Tips for Selecting a College
By Darren DiFilippo

Searching for a college is an interesting time in life. College is where you will spend the next four or more years. Indeed, you must know what to look for when searching for a college, and I have developed some tips to help get the most out of the college searching experience.

First, I develop a checklist of all the options that I want to experience at college. My list is long because I hope to get the most out of college, and I always visit colleges that I am interested in to help answer my checklist questions. In my list, I ask myself, is the location of the college somewhere I would want to live for the next four or more years? The size of the school is a concern as well. Do I want to be with 30,000 other students in classes of 500 or more, or do I want to have the ability of working one on one with my professors on a smaller campus?

Continuing on my list, I ask myself, does this college have the major I want, and what is the percentage of employment after school? If there is a low employment rate after graduation, then this school may not be the best for me. Another question on my checklist is: Does this college have a good reputation? I want a school that is known for its academics and being devoted to its students.

On my list, I always write “talk to enrolled students,” because I want to hear their reactions to the college and see what their attitude is towards the school. This is very important because if the students are positive about the school, then most likely the school is a good one. Tuition is also one of the objectives on my list. I always find out the cost of tuition and the many other costs of college. I also ask for scholarship opportunities through the college to aid in my college costs.

I know that my checklist works for me when I search for and visit for colleges. It helps me answer the questions that I am most concerned about. Once I have the checklist completed, I compare it with other checklists from other visits. This way I am able to compare colleges and select the one that I like most. Indeed, the checklist works best for me, and it should be developed with your own questions and concerns about college so that you get the most out of the college you plan to attend.