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reese
Student
Mill Valley, California
2
Questions
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Should I choose a college that I will enjoy better or that will have better opportunities? #Spring26
Im a senior in high school deciding where I am going to go to college.
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1 answer
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach, Mentor
1209
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Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Reese,
I am not sure that it has to be one or the other - why not a college that you will enjoy, that prepares you well for the workplace and that offers plenty of opportunities? Most important is to find a college that is right for YOU in terms of academics and that you can afford! And there is certainly more than one of those around.
Your first step should be to research what kind of careers you might be interested in in the future and the educational requirements for them. That should lead you to a major (or at least a general direction, e.g. engineering or social sciences or healthcare) for your studies. Consider how much schooling you are willing and able to commit to and what the total cost would be. Some careers you can start out with a bachelors (4 years) or even associates degree (2 years) while in others you will need a PhD.
Next, you can research colleges that offer those degrees. Have a look at college websites to find out more about the degrees you are interested in. Check if the majors you are interested in are accredited. Check out rankings if that is important to you.
To build your college list, you can find out more about the fit of these schools using these tools:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
https://www.scholarmatch.org/resources/scholarmatcher
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
I am not sure that it has to be one or the other - why not a college that you will enjoy, that prepares you well for the workplace and that offers plenty of opportunities? Most important is to find a college that is right for YOU in terms of academics and that you can afford! And there is certainly more than one of those around.
Your first step should be to research what kind of careers you might be interested in in the future and the educational requirements for them. That should lead you to a major (or at least a general direction, e.g. engineering or social sciences or healthcare) for your studies. Consider how much schooling you are willing and able to commit to and what the total cost would be. Some careers you can start out with a bachelors (4 years) or even associates degree (2 years) while in others you will need a PhD.
Next, you can research colleges that offer those degrees. Have a look at college websites to find out more about the degrees you are interested in. Check if the majors you are interested in are accredited. Check out rankings if that is important to you.
To build your college list, you can find out more about the fit of these schools using these tools:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search
https://www.scholarmatch.org/resources/scholarmatcher
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP