How did you/your child choose a college?

[MaryAnnDVC]

My DD is a high school sophomore, and big time into looking forward to college. She started talking about going away to college since she was in kindergarten! (Miss Independent. )

I chose the junior college I went to because I had taken two years off of school after high school, and just decided to go to college...wasn't really sure for what. After two years, I transfered to a 4 year college, with an excellent reputation in my field (accounting), but it was also about 5 miles away, and the only 4 year college I applied to. It was more of a "oh well...what the heck" decision.

My DD's process is going to be a lot different...she's got excellent grades in the honors program, and is very ambitious, but no particular college jumps out at her. (She interested in a Biology/Pre-Med program, so that alone will narrow it down to some extent of course.) I know it's early, but I'd like to get some feel for how to approach the "looking" and decision-making process. We thought we'd go check some out this summer, but someone suggested that that doesn't give you a good idea of what CLASSES and campus life is like, because it won't be during the school year. However, I think we could rule SOME colleges out by the location and appearance of the campus, if it just doesn't seem like a good fit (ie, my 8th grader HATES cities, so that alone rules out many).

How did you approach the whole college choice process?? (I'll get into the horrors of $$$ and financial aid in another thread at some point, when I can bring myself to even think about it.)

 

[RUDisney]

I selected my college because my HS was a feeder school to it. I had 34 credits going into college, so I started as a sophomore and I got my 4-year degree in 2.5 years (I got lazy one summer.) It saved me big $$$ by doing this. I paid for everything myself and walked away with only $9,000 in loans. I graduated in January 1987. I went to a private university that wasn't cheap by any means and I worked 35 hours per week while taking 21 credits most semesters. My goal was to get my degree so I could be part of the workforce. My MBA took me 9-years to finish.

I don't know where you live, but the University of Scranton has an excellent reputation for pre-med and biology. They have a good reputation of their grads going on to Temple, Jefferson, Penn, etc., medical schools. Scranton is a ice town and the campus life is good and relatively safe. (What campus is 100% safe?)

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i am a freshmen in college now..at first i was soo sure iw anted to go away and ended up going to a private university almost 3 hours from home in Scranton PA...i was positive i would LOVE this school...ended up HATING it and came home this semester..i am now going to a school 40 min away from home so i now live a home...

GOODLUCK!

 

[JoNo]

Ever since I was 12 I had ALWAYS wanted to go to M.I.T., you know, the world's largest geek college. Well, I never got a chance to go and i'm working on my degree at a local college, but I think I'll go there to get my doctorate!

 

[bananiem]

I think it's a great idea to go while classes are in session but you're right that just checking it out during the summer is a good way to just look at the campus. I went to a Big Ten university with a really spread out campus. I loved it. For some people it was a turn off.
I picked my school for various reasons: I'd spent time there since my sister had gone there for 2 years. I'd also done summer camp there for 2 weeks one summer. I wanted to be in their marching band for as long as I could remember. I wanted to go into Speech Pathology and Audiology and they had an excellent school for that. And I would be an hour from home. Sort of on my own but close enough if something happened in my family or I needed a break for a weekend. Most of my friends went to other state schools so I made new ones through the dorm and band.
I would encourage her to look at what the school offers in terms of extracurricular stuff too. It's a way to meet friends that are interested in the same things and take a break from studying. Extracurriculars look good on resumes too.

 

[RUDisney]

What did you hate about Scranton? I've lived in and near Scranton all my life and don't think it's that bad. Got my BS and MBA from there... even in the days when they were looking to get accreditted and were hiring doctorates that were right off the boat and didn't speak English. Although I lived at home, I spent most of my time in the dorms with my friends.

 

[debster812]

I was fortunate enough to do some extensive travelling/living in South America my Junior year in HS. That pushed me towards studies in Languages and Internation'l relations. I ended up attending a small, all women's college in Wash DC. And now I work in IT.

JoNo--did you know there is a former MIT baseball pitcher who looks to be a decent chance to make the San Diego padres this year??? Pretty cool stuff.

 

[TimeforMe]

Originally posted by JoNo
Ever since I was 12 I had ALWAYS wanted to go to M.I.T., you know, the world's largest geek college.

OMG, that's so funny. My DS(14) has his heart set on going there, too. Last summer we went on a long weekend to Boston and did a tour of MIT, which made him want to go even more. I know it's extremely competitive so who knows....

