More About Choosing the Right College

There’s something else to think about as you continue your quest to choose a college. It’s important to examine the quality of the colleges you’re interested in …especially if you are looking at programs that prepare you specifically for a new career, i.e. law school, etc. As you do your research, you should keep your college’s job placement rates in mind. This applies not only to colleges and universities , but to vocational programs, tech schools, community colleges, and/or whatever else is out there. The U.S. Department of Education currently requires schools to report these numbers to the public, so most schools should be doing so (click here for an example).

 

Not only do colleges and universities have to report job placement rates, however, as you see through our example, they have to disclose things like how much the program will cost students, how long it will take to complete the program, graduation rates, and transfer rates as well …all of these things fall under the students “right to know” legislation.  This kind of information can be found on most college and university web sites.

 

As you are doing your research to choose a college, you can also access the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to locate loads of information about the college your interested in.

 

Gathering as much information as you can about a prospective college choice will help you make an informed decision. When it comes to selecting a college, not all schools are created equal. Don’t stop with the data, though …you should call the school, talk to the Dean or Department Chair, and ask informed questions.