Starting Your College Search

With over 4,000 colleges in the US, it can be a daunting task to find the right school, so before you start looking for schools, you should take some time to think about what you want and need from a prospective college. Take some time to answer the questions below, they will help you make decisions about the type of college to attend and give you an idea of ​​the questions to ask when talking to different colleges. Once you’ve answered the questions, move on to see why they’re important.

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• What do you want to study?
• What is your main interest?
• If you cannot study your main interest, is there another program you would like to study?

Money

• How much can you pay in tuition?
• Room and board (sleeping life)?
• Books and other course materials?
• Do you need a loan or other financial assistance to complete a degree?
• Does your current employer offer education subsidies?
• Are you eligible for military assistance?

type of learning

• Do you prefer practical shopping?
• Do you require face-to-face contact with teachers or other students?
• Do you have any learning difficulties that require special attention?

To lease

• Would you rather attend an in-state college or move out of state?
• How far can you travel daily to attend college?

Computer and Internet access

• Do you have constant access to a computer with an Internet connection?

Accreditation

• What types of accreditation does the school require?

School environment

• What class sizes do you think are ideal?
• Other considerations that are important to you

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Knowing what you want to study before you start your search is important, it will help you narrow down the list of schools to those that have your program and allow you to make decisions about the type of school you should attend. Although the ideal would be for all of us to study our passion or at least a program that leads us to the profession of our choice, this is not always possible. It’s a good idea to think of some related alternatives to get started. For example, let’s say you want to be a Registered Nurse (RN), when you start looking at schools, you quickly realize that most colleges have a long waiting list for this program, some of them as long as two years! Now what? On second thought, you may decide that medical assistance is another program you’d be interested in, now you’ll need to check all of those schools again to see if they have a medical assistance program that interests you. Knowing in advance what other programs or areas of study you are interested in can save you time and make the process much simpler.

Money

Since 2008, the financing of post-secondary education has changed. Gone are the days of easily obtaining private loans from banks, slowly being replaced by direct loans from the federal government. A good question for the schools you talk to is if they currently run a direct loan program or what their FAFSA status is. Keep in mind that direct loans are handled by the college you’re applying to, but the loan itself is backed by the US government.

learning type

You need to understand what kind of learner you are: do you need face-to-face contact with your teachers or other students? If so, you’ll want to stay away from online programs and schools and you’ll want to talk to schools about their class sizes. Are you looking to do practical courses (trades, for example)? You will need a campus program for these. Do you need special access to a campus? You might consider taking an online program that doesn’t require you to travel to a campus for classes. If you prefer an on-campus program, be sure to check with the school about accessibility. Many students do well with online programs, and schools have been offering these programs long enough for proper support to be put in place for students. If you’re looking to do an online program, you should ask the school if the online program is accredited, how long the school has been offering the program, and if they know what the graduate employment rates are.

To lease

A fairly typical view of college life is presented in many movies, with students living on campus in a different state from their parents and spending an inordinate amount of time doing anything but studying. While the lifestyle may be appealing to you, this is a good time to take a closer look at the costs involved (college is not for the faint of heart!). Understand that most colleges charge out-of-state students a premium, sometimes adding several thousand (and in some cases, tens of thousands) of dollars to tuition. Add to this the cost of room and board, whether on or off campus, and the overall cost of your education adds up quickly. Do you still want to attend college out of state? Be sure to ask the school what the cost of tuition is for an out-of-state student and what accommodations are available. In-state students looking to live on campus should ask the school what the cost of a dorm is and what other amenities (eg cafeteria) are available. For those of you who have decided to stay within your own city, consider how you will be traveling to/from college and factor it into your education costs.

Computer and Internet Access

For online programs this is required, if you are not already paying for a broadband connection be sure to include this as part of your total cost of education. For campus programs, having an Internet connection is beneficial, as many schools post class notes online for students to access; however, students can often use the computer labs or library workstations on campus to access the Internet. If you don’t have internet access, be sure to ask the school if they provide internet access for students.

Accreditation

Probably the most confusing thing when choosing a university is accreditation. It is the responsibility of the students to verify the accreditation status of the schools! If you don’t ask, they won’t tell you. Before we go any further, just a quick note about accreditation: there are many different accrediting bodies for universities in the US Some professions require certain accreditations, if you are going into a profession (e.g. law), check what kind of accreditation the profession requires before talking to the school.

School environment

Each campus has its own personality through the types of programs offered, athletic teams, religious organizations/affiliations, students, and faculty. Finding a school that feels good often requires visiting the campus itself, if that’s not possible you can try locating a school newspaper (search online) or ask someone who currently attends the school. The size of a class affects the amount of time a teacher or instructor can spend with each student. In a class of 100 students there may not be enough time to answer all the questions during a lesson, smaller classes tend to be better. Try to find classes with no more than 50 students.

Other considerations

It’s a good idea to have a list of your top wishes at a school, as this will help you ask the right questions.

find a school

So now that you have an idea of ​​what you want in a school, how do you go about finding the right school? There are several free services available to help you locate a school, some are from private companies, others are run by the government.