 

[piglet too]

I knew that I wanted to go to a small liberal arts school, so that narrowed my selection quite a bit, and then there were only so many that offered programs in Sports Medicine.
I know that in my area there was a big college fair every year. aton of the college reps would come and hand out litterature and talk to the students. My high school also had college reps coming in all the time. I would suggest to see if there is a college fair somewhat close by and take her to it. It is a great way to see what is out there. It is never to early to start looking and the reps really enjoy talking to the younger students to hel pguide them to a good match,

 

[danacara]

First, if your daughter wants to go to med school, I wouldn't recommend a pre-med major. She'd be better off majoring in straight biology or chemistry, or even something totally different (economics, English) and fulfilling the pre-med requirements on the side. As crazy as it is, medical schools don't think terribly highly of a pre-med major, per se, because they want to create an interesting mix of people at their medical school, and they want to see upper-level classes on an undergrad transcript; generally pre-med majors do not require many upper-level classes. Most tier one colleges, private and public, offer a pre-med program that anyone can take, but no major per se. The same is true of law schools and pre-law majors. I know it's odd, it surprised me too when I learned about it.

We had no money, truly, when I applied to schools. I had a great guidance counselor who told me to apply to top privates because I had the best chance of getting aid there. This was 1998. I figured I wanted to do business or engineering eventually. I was like your eighth-grader - not wild about cities, but I figured that Cambridge or Philadelphia would be OK. I app'd to Carnegie Mellon, Boston U, MIT, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Penn, Amherst and one or two others. I went to Princeton because they gave me the best financial aid, by far - P'ton doesn't award any loans as part of financial aid, all need is met by grants. It wound up being cheaper to go to Princeton than it would have been to go to Rutgers. That's the big secret of the ivies. So you could say that I made a totally financial decision. I loved that place, and I graduated in 2002 with $0 in loans. Amen!

 

[CBRorBust]

I picked my University because:

1) It was close, but not close enough to still be going to school with the same kids from High School
2) I knew 100% that I would get to be a "number" instead of a name! I went to private school, and was ready to be a number!
3) The price was right!
4) I saw too many of my friends go to Community College, and end up dropping out because it was too much like High School. I wanted the College experience that you can only get from a large university.
5) Technology-my school's website was a lot more organized, therefore I knew that my school would be more organized. There are a ton of computer labs, some being 24 hour labs, unlimited printing, and excellent online registration.
6)Campus-the campus was really nice, the dorms were all updated, etc.

 

[snoopy]

My favorite aunt went to NYU - she guided my choice, along with a nice sized scholarship.

 

[JoNo]

Yeah, MIT has always been my dream, but I wound up enrolling at UNO (University of New Orleans) for a while and then moved here to florida. Where I live there is no big college close so I have to finish up my AA comp. Sci. degree here at a local community college. When I finish up my AA I think I might move up to Gainesville and finish up my masters degree at University of Florida (go GATORS!), and then make the big jump and go to MIT for my doctorate if I can get in. The reason why I have to choose my schools the way I do is b/c Computer Science is a relatively new field compared to medicine, law, business. etc. so I have to find out everything I can before I enroll!

As far as med schools go, While I was in New Orleans, I learned that Tulane has a very VERY excellent med program, as well as LSU. But I think you should take time to sit down, compare colleges, cost, and the like before making the big plunge!

 

[CyranoJones]

My daughter chose her college based on which offered a good program in the major she wanted, partly on our encouragement for her to get out and see the world, and partly on her gut instinct. When we got off the plane in the city where she ended up, she said, "Mom, this feels right." Once she met with the dept. head of her chosen major, that sealed the deal.

She was offered full or close to full academic scholarships from all the schools she applied to, so we were lucky on that count. Our only request was that she pick somewhere that would be fun for us to visit. We were very happy when she decided she wouldn't pick South Dakota School of Mines, lol. (Nothing against South Dakota, just too cold)

Apparently her gut instinct was right because she is very happy, has gotten a nice life together for herself, and is doing well in school. Can't ask for more than that.

 

[4nana]

Congratulations! It is great your daughter wants to go to college. It is never to early to start planning!

