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A Tough Decision - Which College to Attend?

If you've been watching TV perhaps you have heard of Dakota Root, she's the home-schooled girl who was accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Yale Columbia, Penn, Brown, Duke, Chicago, Cal-Berkeley, USC and several other elite schools in America. So how did she choose which college to attend? According to Fox News, she picked Harvard because it's the school everyone in the entire world knows about. For the record, Harvard is so elitist that only 1% of the best high school seniors dare apply (30,000 applicants) and out of that number about 1,700 will get to attend (less than 6%).

Dakota's story is exceptional, the average student candidate does not get accepted to 10+ of the most selective colleges in the country. But with more than 4,000 higher education institutions in the US, there are plenty of great options that will cater to your individual needs. And then, the question is - which one provides the best fit for me?

There are many things to consider when evaluating college options. Here are things to think about and thoroughly consider when making your original and final selection.

1- Small vs. Large

Want a school where you know everybody or do you long to have the diversity and social environment offered by a school with 40,000 students? There are great colleges in both spectrums of the balance, so your job is to examine the benefits and drawbacks of all. For example, a large school is more likely to have more student organizations, more student activities, more majors and more classes. A smaller school offers a more intimate environment, more personal attention, and more direct access to your professors, among other benefits. Think then in which type of school you would be able to perform your best in every aspect of college - academic, social, personal, and professional (looking towards the future).

According to Forbes Magazine, "Small liberal arts schools shine in our rankings, probably due to both the quality of their faculty and the personal attention they can provide. Williams and Swarthmore both rank in the top five, while Pomona, Smith, Middlebury and Amherst all come in the top 20, ahead of such schools as Stanford (23rd) and Brown (27th)."

2- Public vs. Private

The main difference between public and private universities is price. Just compare the cost of attending a top public university like UC-Berkeley ($8,353 in-state, $31,022 out-of-state) versus top private universities like Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, Boston College and Cornell where you can expect to pay more than $50,000 a year without need-based aid. With need-based aid chances are you'll still have to pay more than $20,000 a year, and that's not counting room and board which can cost you another $10,000+.

Think about what will happen if you graduate with a huge college loan debt, consider the salary prospects of your chosen career and how you will feel when you're making $900+ a month in loan payments for a job that pays $50,000 a year. Remember, you don't need an expensive private school to succeed in life, Suze Orman got a BA in Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at a low price tag, look at her now!

So if you can't afford a respected and extremely expensive private school, consider that "according to the 2009 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked 25th out of the more than 1000 international institutions recognized. It is home to some of the highest-ranked Engineering, Computer Science, Library and Information Science, and Accounting programs in the United States." And here's the best part, it only costs about $9,000 a year for residents and $23,000 for non-residents.

Sometimes the best decision is the least expensive. Not having the financial burden when it is a burden for you and your family can be positive in many ways. Having the extra money and no debt will take you far, especially when considering affording graduate school. Attending a good public school can cost less and make no difference in terms of the quality of your education.

3- Campus Activities

I heard from a graduate from a renowned urban university in Florida how he described it as a weekend cemetery. He explained that there was nothing going on for students in the weekend, who literally left campus almost as a migration only to return on Sunday evening. With no university facilities open during the weekend, the school became a ghost town, certainly not fun for him, as he had nothing to look for outside of the school in the city. He felt so bored and isolated that his full college experience was not the best. However, this environment made sense to the many students wanting a life outside of the college environment, wanting to keep close ties with their family and friends in the area.

Other schools offer great life on campus 24/7. They bring film festivals, concert series, offer many options of coffee shops which remain full of students any day of the week almost at any time. In these schools, we can find libraries servicing students until 4 am, closing for one hour and then reopening at 5 am. So if you're a bookworm, a jock, a philosopher, or just a person who's drawn to a certain social environment make sure to find a campus that fits with your lifestyle. Check out their individual websites and see if the school has fraternities, student clubs, fitness facilities, sports, and so on. For example, Penn State University recently dethroned the University of Florida as the top party school according to the Princeton Review. You can also check studentreviews.com which lists Tulane University as the #1 school for social life, and if you'd rather be volunteering, US News & World Report recommends Duke, University of Maryland, Stanford, and other colleges where you can learn and make the world a better place at the same time.

