How To : Decide on a College
Your senior year is winding down, you've visited five...nine...or even eleven different schools, but you still don't know where to go. Your friends have known where they've wanted to go since they learned the alphabet in kindergarten. Some of them get in through early decision while others are devastated when they get rejected from the school they've been planning to go to for years. You, on the other hand, don't have a "dream school."
I was in your exact position around this time one year ago, and trust me, I know it is incredibly stressful. Your parents tell you to go where you'll get the best education at a low cost while your friends are telling you to go to a school where you'll have fun. As each month goes by, more and more of your friends commit to schools while you freak out. If you don't know where to go, I hope that this post will help you either decide or even just calm your nerves a bit.
When I was a senior, I visited all different types of schools. I looked at the huge SEC state schools (where I could have sworn I would end up), small private schools, and local schools, but nothing seemed to really pull me in. As I visited my last school, I really had no idea what I was doing. I had eleven choices, and none of them gave me that feeling of "this is where I belong." The following steps describe the exact process I went through when deciding to attend my current school, Elon University.
Immediately, I weighed out the schools that were $50,000+ a year to go to - I was not going to go to school that didn’t win my heart at a price tag of over half a hundred grand a year. By eliminating these choices, it left me with nine schools (still barely helped).
I then looked at my schools that offered the programs in which I wanted to major in, business - more specifically, international business and marketing. Those that either didn’t offer business programs or didn’t have strong ones, were taken off the list. I now was left with seven schools.
Safety. Feeling safe on a campus is a very high priority that should be in the back of everyone’s minds when touring schools (not just your dad who keeps asking about their blue light system). Think about how you would feel walking back from a “social gathering” at three A.M. alone. This situation is NOT ideal, but sometimes it does happen. Thinking about this knocked two more off of the list.
As cliche as it is, I needed to go to a school that had a social scene along with greek life. I couldn’t tell you why, but ever since I was younger I knew that I wanted to be apart of a sorority. Some of the schools either didn't have greek life at all or they had very few chapters to join. I needed to be at a place where I could work hard at day and have the opportunity to play hard at night. This took off a few more choices and as the list dwindled down, the more stressed out I became.
At this point down the line, I was left with three schools. Freaked out, I decided to look at the aesthetics of the school. I looked into the average yearly weather, how pretty the campus was, the “happy student rating” and even the food options. Doing this then knocked one off of the list.
Now, left with two schools, I began to panic. I looked back at schools I knocked off and began second guessing everything I ever did in life. After a few weeks of serious thinking and conversations with my parents, I decided to think about where I saw myself more.
It's critical to pick a school where you actually see yourself. Put aside everything your friends and family are saying and think about you. Pick the school that gives you the education you need to get your dream job, while allowing you to have fun and live your life for the next four years.
REMEMBER: Where you decide to go IS NOT a binding contract for the rest of your life. If you pick a school and realize a few months in that this place isn’t for you, then transfer. I have had some of my closest friends at school realize that they wanted to either be closer to home or the school was too small. Plenty of people at all schools wind up transferring after their first semester or even after freshman year!
Relax, pick the school that’s best for you, and enjoy the BEST part of your senior year.