Having 4 graduates, for us it took it a lot of research! We recommended they pick 5 schools that offered majors they were interested in. Having a very modest income, it truly depended on which school offered the best package. Unless you have $15 - 30,000 yr., this plays an important part! Starting the summer before their jr. year., we visited each school so they could get the real feel. We asked them to not be more than 3 hrs away. Soooo glad we did, as every 6 wks they wanted to come home!! Our son seemed to handle home sickness better.

Luckily, they all rec'd partial scholarships to excellent schools. With 4 in college at the same time we had to beg and borrow to keep them there...LOL!! Even with scholarships they'd earned for top honors, also incl. were work study programs, student loans, even hocking our house - there are big increases to be expected each yr. One did transfer from their dream college, as you might say: it was a rude awakening how some wealthy behave. Luckily, all four managed their education just fine, successfully graduated with honors and have good careers to pay off all those loans!!!

However, this being said - if we had it to do over again, we would really encourage them to go to our local jr college for a fraction of what we/they invested! I remember it was not considered 'cool' then, but the first 2 yrs are really a learning period to see how the student adjusts, developes, matures and basic classes to see what their interests are.

I agree - the college fairs are a great idea also!

Best wishes and good luck,
~ Sandie

 

[Bob Slydell]

I knew I wanted a fairly small private school, since I came from a small Catholic HS. I also wanted a school away from home, but not more than maybe 2-4 hours drive away. I also had a major in mind, Accounting.

So I put all those together, came up with 4 or 5 choices (including a state school or two, in case scholarships didn't happen) and applied to 3 or 4 of those. It just happened to work out that the top school on my list after I visited them all also happened to offer me the best scholarship package.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Wow, I can't thank you enough for all the great advice and insights!!

We've gone to a huge fair at the local community college with representatives from colleges and universities from around the country, twice, in DD's high school freshman year and this year. I was surprised at how many representatives were unreceptive the first year to having a high school freshman looking into colleges so early on...they were a little more receptive this past year.

The worst feedback was from Vassar College, a campus we had driven around a couple of months beforehand while on vacation, and DD fell in love with the school, but we got such bad vibes from that woman at the college fair about researching colleges so early!! She basically dismissed us.

The best, and most receptive and helpful representative was from Ryder College, in NJ...a Mr Finger...he was so helpful, about the whole decision making process, not just about what Ryder has to offer...we saw him BOTH years at the fair, and he thought it was WONDERFUL that DD was investigating colleges so early.

Financially, I get the awful feeling we're in the awful middle ground area of income...making too much money to get much in the way of aid, and not enough to pay for it ourselves. Hopefully, DD will get some good merit scholarships.

One thing I've been emphasizing to my kids is that nothing is written in stone...if they choose a college that doesn't work out, it's not a permanent decision...we can look to make changes. It's only money. rolleyes: )

Thanks again, and I'd welcome any more info!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

My daughters decided what area they wanted to be in.. How far from home, what size college, etc.

We then got in the car and visited those schools.. I was lucky they only wanted to go about an hour from home..

They made their decisions based on what they saw, not only the school but the students (visit when school is in session), what the school offered for their majors, and then applied.. Actually all three of mine applied early decision, they were that sure and got into the college of their choice..

 

[gina2000]

I knew I wanted to be a language major so I looked to see which schools offered the best programs in the language I was interested in. I also attended a few seminars and weekend invitations held locally by universities I had expressed interest in. Libraries usually have books that give you the flavor of each particular college campus and that helps to get an idea of what you want. As an example, my university had no frats/sororities. I had visited a sorority at another university for a weekend and knew I wasn't interested in that sort of living. It's easier to get a feel for what you need and want once you match it up with what each university offers. I never got to visit before I attended school, but if you can, I think it's the best opportunity you can give your daughter.

 

[ShuisFan584]

When I was younger I always thought I wanted to go away to college, but only a few hours drive. As I got to my junior/senior year of high school, I realized that I did not want to be away from my family, so I only applied to schools that were close.

In the end it came down to Montclair State (which is about 5-10 minute drive from my house), and William Paterson (which is about 20-25 minutes). In the end I chose William Paterson. William Paterson offered me a full scholarship, while Montclair only gave me partial (which definitely affected my decision). I also liked the campus and location of WPU better. I'm also happy with choosing my school because I really like the math department I'm in now. I really like all my math teachers, a lot of them know me very well, and I'm doing good in all my classes.