Last year at this time, I was finishing up all of my college applications, and I was starting to hear back from some schools. That is only the easiest part of the college application process: the hardest part was picking a college. It can be a very stressful time for high school seniors, so I want to talk about what could possibly be a factor in choosing a college. The first thing to do is figure out what you want to come out of your college experience? Do you want to further on your athletic career? Do you only want a degree? Do you want to learn and grow as a person? Do you want friends? Once you figure this out, your search will become a lot easier. Personally, I not only wanted a degree, but I wanted to grow as a person while making friends and memories. Here are some of the things that I took into consideration while choosing a college.
1. Size
This was the first factor that I looked at when choosing a school. I knew that I would not enjoy being at a large university, so I ruled all large universities out of my list.
2. Degree Program
This was very important because I did not want to go somewhere that did not have a good program for my major. I want to be able to get a job related to my major after college, so having good schooling is important.
3. Atmosphere
Whenever I would visit a school, I would ask myself if I could see myself living there for the next four years. I would also ask myself if I fit in at that school. I also wanted a school that when I walked on campus, it felt like home. I feel like this is so important because you want to feel comfortable wherever you are.
4. Social/Academic Clubs
I wanted to choose a school that would allow me to be very involved whether it be from intramurals, Greek life, volunteering, academic clubs, and special interest clubs. This was very important for me because I want to be able to get involved.
5. $$$
I'm not going lie, this was not a huge factor in my decision making process because my top three schools were all pretty closely priced. Luckily, the college that I chose was the cheapest.
These are just a few factors that were important to me when I was choosing a college. I know that these are not important to everyone, but that is okay. Above all else, choose a college that you LOVE for whatever factors that are important to YOU. Remember you will be the one who is paying for schooling, and will have to be at that college/university for at least four years.
