Criteria For Choosing a College

[SoxFan1]

God damn, the stress in life never ends. With ACT's less than 2 months away, I'm right on the brink of making my college choice. I pretty much have it narrowed down to my top 5 or 6, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I know alot of you went through this recently and I wanted to know your advice on what to do and what not to do when choosing a college. My top 5 are:

 

1.) Grand Valley State University

2.) University of Illinois -- Urbana/Champaign

3.) University of Akron

4.) St. Cloud State University

t5.) South Dakopta State University

t5.) Southeast Missouri State University

Edited February 13, 2006 by SoxFan1

[farmteam]

Isn't South Dakota State the one that made out-of-state tuition cheaper than our in-state tuition, to draw more Illinoisans?

[SoxFan1]

Isn't South Dakota State the one that made out-of-state tuition cheaper than our in-state tuition, to draw more Illinoisans?

Yessir.

[Flash Tizzle]

6. Any college with large Serbian population.

 

What exactly do you plan on majoring in?

[3E8]

Visit potential suitors, make the selection based on which environment you like most. That's the best advice I can give.

[SoxFan1]

6. Any college with large Serbian population.

 

What exactly do you plan on majoring in?

Broadcast Journalism, Communications, Media, etc.

[Felix]

My only advice is to go with your gut, and don't end up going to a college just to please others. You should also check the college out in person at least once or twice, and when you are there, make sure you can picture yourself there for the next 4 years (or so) of your life. You'll get accepted somewhere, and you'll find the right college. Its just a matter of time.

[SoxFan1]

My only advice is to go with your gut, and don't end up going to a college just  to please others.  You should also check the college out in person at least once or twice, and when you are there, make sure you can picture yourself there for the next 4 years (or so) of your life.  You'll get accepted somewhere, and you'll find the right college.  Its just a matter of time.

The only decision I have made so far is to not choose until I see all my top 3 in person. I will be visiting GVSU this summer, UI is not far so I can go down there any weekend, and I am planning on visiting Akron and SCSU this summer too.

[Felix]

The only decision I have made so far is to not choose until I see all my top 3 in person. I will be visiting GVSU this summer, UI is not far so I can go down there any weekend, and I am planning on visiting Akron and SCSU this summer too.

Thats cool. When I was going around last summer, I put them all together on one big trip since most of them were in the midwest and I live in Jersey. That way, I wouldn't have to be driving back and forth between here and the midwest

Before looking at the schools, my list was something like this:

1. University of Illinois: Chicago

2. Pittsburgh University

3. Michigan State

4. University of Minnesota

5. random other schools which I didn't visit (Kent State, Penn State, some others)

 

After looking at the schools, I realized how much I hated Michigan State, and Pittsburgh seemed rather dull, although was still nice. I loved Chicago, which was expected, and I fell in love with Minnesota's college atmosphere and campus. I ended up applying to one school (Minnesota), which isn't smart, in September, and was accepted by mid-October. I was done with the college process before most of the people I knew even submitted their applications (I suggest that anyone applying to colleges does it early, its great). I had my housing application done and accepted by the end of November, and haven't had to worry about anything since then. I have an Open House on March 4th, and past that, I don't think there's anything else until late August when I move in.

 

So yea, thats basically my entire college story

[SoxFan1]

Thats cool.  When I was going around last summer, I put them all together on one big trip since most of them were in the midwest and I live in Jersey.  That way, I wouldn't have to be driving back and forth between here and the midwest

Before looking at the schools, my list was something like this:

1. University of Illinois: Chicago

2. Pittsburgh University

3. Michigan State

4. University of Minnesota

5. random other schools which I didn't visit (Kent State, Penn State, some others)

 

After looking at the schools, I realized how much I hated Michigan State, and Pittsburgh seemed rather dull, although was still nice.  I loved Chicago, which was expected, and I fell in love with Minnesota's college atmosphere and campus.  I ended up applying to one school (Minnesota), which isn't smart, in September, and was accepted by mid-October.  I was done with the college process before most of the people I knew even submitted their applications (I suggest that anyone applying to colleges does it early, its great).  I had my housing application done and accepted by the end of November, and haven't had to worry about anything since then.  I have an Open House on March 4th, and past that, I don't think there's anything else until late August when I move in.

 

So yea, thats basically my entire college story

So are you living in Pittsburgh now? Where did you tour?

 

Blah, meant New Jersey not Pittsburgh. :banghead

Edited February 13, 2006 by SoxFan1

[Felix]

So are you living in Pittsburgh now? Where did you tour?

I live in Jersey now, but I am moving to Minnesota for school in late August/early September. I toured Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Illinois: Chicago, and Minnesota last year, while having been to UIUC, Purdue, Penn State, and Wisconsin with my other brothers when they were looking at colleges (so, like 5-8 years ago ).

[SoxFan1]

I live in Jersey now, but I am moving to Minnesota for school in late August/early September.  I toured Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Illinois: Chicago, and Minnesota last year, while having been to UIUC, Purdue, Penn State, and Wisconsin with my other brothers when they were looking at colleges (so, like 5-8 years ago ).

How long did the trip take?

