Finding The Right College

What are these questions you need to ask, when you are staring at shiny brochures and university and colelge websites which offer little or next to no real information?

For starters, you need to match your needs against your resources and talents. As in, which colleges do you want to go to, as opposed to which colleges are, on paper, ready to take you, and lastly - Which colleges can you actually get in to?

First, the quality of education in the field of your choice. Some colleges are good at specific streams, such as law and business, others are good for the arts and so on. Therefore, considering that this is the topmost criterion for college selection, prepare a short-list of colleges which have an excellent reputation in your chosen field.

Next comes the question of which of these are willing, or able, to accept you as a student. Once you have this list comes the question of money. Do you, or your parents, have the financial capability to pay for the education? If not, does this college offer financial aid?

Once you have sorted out which ones you want to get into, which ones are willing to take you, and which ones you can pay for, there remains the question of life on campus. Best way to finalize a decision would be to visit all the colleges which made it into the final short-list.

Talk to current students, faculty, admission officers and anyone else you can find. Wander around the campus and see if you find the place comfortable and worth spending a lot of time in.

Searching for the right college is hard work. Nobody said it was easy. But it's way easier to spend your years in college, if you do the hard work now, rather than weeping over spilled milk after you enter the wrong college.