Sat Test

In my last blog post I talked about different choices in colleges and universities that you have facing you as you ponder what to do with yourself after graduation from high school. There are so many to choose from. You may already have one in mind, but if you haven’t made up your mind yet, I’d like to give you some information that will help you to contrast the options out there.

What I like to do when I have a difficult choice to make, is to write down my choices and then put a pro column and a con column down the middle of the paper. I then start filling up the columns with the good things about my choices, or the bad things about my choices. This gives me something concrete to look at, to think about and helps me work through the decision better than if I simply go to bed, pull the covers over my head and hope that the decision is somehow magically made for me. You’re old enough now to make important decisions and this is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make.

Let’s say you’ve narrowed your choices down to two colleges. This would be an excellent time to put your pros and cons down on paper. Does one have higher tuition costs? Is one university closer to home? How does their financial aid package or available scholarships match up with each other? What about the major you’ve been dreaming about? Do both universities offer majors in your dream vocation?

Another consideration is the cost of living where you might be located. Some parts of the country are more expensive than others and you should take that into account when making your choice.

A friend of mine decided to go to a certain school because his parents made it quite clear to him that they would fund his education if he attended a specific university, but not if he planned on going somewhere else for his higher education. It was a financially based decision, but in the end, I’m sure he didn’t regret not racking up thousands of dollars in student loans.

In my next blog posts I’ll contrast some universities to give you a better idea of your choices.

In most of my blog posts I’ve talked about the SAT, what it is, how to prepare for it and how it will impact your ability to be admitted into the college or university you wish to attend. This brings up another question. Just what college or university do you want to apply to?

How do you pick what college you want to attend?

There are a great many decisions to make before you can even make the decision on what college you want to spend your next four years at. Perhaps you don’t even want to attend a four year college, you have your sights set on a two year college first, or perhaps even a technical school is what you’re dreaming about. If your parents went to a university, you may get pressure from them to attend their alma mater. Where are your friends going? Is that something you want to consider?

Think about the next four years as a fresh start, a new beginning, wiping the slate clean and starting over. If you go to a college where no one knows you, you may reinvent yourself. Of course this means that you want to reinvent yourself. If you like yourself and everything about yourself, then there’s no need to think about changing everything about yourself and starting over. However, if you’ve gotten into a crowd that might be doing unhealthy things, going to a new place with a fresh start might be a wonderful idea for you.

Remember that the choice, ultimately, is yours. You are the one that will be there. You are the one that will be living with your decision.

There are a lot of choices out there. You can attend a four year, a two year, a public or a private college. Do you want a small school with less than 1,000 students or a larger one with more than 15,000 students?

There are schools you can look at according to the average GPA of the freshman student body that is admitted. If your GPA isn’t as high as you’d like it to be, then you might wish to concentrate your applications on those schools who generally allow admission to those students within your GPA range.

Price for tuition is also a consideration. Community college tuition will obviously be less than tuition to an Ivy League university and there are a wide range of tuition fees in between. There are other cost considerations besides tuition of course. There are books, class fees, registration fees, rent, food, and other bills if you’re living away from home for the first time.

Do you want to go away from home for college? If you stay home, perhaps you can live at home, thereby saving some money in that respect.

Maybe sports are a huge draw for you. You want to go to a top ten school.

There are rural schools, urban schools, schools in suburban settings or in small towns. If you like big city atmosphere, then apply to a college or university situated in a large urban area. There are universities right in the heart of New York City if that appeals to you. If small town living and a slower pace suits you better, then concentrate your applications in those areas. It’s all a matter of personal taste.

Perhaps you want to major in a certain discipline. Be sure to ascertain what schools have that major offered in their curriculum, and then apply.

Another consideration is financial aid. Could you win a scholarship to this school? Perhaps you are a football star, or you’re a gifted pianist. Some schools offer scholarships for different things. Make certain you check into what kind of financial aid is offered at each school. Private schools may offer different financial aid from a public university. This is an important aspect to your decision making, so be certain you’ve done your homework in this area. I’ll talk more about financial considerations in a later blog post. Next time I want to contrast different colleges for you and perhaps give you something to think about as you decide where to go to school.