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When you begin thinking
about attending college, there are several things you should
consider. You must weigh the benefits of attending college,
and also understand the academic preparation needed to get
into your first choice college. Then you should identify the
characteristics that are most important to you in attempting
to narrow your college choice list.
The obvious first question
is: ”How do you determine which colleges have the most
desirable characteristics?” The five best factors that I’ve
heard repeated most often are:
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Academic Reputation
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The Admission Process
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Financial Aid
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Social Life
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Career Opportunities
Each of these
characteristics is important to helping you make the right
college choice and the best way to find the information is
to visit the college campus. You might also find answers on
their website or in publications. Here are some specifics on
what to look for:
Academic reputation
includes such things as availability of classes, courses and
majors that will allow you to graduate in four to five years
in the major of your choice. Academic reputation also
includes the graduation rates of all students.
The admissions process
will require that you gather information from sources like
College Digest, your high school counselors, college web
pages and a variety of other sources about “How do you get
in?” and “What are the requirements for admission?”
The financial aid
process will address “What does it cost to attend the
colleges you choose?” You should also gather information on
the availability of scholarships.
Social life should
include everything from location to “Can I fit in?” and
“What is there to do when I am not in class?”
Career opportunities
should address “Will the degree that I worked so hard to
attain, prepare me for a career?” and “Can I get a job or
can I get admitted to a top graduate or professional
school?”
Finally, I recommend that
every student work as hard as possible to take the type of
courses that will prepare them for college. Research shows
that one of the most important predictors of college success
is the rigor of the high school curriculum. Therefore,
working hard in high school now will prepare you for the
college search process later on.
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