Deciding what you want to study in college, or even what college you want to attend can be a heavy decision. Connect with us at T2C Studio for help navigating your potential options and general support in the process of career and college exploration.
Choosing a School
Once you know what it is that you want to study, it can feel overwhelming to then decide what school to choose to achieve your career goals. Utilize these resources to help you along the way and connect with T2C Studio staff for support and guidance in choosing a school.
Ten Steps to Choosing the Right College
- Divide your college choices into three categories. Your categories should be: your top-choice schools that are the most difficult to get into (“reaching”); your colleges that you have a reasonable chance of getting into that you would enjoy attending; and your “safety schools” that you are confident that you would be accepted to. Students should have at least 1-2 colleges in each category that they apply to. If you need help getting some application fees waived, talk to the T2C Studio to see if we can help.
- Seek out personal recommendations. Talking to those around you can be a great tool for learning more about the school than just what is listed on their website or recruitment literature. Talk to your school counselors, teachers, family, family friends, parents, etc. Take in their recommendations, but do not rely solely on them to help you choose the college that is right for you. These conversations will also help you realize what is important to you about a school, what is a “must have,” and what is a “take-it-or-leave-it.”
- Focus on your academic goals. The biggest thing you need to consider when looking at school is your educational goals. Do you want training for a specific line of work, or a more general education? Do you intend to go to school for pre-professional education (ex: pre-veterinary, pre-medical, pre-law)? If you do not know the specific career you want yet, can you center in on a certain field? This will help you rank your potential schools based on how strong their programs are in the field(s) you want to study. One way to understand how much emphasis the school places on a certain field is to look into how many students the school has that are studying that field, how many classes that the school offers in that field, and how many faculty members teach the courses associated with that field and others like it.
- Figure out what the social scene is like. Is it important for you that the school has Greek life (sororities/fraternities)? Conversely, is it important for you that Greek life does not dominate the culture at your school? What kind of activities do students usually do on the weekends? What kind of student organizations or club sports exist? Is the campus located in a city where there are activities you like to do, or is it in a remote location? If you’re interested in getting into the military, and if so do they have an ROTC program?
- Investigate the type of living arrangements available at your institution. It’s important to remember when choosing a school that you will likely be in that location for at least 4 years depending on the degree you are pursuing. Some questions you’ll want to explore are:
- Do most students live on campus or commute? This can change the overall feel and atmosphere of the campus.
- Are you comfortable enough to live with and bathe near strangers? If you were to live on campus, would you have a roommate?
- If you’re considering living in the dorms, how modern are the dorms? Are they community (shared) bathroom, or individual bathroom? How comfortable are you with this?
- How difficult is it to get into on-campus housing? Is there a waiting list?
- What is the off-campus housing like? Is there a lot of variety in apartments/rentals?
- Would you be interested in being a resident assistant (RA) in the dorms? What are the requirements for doing so? Often times you are compensated with free room/board for taking on one of these positions, but it also can be a big responsibility.
- Explore the institution’s college directory. The student directory offers information about the student population, activities, majors/minors offered, costs, financial aid, and other data. Although you should still talk to people on campus to get a better idea of how this data really reflects the student population, it can be a good step.
- Attend a college fair or speak to a college representative. Institutions have a wealth of literature on their course catalog, their programs offered, and other aspects of their campus life. Looking into this material can give you a glimpse into what’s available at the institution, but speaking with someone at a college fair who works directly with the institution can be a far better approach. You can also meet one-on-one with a representative from the college to learn more about the dynamic of the campus, the programs offered, and other more personalized information. This offers you the opportunity to ask any questions on your mind. For schools in Michigan, talk to us at the T2C Studio and we can help you arrange to meet with college reps from institutions you’re interested in.
- Do not rely solely on the college brochure. Although these brochures can possess a lot of useful information, these also are intended to sell you on the school so they may contain information that glorifies certain aspects while conveniently failing to mention other aspects that are less savory. When looking at the brochure, have a healthy dose of caution and ask your college representatives about anything that seems off or “too-good-to-be-true.” Do not rely solely on magazine rankings either. Often these rankings are based on national data, so if you are not comfortable moving nationally, this may not be a good benchmark to evaluate your preferences.
- Do not let cost alone dictate the schools you are willing to go to. There are numerous resources for financial aid, scholarships, and grants to help you pay for college and minimize your student loan debt. When factoring the costs of tuition, also factor the amount of aid that you will receive so that you can have a better idea of what out-of-pocket costs will be. If you are attending college to get an education, you should choose your schools based on the education you would like to receive and not necessarily the price you would like to pay. Visit the T2C Studio for more information about managing the cost of school, fee waivers on applications, and other support in regard to financing your education.
Tanabe, G., & Tanabe, K. (2019). How to Choose the Right College. In SuperCollege.
Click the link to access an informational database that shows top schools for different programs.
Transfer Planning and Exploration
Do you feel like it’s time to move on from your current institution in favor of another that better suits your needs? T2C Studio can help you explore what your transfer may look like, the pros and cons of transferring, and give you insight on some things to consider when choosing your new institution. Connect with staff for further support.
Click the link to read common questions and answers about the pros and cons of transferring schools.
