Selecting A College: What Should I Consider?

Michelle Wilson - August 28, 2019

Growing up it was drilled into our heads that college is important. Not only that, but the specific college you go to can play a major role in how successful you are in life. College, in fact, is what molds you and sets you off on your career path. Bottom line – it’s very important to make the right decision as to where you want to go to school.

What factors should you consider when choosing the best University to attend? Here are a few questions that can really help you make an informed decision:

Where Are You From?

The location of your college can be one of the larger aspects of making your decision.

It is pretty common for students to want to stay close by their home towns when selecting a University or Community College. This can be an ideal option for some young men and women as it allows them to leave the nest in a slower more structured way. It’s also often cheaper to live closer to home. Lots of people stick around as they plan to move away following college.

That said, often the best choice, is an out-of-state University. Specialty courses and a lack of quality choices locally are good reasons why people find out-of-state Universities to attend.

What Drives You?

Not everybody has a set idea for a career path entering college. But you should have some idea as to what you want from a college experience. Are you someone who seeks to be a part of a lot of extracurricular activities? Are you looking for a college that perhaps has more of a reputation for partying? Are you looking for a college with mass recognition? Or perhaps you do in fact know what you want to do for a living and want to pursue a college that is one of high reputation in your selected career path.

These are some great preliminary questions to ask regarding which higher education school you want to attend; however, they certainly are not the only questions to ask. Remember college is a mix of both education and experience. You shouldn’t select a school solely on the classwork. You want to create memories that will last a lifetime.

What Career Path Are You Looking to Follow?

Your passions and hobbies won’t always directly relate to realistic future goals. Remember that college is designed to both give you a great education focused on a specific career path as well as give you long term viable preparation.

Some career fields require a very specific and necessary training. In niche career paths like this, your university choices will be quite limited. You may even finding yourself going oversees for study in select cases. There are also career paths that can be pursued in just about every college in the country. So make a decision on what you are wanting to do with your life and use this to whittle down the choices of schools.

Can You Afford It?

Did you know that as of June 14, 2018, there is a whopping $1.5 Trillion (trillion. with a T…) in outstanding student loan debt?

When in the market for a school you need to factor for the expenses. The least of which will be the school itself. Think about all the expenses: tuition, books, food, dorms and other incidentals. If this seems a bit daunting to you, consider looking for grants and scholarships. They are available to make up for any shortages of college funding. Another idea to limit costs is perhaps to pursue a less prestigious school but one that still offers a good education. Remember that student loans can follow you for many, MANY years. Select carefully.

Should Safety Be A Factor?

It’s an unfortunate reality these days that safety has to be considered when selecting a school. Some really amazing schools reside in some really unfortunate areas with less than reputable people. Doing an address search could possibly be the best place to start. Use CheckPeople and avoid all the nonsense!

You Should Enjoy It!

Remember that college should be an enjoyable experience. Doing your research before selecting a school really is the best way to go about it. Know before you go! We say this a lot but do any of us really do.