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College Prep
Choosing a College:
Your Most Frequent Questions,
Our Shortest Answers!
BY DAVE PETERSON
© Copyright
2002 by Parents' Press
Originally published in the August 2002 print edition of Parents'
Press
Illustration © 2001, Artville, LLC
BROWSE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, OR CLICK ON A TOPIC THAT INTERESTS YOU: Ratings & Reality - Types of Colleges - The Big W: Where? - Social Life? What Social Life? - I'm Sick of School! and Other Miscellany
Q. How important is the reputation or "name" of a college?
A. Much less than your actual record at any college. Some employers and grad schools are wary of "designer" college names and prefer hard workers from more modest and varied backgrounds. The college best for you is the one that best fits you.
Q. How are colleges ranked? What does accreditation mean?
A. There's no single source of "official" college rankings, although many groups and publications do their own ratings. These can be quite helpful, but be cautious in using them. For example, if you've decided you want to attend a large public university, don't be put off by higher rankings for the very different private colleges.
Be sure your college has "regional" accreditation (for example, West Coast colleges should be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or WASC). These are the formal accrediting agencies in the U.S., and employers and grad schools expect this type of accreditation.
Q. College catalogs seem like ads; they praise everything. Where can I find out the "lowdown" on the colleges I'm looking at?
A. A thorough, probing campus visit that includes talking with students and teachers will help. Also check out some of the "ratings" books: U.S. News, Fiske, Insiders' Guide, Birnbach, Princeton Review, but be cautious in relying on them.
Q. Should I go to an independent college or a state-supported one?
A. The public campuses tend to be larger, lower cost, more conservative, more career-focussed. Visit each kind to sense the campus flavor.
Q. What does a "church supported" college really mean?
A. This varies widely. Some church-affiliated colleges require frequent chapel attendance and religion courses. At others, religious affiliation may have no impact at all on student life and regulations.
Q. I can't decide between a 2-year or a 4-year college. What are the pros and cons?
A. The 2-year colleges are much cheaper, closer to home, more job focused. It may be a better choice if you need a "bridge" between home and school. Grades good? A transfer to a 4-year college later will be easy if you decide to continue on. Four-year colleges find that serious community college grads make excellent transferees.
Q. Are you limited by the course offerings in a small college?
A. Fewer course titles don't mean less depth or flexibility in the actual work available to you provided the college has a department for your major.
Q. How important is the location of a college? What about city versus country settings?
A. Liberal arts and pre-professional majors often thrive in isolation, but career majors may need contact with career settings.
Q. Is it a good idea to commute to college if I can?
A. This depends on your situation at home and your finances. Traveling more than 20 miles to a campus can actually make commuting more costly than living in a dorm room. Life outside the classroom, of course, will be different, and much of the college experience can be campus life.
Q. Should I bother to apply to a college if I can't possibly get to visit it?
A. Yes, but only if you will visit later, before you decide to attend. Would you buy a yacht without looking it over?
SOCIAL LIFE? WHAT SOCIAL LIFE?
Q. Should I join a fraternity or sorority at college?
A. Depends on your values, the house in question, and the college attitude toward these groups. If most kids do belong, you can feel left out, but if only a few are members, there's little impact on non-joiners. Best move: Wait as long as you can before joining.
Q. What is meant by a "suitcase" college?
A. The campus empties on weekends because most students live nearby; campus social life can be a problem for those who can't "escape."
Q. Is there a chance I'll get lost at a big college? Do teachers ever get to know you?
A. This depends on your sociability and your assertiveness. People basically are similar everywhere, so it's up to you.
Q. Small colleges are said to be more friendly; is this really true?
A. On the small campus, there is a greater lack of privacy, and it's hard to escape from the social setting. Reputations are made fast, and endure long.
THE PROCESS OF CHOICE
Q. How can I narrow down my choices from 3,000 colleges to just a few?
A. Set your priorities now as to size, location, major, cost, setting, and features. Factor in your grades and test scores. Then use guidebook listings to focus on just those colleges meeting all your priorities. Takes work, so start now!
Q. How can I finally tell which college is the best one for me?
A. There's no one "best." Keep researching and visiting until some favorites begin to emerge.
Q. When should this choosing and applying business take place?
A. For high school students entering their junior year, the choosing processs should begin in late summer and continue through the fall of senior year. (Sophomores might want to sample the flavor of some college campuses close to home but it's too early to make a final choice.)
Ideally, your applications should go in when your senior year record is at its strongest point. But heed deadlines closing dates vary from fall (Nov. 30 for the University of California, for example) to early winter (early decision) to late winter and early spring.
Q. What mistakes do students often make as they plan their college choices?
A. They choose "designer" colleges just on reputation. They yearn for impractically distant campuses, or they limit themselves to commuting. They choose a college primarily on location, climate, or campus beauty, rather than for programs and realities.
They choose for adventure a mid-city university or a ski-country college. Or they blindly follow the leads of friends, relatives, coaches, teachers, neighbors. Or they choose large, low-cost, easy, or flattering colleges, as less of a commitment to tedious research and other challenges.
Q. I'm really sick of school. I might go to college sometime, but I really don't want to go next year. But I don't want my parents to know how I feel now. Help!
A. Go through the motions now anyway. Choose, apply, get accepted. By then your feelings may change; if not, postpone attending until and if they do.
Q. I have no idea about a major or career; does this create a problem for admissions?
A. Honestly list "undecided" as many do. Pick a strong liberal arts program for now, or opt for a large campus where many programs allow you to make later decisions. Colleges know most students will change plans after arriving on campus.
Q. What are the sorts of things you can't learn about college until you actually go there
A. Dorms. Roommates! Course loads. Sudden responsibility. Self-discipline. Strange people. New foods. Etc.!
Dave Peterson has been an admissions officer, high school counselor, and guidance director. He now serves as director of college planning for the EDIFI corporation, a national mutli-media counseling service.
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