For most people, choosing a college to attend is not an easy choice. This is because it’s essentially picking where you will be living for the next four years of your life—or sometimes longer depending on your major and education path.
As simple as choosing a college may sound on paper, it tends to be a very complex and personal decision. A lot goes into this choice, from personality and location preferences to type of education and career paths.
Now more than ever, with the increase in the number of people that are pursuing higher education, it is important to focus on finding the college that is the best match for you. There are a few reasons to do this and things to keep in mind while figuring it out. Let’s break it down:
1. Affordability and Quality
Affordability and quality are generally the first two factors that go into deciding what colleges you may want to attend. Take some time to sit down and figure out what tuition you can afford. This is a great way to filter and narrow your college choices.
Although, it is also important to keep in mind that there may be scholarship and financial aid opportunities available. Look for scholarships using the College Raptor College Scholarship Search Tool and find out what free money you may be able to receive.
When looking at the colleges you can afford, be sure to consider the quality as well. In particular, you should look at their educational statistics compared to other colleges. Some colleges may be better at providing opportunities and connections post-graduation based on your specific career goals.
2. Look Beyond the Rankings
Although we just advised you to consider the quality of colleges as a starting point, you should also look beyond the rankings after you have a solid list of contenders. After all, colleges have more to offer than their rankings. Consider:
- Is the school located in the city and state you want to be in?
- Are you comfortable with how far (or close) this university is to your home?
- Does it offer the education track you are pursuing?
Some colleges may not offer the major you are looking for or they may offer it in a program that is longer than four years. Be intentional about evaluating your future college against your specific wants and needs.
3. The Right Campus Environment
A lot of people will talk about “that feeling” they got when touring a college campus. They stepped foot on campus, took a quick look around, and instantly knew this was the one for them.
Now, this doesn’t happen to everyone, so don’t be concerned if you don’t feel “that feeling” during your campus tours. Maybe you won’t have a strong feeling about it at the moment. A lot is happening: You are touring a campus, thinking about where you will be spending the next four years of your life, and trying to take into account all other aspects of choosing a college that is the best match for you.
It can be stressful. Try to be in the moment and take in everything happening around you. You may not have “that feeling” about the campus, but if it’s not the right fit, you’ll likely know.
4. Opportunities Outside of Education
Yes, college is largely about receiving higher education, but it is also about growing and maturing as a person. There are opportunities outside of education that college can provide, such as ways to meet people, clubs, and activities to participate in, and so much more. These smaller pieces of the college experience tend to end up being the things that will shape you the most.
If the picture of students throwing a frisbee across a grassy quad is something that you want to experience, poke around and try to find out if that happens at the colleges you are looking at.
Contrary to the movies, not every college even has a quad! Some schools are located in the city, some are super spread out, and others may have different things happening centrally on campus.
5. Shaping Your Career Path
Choosing your best-matched college will guide you on your career path. And it starts with finding a school that offers your desired area of study. You may not know what you want to study yet, but even if you have a general idea, you should do a quick search on the colleges’ websites to make sure they have majors and minors of interest to you.
Finding a college that is passionate about assisting its students in the job search for internships and post-graduation jobs is more important than ever. As the number of people pursuing a higher education increases, the job search process is becoming a bit harder.
This is a great question to ask on tours. Many of the tour guides will know how easy or difficult it is to find jobs with the school’s help and if there is a job search or career center on campus.
6. What Do YOU Want?
At the end of the day, you know yourself best. It’s important to listen to yourself and pick a college that you feel drawn to. Maybe that isn’t the college with the highest rankings, but it has the most interesting courses in your area of study. Whatever the reason may be, focus on where you feel happy and believe you can succeed the most.
How are you supposed to know what you are looking for in a college? Let College Raptor help. Take our College Match questionnaire survey. We take into account student income, parent income, high school GPA, SAT or ACT score, and more to give you results that are tailored to you.
