As I stepped up to receive my high school diploma a few Sundays ago, the college search process was far from my mind.
It seemed like eons ago that I was lost at Goucher College because my tour guide abandoned me while I was in the bathroom. The thing I remember the most vividly about my college search was the overwhelming anxiety I felt throughout.
Hopefully with these tips you can learn from my mistakes and you or your child can avoid much of the stress associated with finding the perfect college !
1. If possible, begin your search early.
If I could do it over again I probably would have begun looking at the beginning of junior year so I could use both February and April break to start visiting colleges.
2. At the same time, don’t stress out if beginning your search early is not possible.
I didn’t really begin my search until the summer after Junior year because I was so stressed out and busy during the school year. Despite getting somewhat of a “late start” I was still able to visit most of the colleges I applied to.
3. Consider both known and unknown schools
If you hope to receive a lot of merit aid to help finance your education, apply to lesser-known, smaller liberal arts schools, or schools where your grades will put you within the top 30% of the class. These schools will want you as a student because you will help their reputation and academic standing, and thus they are usually willing to shell out more cash to get you there.
4. Narrow down your choices quickly.
Figure out which features you definitely want your college to have and ignore all the colleges that don’t fit that profile. Do you work better in smaller classroom environments? If so, rule out schools with more than 6,000 undergraduate students. When looking at location, consider how close you want to be to home, how much transportation will cost and how long it will take, and whether you can stand the local weather. The “culture” of a school is also a very important factor. Although college is all about new experiences, you want to make sure that you will feel comfortable enough at your school to succeed. You may want to do some research to figure out how you match up to the student bodies at different schools based on interests and political leanings.
5. Find out what majors are offered at each school.
Make sure you are applying to schools that actually offer majors in the areas you think you might be interested in studying. If you’re interested in multiple majors, find out how easy it is to double major, and what courses are required.
6. Determine what kind of student resources are available to you.
Some schools have writing labs where English majors are available to help you edit and revise your papers. Are the professors required to hold office hours in case you need help? Are tutors available in other subjects?
7. Try to arrange overnight visits to schools and sit in on classes.
This really helped me to get a feel for the different schools I applied to, and helped me determine which ones I felt most at home at.
I knew I had found the right college for me when I found myself wanting to raise my hand to answer questions in the political science class I was sitting in on. Overnight visits will give you a good sense of what the dorms are like, and if they are overly loud or uncomfortable. Also, make sure you eat at the school, to check out the quality of the food. Especially if you have food allergies, make a trip to the cafeteria to make sure they can accommodate your diet.
8. You can get a good education anywhere
Your college experience is truly what you make of it. Successful people have emerged from all types of schools.
lf you go into your first year at college prepared to dislike it because you aren’t going to your dream school, I can guarantee you will be miserable. Many people dismiss community colleges, but spending a year or two getting the credits you need for less money before transferring to another college will save you a lot in the long run (and is becoming more and more popular.)
Based on this recent article from the Boston Globe (below) about the medical training facilities at Northern Essex Community College, it appears to me that the learning facilities provided at community colleges deserve much more praise than they currently get, and that in reality, there are unsung benefits in getting a degree there.
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Most of the colleges I ended up applying to came from the book, 40 Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope. This is definitely a great place to start your search, especially if you are completely overwhelmed by the whole experience, as I was.
In the end, my top three schools were Oberlin College, Brandeis University, and Clark University.
I decided to go with Clark in Worcester because I like being close to my family, and it made the most sense for me financially. I also felt very much at home there after spending a night in one of the dorms, and I was very impressed by the positive effects of the school’s involvement in the community. At the beginning of my search process I feared how I would choose between all of these amazing colleges. But once it came down to it, Clark clearly stood out as the best fit for me and I am very excited to begin my college education there.
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Boston Globe article on Northern Essex’s High Tech Health Care Training