As upperclassmen such as seniors start to get near the end of their high school years, they start to look at where to go for college. During the school year or even during summer, these students go and tour the campus of the college they like.
There are many factors that influence where a student should go to college. These factors can include money, proximity, the atmosphere of the college and whether or not the college offers the students’ major. If one or more of these factors are not met, students may not want to go there.
For senior Margaret Scott, she needed to have a college where she can major in her field. Scott is majoring in Landscape Architecture and will need a college where they offer classes for that specific degree. Scott visited a lot of colleges such as UMass Amherst, Rutgers, UVA, Penn State, George Washington University, Northeastern and UNC. When she visited these colleges, she made sure they had the classes she needed.
“I’m majoring in Landscape Architecture and minoring in French and Francophone studies,” Scott said. “I like a school with a sensical set-up, my major, and a dance program so it’s important for me that the college I’m going to go to has these requirements.”
Another huge factor for college is how far away the college is and if it is in state or out of state. Going out of state will cost more but students still usually go. For senior Madeleine Larison, going out of state for college is a big factor. She mainly visited colleges that were out of state such as KU, Kstate, Michigan State and University of Chicago.
“Yes, I intend to go to KU,” Larison said. “I wanted to go out of state and enjoy a new city and I felt like I couldn’t do that in Omaha or Lincoln. I also wanted to go to a school with sports because I enjoy watching them.”
College tuition is a major factor that most students look out for when trying to choose where to go for college and visit. They don’t want to go to a college that has a lot of tuition. Scott, when visiting colleges, kept in mind how much each college costs. She didn’t want to leave college with a lot of debt. Scholarships would help but they are not that easy to come around. You have to be really good at academics or sports to gain a scholarship.
“I will be paying for my college but I’m hoping to get it covered by merit scholarships and my savings bank account,” Scott said. “This heavily influences where I go because I would like to graduate with my master’s debt-free. I have also applied to many scholarships but I have not heard back from any of them.”
Choosing a college to visit and then potentially go to for school can be hard. There are many factors that play in it. This decision can potentially alter your life in many different ways. That’s why it’s important to choose the college that’s right for you.
