College Admissions: Where to Apply

There are quite a few things to consider when deciding what colleges to apply to. One of the first steps that I recommend is that any high school student who is lost should do a college matchmaking on College Board. The only problem with that is unless you have an idea of what your college needs to be, the search will be more of  headache than a helpful resource. So, to help you out here are a few things that you should consider when considering colleges.

Community vs Four-year
One of the alternatives that guidance counselors are always suggesting to the more financially strained students is that they attend community college first and then transfer to a four-year university. This is certainly a viable solution--community college is immensely cheaper than even a public four-year. Unfortunately, that affordability can come with a price. (Pun intended.)

What this means is that with the economy in the state that it's in, and with the budget cuts being made to education finding classes is becoming a much more difficult process. Many students that were planning on transferring in two years have actually had to invest more time simply because they couldn't acquire the necessary credits in time. It is up to the student to determine whether it's something that they should consider based on their circumstances.

Should they opt for community, let the record note that the application process is much simpler and requires very little effort when compared to all that goes into the applications of the four-year universities.

Public vs Private
To put it shortly: public universities are cheaper than private. Not always, but for the most part this holds true. Now because of this, there are many implications that the institution will have on your higher education. For one it means that private schools are less impacted by budget cuts. Private schools can afford to have small class sizes, just because they are also smaller campuses and have fewer enrolled students. As a direct result, it is much easier to get to know your professors on a very personal level.

There are some benefits to public universities. Typically they are more likely to offer a wide range of majors and what this usually means is that their majors are more likely to be better based--some private universities have a few strong majors and the others are flimsy at best. Such is usually not the case with public institutions. Another thing to keep in mind is that public universities have much more diversity: diverse class subjects, clubs, students, etc.

All of these aspects are worth taking into account to weigh the pros and cons of each.

Name Brands
Nearly every one of my classmates was worried about attending a college that everyone has heard of. Prestige is something that a student should never be concerned with. When it comes down to it, the student is the one who determines how well their education will be. You can have the best teachers in the state--maybe even the country--but it will amount to nothing if you can't discipline yourself and definitely if you can't afford it. Moreover, just because it's the best college you could think of doesn't mean that you will feel at home. For the most part, up until now you have had no choice but to attend the schools that are within your district: college is a time when you get to decide where you'll be learning. Don't let the opinions of others determine where you will be attending for the next four years or so.

Distance from home
This is sometimes one of the motivating factors for students to choose a college. Either they want to be as far away from home as possible, or as close as they can be. Thus, it is a question that any high school student must ask themselves: how far from home do I want to go?

One of the components that usually follows this is whether a student should stay in their home state, or whether they should venture out to another state. Finances usually play a part in deciding whether going out-of-state is a potential prospect. It is important to note that whenever a student is going out-of-state, they forfeit any financial aid that their home state was going to give them. On the other hand, it is also important to note that there are some colleges that will actually award scholarships that allows out-of-state students to pay in-state fees. Sometimes this may be the ideal situation, especially since some states have lower costs of living.

So if going out-of-state is something that appeals to you--and you won't miss your family too much--don't toss aside the idea of applying to a college out-of-state. It may actually be much cheaper than you anticipated.

Financial concerns
Speaking of money, it is sometimes the reason why a student chooses to go to one school as opposed to another. Typically every college-bound student worries about how they're going to pay for college. It is certainly something worth freaking out about, but it is also something that shouldn't have that much of an influence on the colleges you'll be applying to. (That is, unless money is also going to factor into how many colleges you'll be applying to--in which case it is important to narrow down the list of applications, thereby reducing the application fees.)

The reason for this is because typically the schools won't send you any financial aid information until after they've thoroughly processed your application and received your FAFSA. That being said, it is important to consider whatever colleges you want to, since you really have no way of knowing whether they will offer you more money than their competition. Definitely consider all the colleges that appeal to you, unless they have a reputation for offering very little aid--in which case, definitely do some research maybe even call the financial aid office.

Dream school?
Here's something that a lot of people always seem to overlook when discussing colleges: not everyone has a dream school. It is perfectly normal to not have one, and in fact can actually prove to be a benefit for you. Most students learn to love the campus that they're at--regardless of whether it was their dream school or not. While it's great to have a dream school, it won't necessarily be the college that is best suited for you. Something like that happened to me, but in opposite way: there was a school I was accepted to that I had not even considered attending. After a visit to the campus, I fell in love and that's the school I'm attending in the fall.

Hopefully this helps you out with any questions that you have; if there are some that went unanswered feel free to comment below or send me an email.