4- Campus Politics

They say you should never talk about sex, politics or religion if you want to avoid making people uncomfortable. In college however, you're likely to meet people who will discuss all three so if you're a progressive who voted for Obama or a conservative who voted for McCain, you should think very carefully about what kind of people you want to study with.

While some schools encourage vigorous debate, others censor students that hold unpopular views and there are cases of teachers who are openly hostile to conservatives, members of the military, Zionists, etc. Some universities even have "speech codes," or other draconian laws that stifle the First Amendment of the US Constitution. For example, according to FIRE, an organization that fights for individual rights in education, Binghamton University suspended a student for making posters criticizing the Department of Social Work.

That doesn't mean conservatives or libertarians have to study at places where they're not welcome, consider options like Hillsdale College which currently ranks 89th in the 2010 U.S. News & World Report listing of best American Liberal Arts colleges and 76th in the 2009 Forbes report of America's Best Colleges. It ranks second in the Princeton Review's The Best 371 Colleges 2009 listing of colleges where students are "most conservative" and among the fifty "best value" private colleges.

Of course, if you're a progressive or liberal, you might feel comfortable at Duke, NYU, Columbia, Oberlin, Ohio State University, Princeton, Tufts, Berkeley and lots of other great schools, some more politically correct than others.

5- Religious vs. Secular

Nietzsche said that God was dead, yet almost every school in the nation has at least one religious student group. Catholic and Protestant schools have their own chapels, even orthodox Jews can attend top-rated schools like Baruch College, Yeshiva University, and Brandeis, where the food follows Jewish dietary restrictions. The question for you is how much or how little religion you want in your life, there are top-rated Christian schools like Wheaton College, ranked 59 in U.S. News & World Report (2008) and 11th in total number of graduates who go on to earn doctorates. Other options include Baylor University with over 146 undergraduate degrees, Pepperdine University, Calvin College and others.

One thing to consider about religious schools is their standards of conduct, many of them don't tolerate smoking, drinking (even if you're over 21), drug use, premarital-sex, homosexuality, and in the case of Bob Jones University, interracial dating used to be against their laws. At Liberty University for example, students are not allowed to have TV's in their rooms and the televisions in public areas are tuned to family-friendly programming.

The rules of conduct are less strict at top-rated Catholic universities such as Georgetown, Loyola, Boston College, Creighton, and others.

If you are religious and choose to attend a secular college find out if they have college ministries, a college-age Sunday school class or youth group, worship services, and churches near campus.

6- College Rankings

Not our most favored way to choose a college, but certainly one of the most popular. Google "college rankings" and you'll find that schools are rated by organizations like US News & World Report on a wide variety of categories such as "Highest (and Lowest) Acceptance Rate," "Top-Public Schools," "Best Nursing Programs," "Most Students in a Fraternity," "Most International Students," etc. However, BEWARE! College Rankings should be only a guide and never the reason why to choose a school - it would be the wrong decision to make your college decision based solely on the ranking of a specific school vs. others. Remember, rankings change every year, and they are measures that cannot directly point your fit with the programs. They try to assess college proficiency in many areas and far too often fail at being accurate by not taking under consideration the "soft" aspects of the college education.

As quoted by College Confidential, here is another comment on "Rank vs. Individual Fit: College admissions counselors universally agree that a school must "fit" the student in terms of academic environment, social environment, athletic and other extracurricular opportunities, urban or rural location, etc. A good fit will result in a great college experience and, most importantly, maximum personal growth and achievement. Rankings can be a negative influence when students or parents look more at how highly a school is ranked instead of how well it will serve the needs of that particular student." collegeconfidential.com

Example, say you're a passionate outdoorsman who enjoys kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, etc. If that's the case, the rankings of Outside Magazine are going to suit you perfectly. Perhaps you'll love Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. At Warren, "The Bent Creek Experimental Forest offers miles of singletrack, road riders convene every Tuesday at Liberty Bikes for a morning ride, and runners can join the Asheville Track Club. Prefer solitude? Hop onto the Mountains to Sea Trail...Hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders don't even have to leave the 1,200-acre campus, as more than 25 miles of trails cut through the grounds."

