Pick Your Poison

The time has come. The time to choose your home for the next four years of your life (hopefully). So where do you begin? To be honest, I'm not an expert. I'm you. I just graduated from high school and I begin my college experience in the fall. But hey, who are you going to trust? The professional psychologist who will tell you about what college should be like, or an actual college student who will be willing to tell you when she screws up? ;) (No offence to anyone who is a psychologist. I'm sure you are nice people)

Okay, to start this blog off right, I want to talk about the very beginning. Actually choosing a college. There are many factors, and yes it is overwhelming, and yes it is stressful (and yes, your teenage hormones will probably cause you to breakout. Twice.)

First: How large do you want your campus to be?
Experience: My best friend and I are extremely similar. We both attended extremely small high schools. We both are heterosexual females between five and six feet in height. She chose to go to a college with about 3,000 students, while my college will have roughly 55,000.

(I'm on the left and she's on the right)

Conclusion: It just depends on your personal preference. With small schools, you get a ton of personal attention and help if you need it. Also great if you come from a small high school and you're used to knowing everyone. However, depending on the school, choices in clubs and classes can be limited. With a larger school, you have lots of activities and classes to choose from. You also have an unlimited amount of new friends you can make and people you can meet. However, it can take a hour to get to class and if you need help, it can be difficult to talk to a professor who doesn't know who you are.

What is most important to you?
Okay, obviously you want to look at all aspects of a college before you decide. But if you're planning on majoring in Bowling Industry Management, you better make darn sure the college of your dreams offers Bowling Industry Management. However, if you're majoring in something general that virtually every college offers, like English (hey, just like me!), then you can pick another focus. Are you an extremely light sleeper who needs specific sleeping accommodations? Make sure you look at the dorms. Are you a picky eater? Better make sure you eat a meal on campus during your visit. Pick what affects your life and make sure you can be comfortable. This is going to be your home, after all.

Distance?
Are you going to get homesick the first weekend or are you planning on moving across the country to get away from home? This can be a tricky situation. My advice is if you have never lived away from your parents before and you're leaning toward the homesickness, stick to a college within your home state. It doesn't matter if you want to eventually be independent, go to college your freshman year and if you love being away from home, transfer your sophomore year. But that's just my advice. I'm not your keeper.

And finally: price.
You can skip this if your financial situation is secure. But if you're like me, you will be going to college on a budget. I'm not going to say much on this subject except fill out the FAFSA, apply for scholarships, and talk to your parents.

I hope I could help in some way! Leave a comment if you're trying to decide on a college or if there's a factor in the decision process I missed. Obviously I already decided on my college, so I'm going to be most helpful with questions pertaining to large schools. But I will keep you updated on what college life is really like, so stay tuned and remember: You can be a college survivor ;)