Four Ways To Make Your College Search Easier - Focusing on what’s important simplifies finding the right school
When it comes to high school . you have enough things to worry about, yes? Peer pressure, grades, popularity, teachers, etcetera. What you should REALLY be worried about is college! Face it . from the nanosecond you set foot in your respective high school, it’s possible to feel overwhelmed about the who/what/when/where/why of choosing COLLEGE X.
If the college search process seems overwhelming, you’re right .. it is. Some students manage to make it next to impossible by letting the research, applications forms and deadlines boggle the mind. But in the end, the objective of your search is to find the school that is right for you. You get to choose. And, you also get to choose how you GO ABOUT finding a school, so why freak out?
Before things start to spiral out of control, remembering the following four principles will make your search process a lot easier.
1) BUDGET SCHMUDGET
The four ugliest words any college advisor can hear is: “I can’t afford college.” But in this day and age . you can’t afford NOT to go to college. Do you really want to work in a job you hate for 40 years? Uh, no. Start researching your budget NOW! Just because you can’t AFFORD Harvard doesn’t mean you can’t ATTEND Harvard. Apply for any and all applicable scholarships. There’s a reason why scholarships were created . use ‘em! And while I’m not sure who created student loans - they are there if you need them. Always see which college can give you the most bang for your buck.
2) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Throw a dart at any map and, chances are, there’s a college nearby. But ask yourself this . do I want to 1) be close to Mommy & Daddy, 2) be as far away from Mommy & Daddy as possible, 3) like where I’m going to live for the next four years or 4) find a school that has the curricula I want AND cool surroundings? These are important things to consider! Keep in mind, homesickness usually subsides. (And thanks to your cell phone, computer or the US postal service - you can always call, click or carrier pigeon the mother ship.) If you choose to tour a campus . take the time to TOUR THE CITY, TOO. Figure out what’s best for you and then settle in. It’s called progress and it’s usually a good thing.
3) HELP ME HELP YOU!
Once you get to college, your little part of the world will suddenly go SUPERNOVA! You now have crazy-stupid freedom to do what you want . when you want. Uh, not so fast! Why set yourself up for potential failure? Maybe it’s best to find out your strengths and weaknesses now! Who better to point that out than your good friends? Do you have time management issues? Poor study-habits? Teen angst? These are things that need to be considered ahead of time. Is COLLEGE X going to help you or hinder you? And don’t come crying to me when you have a 4.0 G.P.A., but you’ve put on the dreaded Freshman 15!
4) ABC’s and WWW’s
The internet has been around for more than a decade! And, while you may have been in diapers when it started, you’ve probably learned a thing or two since then. When checking out colleges, USE THE INTERNET TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Why rely on word of mouth from your sister’s friend’s boss’ nephew who went there to COLLEGE X in 1981? Now you can easily surf through class schedules, visit campuses via virtual tours, and get the dirt on your college of choice. And thanks to the web, you can check out endless lists of lists about which college boasts the best placement rate or has the most sororities. True story — I typed in “College Rankings” in my search engine and it came up with 58 million hits.
58 million.
It would seem a lot more high school students are doing a lot more research when it comes to picking colleges. So do your homework, so to speak. And start early. And keep researching. It’s kind of like the lottery . because you can’t win, if you don’t play.