Of course, you'll also want to know how Warren and other schools rank nationally, in your major, cost, and other categories relevant to you. For example, if you are a vegetarian you should check the PETA's college rankings, did you know Yale, Oberlin, NYU and University of Florida are among the top-ten options for vegetarian students? Rankings however, are also a tool for selling magazines. Each organization that has developed a ranking has a different way to calculate results, and they are not infallible. This is mainly the reason why many often do not agree with results. However unfair and miscalculated results are, having lists of colleges that distinguish themselves for one reason or another can make it easier to find options for a student. If nothing else for this, rankings become a valuable resource when seeking college information. With this said, use rankings as a tool to learn more about the school's areas of strength, but make sure not to believe all you read...

How not to choose a college

Believe it or not, sometimes people pick the wrong college for the wrong reasons. Some may say "my boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend" is going there, others are impressed by the football team (which makes no sense unless you're going to be on the football team), some pick a prestigious school even if they don't have the major they want, others want to go where their parents went, or they want to live in a specific city where a college is located, and so forth.

Choosing a college based on factors that have nothing to do with your education and fit with the program/environment of the college could become a disaster. Remember, these four or more years could affect the rest of your life, and unlike Suze Orman, most of us don't get to turn a B.A. is Social Work into a lucrative career as a Television Financial Adviser. So when it comes to your college choice, research, research, research and focus on fit by considering your needs and how the college meets them.

Claudine Vainrub is the Principal of EduPlan - http://www.eduplan.us, an Educational and Careers Consulting firm. She holds an MBA degree from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Originally from Venezuela, Claudine earned her B.A. in Communications and Journalism from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello. She is seven times certified in College Admissions Counseling, Resume Writing, Personal Branding, Personnel Consulting, 360Reach and WBI Assessment Administration. Her experience includes being Executive VP for Grupo Frigilux, leading Marketing and HR for this industrial corporation of over 1,500 employees. Recognized as an expert in Career Development, College and Grad School Admissions, her opinions have been featured on The Wall Street Journal, CNN en Espanol, CareerBuilder, JobDig, Diversity USA sites, International Career Development and Resume Writing bestsellers, among other leading global media. She was elected Board Director for the Association for International Graduate Admissions Counselors - AIGAC and Community Representative for the Higher Education Consultants' Association. Claudine is fluent in English, Spanish and Hebrew.

Which College Should Your Student Attend?

As you and your children research, investigate and visit colleges that may be of interest, you will find that each college has a different look, feel and appeal. Some you will like. Others you won't. That's all part of the process for narrowing the field.

To help ensure that you and your children make clearly focused decisions, you can use the information that follows to rank your choices. Some of you may want to use a five point scale to rate each college on items 4 - 11. In that way, parents and students can more easily compare colleges on individual items and total scores. You can even add items, if that would be helpful. However, the first three items on this list should be fully discussed and agreed upon long before you begin to look at colleges.

1. Evaluate Your Financial Position - How many children do you have? How much money can you afford for each child's college education? Is the student able and willing to obtain a part-time job? What is the likelihood that your student will receive a significant amount of grant and merit scholarship money? Is the student willing to take on one or more student loans? As parents, are you willing to take on one or more loans to help pay for college?

2. Consider Cost Reduction Alternatives - Since money is a concern for most parents, students should consider community colleges and lower cost four year colleges. However, be sure to check out the ratings and reputations of those colleges. It pays to attend a college that has a good reputation. Then, if you obtain good grades, you may be able to transfer to a higher ranked, four year college. Don't ignore the savings that can be gained by attending a local college and living at home. Does the student need a car? Should the student attend college on a part-time, pay as you go basis? Explore the alternatives to determine which one is best for you.

3. Rate Your Student's High School Performance - Be honest. What is the quality of the high school your child has attended? The best colleges will take this into consideration. Carefully evaluate your student's high school performance, including the following: academic achievement, leadership roles, participation and performance in school activities, community involvement and service, part-time work, critical life experiences, obstacles that were overcome and outstanding achievements. In what areas has your student been recognized by others for having achieved excellence? What is the likelihood that your student will excel in college?

4. Financial Aid - First, you should be interested in Grants and Scholarships, not loans. How

much money is each college willing to offer your child? Is there enough difference between the offers to influence the student's college choice? Qualified students should begin to investigate local and national scholarships and grant money early in their junior year of high school. After all possible grants and scholarships have been investigated, look at other options including work-study programs, part-time jobs and loans. Since student loans come in all shapes and sizes, both students and parents should carefully consider each loan option. Obviously, some loans are more repayment friendly than others. Make certain that you fully understand all loan requirements before you commit. Also understand that you may be repaying those college loans for more than twenty years.