[Felix]

Er, I lied. It felt like a big trip because of the drive to Chicago/Michigan State, but technically, it wasn't really one trip. Most were all timed in the same time period. I did Pittsburgh separately because I already had a trip planned to see my brother at Penn State, so we just traveled out the extra 4 hours to see Pittsburgh. Including seeing a Pirates/Mets game and my brother, the Pittsburgh trip took a weekend.

 

As for Minnesota, I flew out there for another weekend. Since my mom's parents live out there, and the drive is too long to do as a casual thing (24 hour drive or so, and my mom is not the person for road trips), we flew out on a Friday (IIRC) and came back on a Sunday.

 

As for Chicago and Michigan State, it felt like a big trip. My dad and I flew out to Chicago on a Saturday and rented a car. We stayed at my Aunt's house on Saturday night, then on Sunday, we went to a White Sox/Mariners game. After the game, we drove to Michigan State (this drive felt so long that its distorted my perspective on all of these trips), and on the Monday, we took the tour of MSU. After the tour, we drove most of the way back to Chicago, but stopped about 2/3rds of the way there at a hotel. On Tuesday morning, we drove to Chicago where we took the tour of UIC in the afternoon, then caught the evening flight (had to miss the end of the tour, but we had seen most of it) back to Newark, New Jersey.

 

Sorry for the confusion.. I'm sort of confused myself

[ZoomSlowik]

Broadcast Journalism, Communications, Media, etc.

 

Is phony major. Lubchenko learn nothing. Nothing!

 

Sorry, I had to. I was in the same position, and I ended up at Illinois. Northwestern was my first choice, and if that is any kind of possibility for you I'd consider it, because their program is pretty good. I enjoyed my time at Illinois, but I wasn't as thrilled with the classes as the ones I saw at NU. The environment was probably a better fit though.

Edited February 13, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[Milkman delivers]

Go to the school that gives you the most money. That's what I did.

[Texsox]

Couple other issues to consider, when starting your career, having some alumni to assists can sometimes be a huge help, plus many people tend to settle around the University they attended. You may wish to consider where you would like to live after graduation, and look for Universities in that area.

[Kyyle23]

Broadcast Journalism, Communications, Media, etc.

 

And SIU isnt on that list? One of the best broadcast journalism programs around buddy. If those are your schools, you should definitely make sure that your major is a top priority in the school you choose.

 

 

 

ps. are you trying to isolate yourself when you get to college? Jeez, I dont think I have ever seen that many "far far away" locations on a list of prospective colleges .

[southsider2k5]

I noticed that you have a lot of small schools on your list, and having went to a small school I want to give you this advice.... unless you plan on staying in that area after you finish college, don't go to one of those schools. The repuation of your degree is only as good as someone else knows it is, and small schools tend not to mean much outside of their region. If it comes down to you and another guy, the hiring manager is going to hire someone he knows that has a degree for a solid program vs a school he has never heard of.

[SnB]

I applied to 3 schools my senior year. U of I, Northern Illinois, and Purdue. I got in to all 3 of them, but only visited one.

 

-I visited here and really knew this was where I wanted to go.

-For me, a big school was a necessity because my entire life was spent in small schools up until then.

-U of I had the best academic reputation of 3.

-the whole "far enough away, but not too far away from home" thing

-costs were relatively cheap, at least compared to out-of-state schools

-one of the best schools in the country in your own state

 

and i'd be lying if i said sports didn't play some sort of role in my decision. I wanted to be part of a big NCAA atmosphere. Bingo

 

If you have any specific questions about U of I sf1 or anyone else, i can probably answer most of them.

[AddisonStSox]

My advice: don't listen to people on an internet message board when it comes to your college education.

 

Visit potential schools. Get the absolute highest GPA + ACT you can. Go where feels right.

[SoxFan1]

I am not basing my whole choice off of what people are saying but I am taking words of advice. I definitely will not make my final choice until I visit my top 3, which I have already stated. Right now, I am in love with Grand Valley because it is a big school and the campus is beautiful. It is less than 20 minutes away from Grand Rapids and it is less than an hour away from Lake Michigan. I am a big outdoorsman so this plays into it as well because there is solid hunting and fishing area's up there. For the most part, they are known for their Broadcast Journalism program and they were ranked as one of the tops in the country by US News for that major.

 

Like SnB said, Illinois has that "far from home but not too far" thing going for it, and it would be a lot cheaper for me to go there but they aren't known for their Broadcast Journalism program. GVSU has internships where I can work on the school TV channel or Radio and they help you find jobs in that major. The University of Akron is the same as GVSU but it is a bit farther and more expensive.

 

Like I said, as of now, GVSU is my choice but who knows what can happen. I may go visit it and absolutely hate it.

[SoxFan1]

Go to the school that gives you the most money.  That's what I did.

What school would that be?

[Heads22]

Visit, visit, visit. Make sure it feels right. Talk with random people about the school.

 

I like ISU as it's 2.5 hrs from home. Close enough I can get home in half a day or my parents can if need be, but far enough away that it just doesn't seem too close.

[Goldmember]

visit campus, talk with students, maybe try to sit in a class or two, and meet up with some of your program professors...

[3E8]

Also, if you have the financial capabilities to attend a school far away from home, give it at least some consideration. I immediately eliminated all schools in my search that weren't within reasonable driving distance which in retrospect was a terrible idea.