help me!!! about choosing college...?

Question

ok. you know how on the psat there is that section where you write down your personal info and after that you get mail from colleges? well, after the first time i took the psat, i answered every single letter offered by a college, and now i have a ton of mail and no idea where i want to go. any suggestions on how to go through with this? any websites that can help? i was thinking of sorting through the mail and narrowing down the choices that way, but that is too painstaking...

Answer 1

Are you lazy? Is college that arbitrary? Go to a community college, figure out what you want to do, and decide when you're more mature.

Answer 2

I think you need to consider your quality of life first. You'll be at this place for 4 years (at least), and if you're miserable you'll never finish. I also think it's a good idea to get away from home, if you can, so you don't take the burdens of high school with you to college - then you have more time to focus on getting through your coursework.

Start by asking yourself where you want to be, what types of activities you like, what types of people you like, and what types of courses you like (if you can just narrow it down to humanities vs. science/math, that's probably as much as you need). If you have no idea what you want to study, find out how much each college "tracks" you - that is, do they make you choose a major in your freshman year? Does each major have a lot of required classes? Can you experiment?

Then consider your financial options. This is pretty complicated - for example, you can't necessarily rule out the most expensive schools, because they often offer the best financial aid packages.

Consider school size - if you go to a small high school, a 40,000 person state school will be overwhelming; if you go to a big hs, a small school in the middle of nowhere will feel stifling.

Also consider what type of environment you like - are you a city girl? Do you like being in a small town?

Think about whether you want to study abroad, and look into those options.

Probably the most helpful thing is to actually visit some campuses, if you can. Start with campuses close to home, just to get a feel for what college is like. Then, if you are able to, narrow it down to a few colleges and visit before applying.

Good luck!

Answer 3

There is, of course, research to be done in choosing your college, but after that it will still come down to being a personal choice. Depending on what degree you're going for, some colleges will offer a better program in that area. Some colleges just look better on a resume.

But you're going to live where that college is, for several years; this should also be a major point of consideration. If you hate big cities, but know that NYU has the best program in your chosen subject, you really have to decide if you can live in New York for four years. College can be stressful enough without the added bit of hating your environment. If you love the big city life, CalPoly in San Luis Obispo, California would be a miserably bucolic place to live.

So weigh those options, too. Decide what your major likes and dislikes are, and weed out as many as you can that way. Talk to people - you might even ask on this site - find out where other people in your chosen course of study got their degrees, and what they feel are the advantages to choosing the school they attended.

Good luck making your decision - and good luck in college. You'll enjoy it.

Answer 4

Ask yourself the big questions first, before reading every single piece of mail. What are you interesred in studying, and how far are you interested in going? You can eliminate a lot of options immediately by those 2 questions - some colleges may be farther away than you intend to go and some may not have your intended major. After eliminating those schools, then start to focus on wheter you want to attend a small or a large school. What are there sports/extracurricular activites (if this is something you're interested in)? The task of selecting a college does seem big and daunting, but if you break it up into little chunks this way, it's a lot easier! Good luck!

Answer 5

Okay, it really comes down to what you want to do with your education. What are you thinking about in terms of a major? You may want to check out a website or book that describes the various universities and begin by narrowing it down. Some of the choices will be obvious. It always pays to visit the ones that you are interested in. Seeing the school up close gives a whole new perspective. But, in the end, you want the one that will give you the best chance to succeed. If you know (or think you know) what you want to do in life, then choose the schools that have a strong reputation for that subject. You will get a lot of junk mail from schools that seem good only to find out they are not all that. Take your time.

Answer 6

First make a list of things you want in a college.
For example:
- Location (do you want to stay close to home, far away, somewhere hot or cold, etc.)
- Can you afford college or do you need financial aid and scholarships
- Do you want to go to a small or large school
- Do you know what you want to major in
- Do you want the school to have a major athletic program

Then get rid of any brochures or mailings that don't meet your criteria. Try to pick around 5-10 colleges that interest you and check them out online. If it is possible, try to visit some of the schools that most interest you. Apply to several different places to get the best chance of getting in somewhere and then make the final decision once you get your acceptance letters.

Answer 7

What grade level are you, in any, in high school? I would assume that you must have decided on an idea or two, of what possible major you want to focus on for your bachelor's degree. With that said, consider doing some research on which universities rank the highest for your major versus who you know at the aforementioned universities/or who your mentors might know. Then, do some research on the universities--cost, tuition, degree plan for your major, student ratio, etc. Then, visit the campus, take a tour, etc--if possible. This is more or less, an effort that one should apply some "elbow grease" and have fun!

Answer 8

I know how u feel, cause there are many choices. I myself have searched many colleges to suit my preferences, but it can be a pain. I have used these sites in my search and am sastified with them:

www.collegeboard.com

https://cp.bridges.com/choices/learn/finder/Introduction.do

http://www.collegeview.com/

http://www.petersons.com/college_home.asp?path=ug.home

http://www.princetonreview.com/home.asp

http://www.collegenet.com/



The first 4 sites are interesting and I tend to reflect back to those. I am in college, but slightly regret not knowing that some of these sites existed.
If I knew about some of the schools I have found, I would have enjoyed my college experience...instead of suffering.

Good Luck!!!!

Answer 9

It's important to consider where you want to live (near or far from home? is in state tuition important?), and what you want to study. Most colleges have certain areas that they specialize in. If you don't know what you want to study yet - I would suggest close to home.

Answer 10

Consider Baylor U in Tax as.