5. College Ratings - Most colleges have an international, national, state or local reputation. What are the reputations of the colleges to which your student will be applying? Are any of the colleges known for the field that your student plans to enter? Colleges with a the best reputations can be helpful when it's time to look for a job.

6. Career Services - Does the Career Services office have enough employees to provide personal assistance, classes and training for every student, or do they merely provide information on their web site? Do they provide students with assistance in every aspect of the job search: A Goal, A Plan, Assessment Instruments, Research, Networking, The Resume, Interviewing, References and more? Can they help students with internships, part-time and summer jobs? Can they steer students to alumni who are already working in their field of interest?

7. Job Placement Statistics - Colleges are very clever with the statistics they present. Many colleges state that 95% or more of their students are employed within six months of graduation. However, those numbers don't tell you how many students are working in their field of interest and if they are earning a living wage. Are graduates forced to live at home because they can't afford to live independently and still pay off their college loans? Before selecting a college, students should find out how many employers, in their field of interest, actually come to that campus to recruit students. How many students, in that field, received job offers as the result of campus interviews? What were the titles of the jobs they were offered? How much did they pay? Where were they located? Parents and students have a vested interest in these answers.

8. Campus Safety & Security - Every college has safety and security issues. What are the statistics for the past four years? Ask about Murders, Rapes, Assaults, Stalking, Thefts and Intruders. What prevention measures are in place? With regard to major security events, what is the college's track record and ability to immediately communicate with students about lock downs? How does the college handle Contagious Health Issues - Meningitis, etc.? Are you satisfied with the way each college has handled such problems? Be sure to ask about and investigate dorm security. Talk with current students about these issues.

9. Counseling Services - What counseling services are offered? Which of the counseling services is your student most likely to need? Students often seek counseling for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, drugs, drinking, academic performance and career issues. How comprehensive are these services? How frequently has each service been used by students in past years? What are the success rates?

10. Parent Association - Which colleges have a Parent Association? If they have one, you will be able to talk with other parents about any issues that concern you. Make a judgment whether each college is parent and family friendly. You will find that some are interested in parent opinions, suggestions and involvement, while others are not. Some colleges only want your tuition payments and annual donations.

11. Campus Activities - When students have a special interest, make certain that the colleges under consideration provide the student with an opportunity to participate. Other students may prefer colleges with a broad array of activities, so they can explore their options and test their skills.

As you get down to the four or five colleges that hold the most interest, are appropriate for the student's qualifications and meet your personal financial requirements, the application process can begin. Many students apply a strategy to help ensure acceptance at colleges that fit their needs and wants. They apply to one or two colleges they consider to be a stretch, two or three in which they are confident of acceptance and one or two that they consider to be a slam dunk. This is an excellent strategy to consider, since the competition at high quality, lower cost colleges will always be stiff. Keep in mind that some colleges accept as few as 20% of their applicants.

When parents perform well during this process, they will have helped their children to gather and evaluate important college information, explore the alternatives, focus on the things that will enable students to find success and teach their children how to make sound and informed decisions. However, once the choices are reduced to the two or three most suitable colleges, the final selection should be left to the student.

Visit Bob's web site: http://www.The4Realities.com. Bob Roth is the author of The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College -and- The College Student's Guide To Landing A Great Job.

Bob Roth is the author of The College Student's Guide To Landing A Great Job -and- The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College. He also write articles for more than 175 college career services offices and campus newspapers. Additionally, Bob has developed 15 self-scoring learning tool that help college students find success. http://www.The4Realities.com Bob Roth, a former campus recruiter, is the author of The College Student's Guide To Landing A Great Job -and- The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College.

Known as The "College & Career Success" Coach, Bob also writes articles for more than 200 College Career Services Offices, Campus Newspapers, Parent Associations and Employment Web Sites. Additionally, Bob has developed 20 Self-Scoring Learning Tools that help college students find success. He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs across the country and also by many newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal. Lastly, Bob has served as an Adjunct at Marist College, teaching a course in Career Development. http://www.The4Realities.com