents are saying about the school. The college that you pick is the college that will be your home for four years so it's important that not only do you feel comfortable at the school, but also that you can picture yourself there in four years. You should first decide what size school you want to go to and take location into account (rural vs. urban, etc). Visiting schools and taking campus tours, reading campus newspapers, and asking the students how they feel about their school also helps you compare schools and decide on one that suits you best. After you have picked your school and hopefully gotten accepted into it, there are so many fun and academic opportunities offered during your college experience. My best advice would be to join groups you find interesting, attend plays and forums offered by the school, and maybe even go out for a sorority or fraternity. There are countless ways you can make the most of your experience, you just have to be outgoing!

My advice for parents and students would be to visit as many colleges adn universities as possible. There are a lot of schools that may look perfect on paper but remember that if you're reading pamphlets you're reading something these schools have paid a lot of money for, and they're designed to make you think it's the perfect school. What matters though is whether you're going to be happy for those four years. The best way to know that is to visit as many schools as possible and then sit down and think about what's important to you. If you're like me, the answer will become painfully obvious. I had visited a lot of schools and was thinking hard about what I was looking for and then on a whim my mom and I visited this school and I just knew it was the one for me. If you can make a decision like that, you'll be happy no matter where you are. You get out of an education exactly what you put into it. So find a place where you'll be happy to put everything into it.

It is extremely important for you to keep an open mind and to visit colleges before making a choice. It's very difficult to explain every aspect of a university on paper. Only by spending the night in a dorm with a current student can you really understand what it will be like to attend that school. When I visited my university, I stayed with a current student, I ate in the dining hall, and I even attended a class. Before visiting I had no idea that I would love it so much. Many schools have special weekends for students to visit at a low price or even for free. Even if you are not sure you would like to attend the college, if such an opportunity comes up, you should go ahead and visit. You might be surprised and find it's the perfect fit for you, and if it's not, at least you can be sure you're making the right choice when you cross it off your list.

Don't worry about finding the one perfect school for you: there is more than one school where you'll be delirously happy.

visit the school and talk to the people that attend it.

Selecting the best college for you is a process. This process will vary depending on what matters to you, so the first thing to do is define what that is. Ask some of the following questions: Do I care about the reputation of the school? Do I care about athletics? Do I care about financial aid and, if so, what kind of aid am I looking for? Does it need to be close to where I live? Is there a good program in the area of study I intend to major in? What kind of social life am I expecting? With answers to these, and possibly many more, questions in mind, set aside a vacation to visit as many schools as you care to see in person. This is critical, as many individuals make a final decision based on their "feel" for a particular school they went to see. Apply to as many schools you think you would be happy enrolling in. Assuming you do enroll, start off with a wide range of courses, as your major could easily change. In addition, get involved right away; your social life will expand rapidly with each group of interest that you join.

choose one that you will give you the opportunity to succeed at.