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Annie
Student
Chandler, Arizona
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What is the best way to balance out the best college choice??
What is the best way to balance out the best college choice?
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Marshall Main
Director, Manager, Videographer
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Raleigh, North Carolina
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Marshall’s Answer
Annie-
The first thing to look at is does the school have a program that you are interested in/ a degree path that fits your desired degree. They should be an accredited institution and you can do some research online pretty quickly. Depending on the industry you are going into, you can also ask some professionals in that industry if you happen to know some if they would recommend that program or not (it helps if they are an alma mater). Some industries have associations or groups that certify people for those roles, they will have a list of schools on their website.
There will be a lot of other factors that can play into it, this is not an exhaustive list below:
Financial situation: Depending on your financial situation it may be better to attend a state school over a private university. There may be other things here too like who offers you a scholarship. What Debt you already have, if there is a place to live off campus nearby that you can stay like family member or friend.
Personality: How do you learn? Some schools programs for the same degree are different by design, some are more book/ theory based, some are more practical/ lab based. Doing some research on the specific program will be helpful to know what they do, but you will also want to know about yourself. You can take a lot of career tests online that do personality and thought processing tests to help you narrow some of that down.
Compatibility with the Institution: Visit the campus, meet the head of the department and some of the professors, see the town and area around it (the weather). Are they a big 'Grek" school, do students live on or off campus? What is the food like? You may find that something is great or something would not be ideal for you and make the situation of learning more difficult.
Proximity: This may be important or not - how easy is it to get home or to a place like a relative or friends house? (Do laundry, home cooked meal, getting back for holidays). Is it in a big city or out in the country?
Other programs: Some schools will have specific things they do well in a field (i.e. law or medicine) but don't cover everything. You may find that you want to move between disciplines, so knowing that they offer some other things you are interested in might be helpful.
At the end of the day, it is also completely normal that if you change major or degree speciality direction that you transfer to a different institution if that is what is best. Knowing what you really want to do will make these types of decisions easier. Also don't hesitate to seek out a mentor or career counselor. They can be helpful in working through things. Also depending on your degree path, it might be that you will move schools as you move degrees (Undergrad, Graduate).
The first thing to look at is does the school have a program that you are interested in/ a degree path that fits your desired degree. They should be an accredited institution and you can do some research online pretty quickly. Depending on the industry you are going into, you can also ask some professionals in that industry if you happen to know some if they would recommend that program or not (it helps if they are an alma mater). Some industries have associations or groups that certify people for those roles, they will have a list of schools on their website.
There will be a lot of other factors that can play into it, this is not an exhaustive list below:
Financial situation: Depending on your financial situation it may be better to attend a state school over a private university. There may be other things here too like who offers you a scholarship. What Debt you already have, if there is a place to live off campus nearby that you can stay like family member or friend.
Personality: How do you learn? Some schools programs for the same degree are different by design, some are more book/ theory based, some are more practical/ lab based. Doing some research on the specific program will be helpful to know what they do, but you will also want to know about yourself. You can take a lot of career tests online that do personality and thought processing tests to help you narrow some of that down.
Compatibility with the Institution: Visit the campus, meet the head of the department and some of the professors, see the town and area around it (the weather). Are they a big 'Grek" school, do students live on or off campus? What is the food like? You may find that something is great or something would not be ideal for you and make the situation of learning more difficult.
Proximity: This may be important or not - how easy is it to get home or to a place like a relative or friends house? (Do laundry, home cooked meal, getting back for holidays). Is it in a big city or out in the country?
Other programs: Some schools will have specific things they do well in a field (i.e. law or medicine) but don't cover everything. You may find that you want to move between disciplines, so knowing that they offer some other things you are interested in might be helpful.
At the end of the day, it is also completely normal that if you change major or degree speciality direction that you transfer to a different institution if that is what is best. Knowing what you really want to do will make these types of decisions easier. Also don't hesitate to seek out a mentor or career counselor. They can be helpful in working through things. Also depending on your degree path, it might be that you will move schools as you move degrees (Undergrad, Graduate).