Tips on choosing a University to attend
Posted on August 4, 2010
Choosing a College or University
Deciding on what school to attend can be a tedious and frustrating process because it is reliant on so many different factors. You’ll need to select the subject to study, whether or not you want to partake in any extracurricular activities, the location of the university and of course the expenses, wow the expenses, and that is just to name a few of the factors that require investigating before you can make an educated decision. There’s a very possible chance that you might end up selecting a university for the wrong reasons, perhaps you’ll make a decision based on a reputation whereas you should make your choice based on your academic intentions Ultimately it’s best to select a university after researching a handful that you feel best suit you and check out what options are available to you beforehand. It’s alright to ask friends and family for advice but at the end of the day the decision is yours and yours alone to make so don’t let others convince you one way or another.
What courses do you intend to study?
Your final choice for a university should be based on your academic interests and the future career that you think you would like to start. Now deciding the topics to study at university isn’t going to be a complete surprise to you. After you take your GSCE and A-level subjects you should have a fairly good idea of your future plans. You should definitely know what it is you enjoy studying and what you like about school or what you want to focus on, whether it’s math, science, history, etc and you should also know which of these subjects for which you have a natural flair. Look at the subjects which you enjoy and for which you have a flair. By deciding what subjects fall into these categories you are already ahead of the game when trying to select your university. Now, of course, speak to your sisters, your brothers, your parents, guidance counsellors and see what they have to say. With your knowledge, their advice and a topic of study your are ready to start looking into which universities off programmes that match these preferences.
What about things to do when you’re not in class?
Despite what your friends and family think you will not be in class or studying every moment you are away at university. When you pick a university you need to make sure that it offers different activities that you might be interested in, whether that is sports, music or otherwise. Universities offer a wide range of clubs, hobbies, groups, etc that you can sign up for and get a lot of experience doing, such as the school radio, cultural clubs, gyms for exercise, athletic teams, drama and dance clubs. It’s always good to find at least on activity the school offers besides the classes towards your degree. It will give you an opportunity to meet new people, learn new things and may even provide real world experience in your future career.
So how are we going to pay the bills?
Obviously every parent and student needs to consider just how they are going to afford going off to school whether you live on-campus, off-campus or commute. It’s sad to say that in recent years the cost of school has gone extremely high and a small job, part-time, simply will not be enough to meet these needs and cover the costs. Now, of course, there are the school fees for attending classes but there are also fee’s for meal plans, cost of rent, school books, clothes and dorm room necessities, travel, any events you may plan to attend, and so on and so forth for what seems to be an unending list. When selecting your school be sure to consider all of these costs in and above the generic tuition. Some schools may include certain activities and others may not so it’s very important to do the proper research!
So where exactly do you plan to attend? Not the school, but the location.
Some students hope and pray that they can get away from Mom and Dad and start their own life of responsibility and growth. Other’s prefer to stay close to home and commute to school. Sometimes the reasoning is to get out of a small town and other times just the opposite. Regardless of where you hope to attend be sure that the environment meets the requirements that you have in mind. The best way to get familiar with the area is to take a day trip, with or without your parents, walk the school grounds and go for a stroll around the local town or city. You can even take a full day trip, night and day, so that you can make sure everything you feel you need is available to you, person I would like 24 hour fast food! It’s best to follow your instincts and if you have a funny feeling about something it’s good to address it right away.
Selecting a university is by far going to be one of the most crucial decisions you can make in your life. It will guide you to your career, create a new social network and may even be the place where you meet your boyfriend or girlfriend! Regardless where you attend will play a massive role in your future. With that said, don’t let the degree of importance scare you into staying close to home if you would prefer not to and don’t get overwhelmed with all of the options. Take you time, research the angles, and get good advice!
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