Choosing a 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.

Back when I was in grad school, the question often came up about the validity of online schools as a source for a person’s undergraduate education. These discussions took place a while ago, and since then things have changed a bit. For one, it seems like online schools have become more established as valid schools; that is to say that more people recognize them as such and maybe there are no questions anymore about their validity as good places to attend college. It’s like my adviser once said, online schools probably provide just as good of an education as any other schools, the problem (especially at the time of our discussion) is that nobody recognizes them.

Believe it or not, your school’s reputation matters. And the visibility of a school (or distinction among its peers) should matter to you when you are making a choice. Here’s one question to think about as you are looking around:

Which school is going to prepare you the best for what you want to do? If you want to be a psychologist, for example, which school is the best for doing that?

These are good questions to answer so you can begin to shape your own strategy for making a college choice.   Knowing your school’s reputation matters. Not only will you recognize this, but when you begin to build your career, other people will recognize the quality of your education as well. . . based primarily on the reputation of the school you attended.

So how can you determine the quality of your school’s programs? Well, one way is to begin to look at the faculty. Who’s teaching and what have they done in their own professional careers that makes them uniquely qualified to help you reach your own goals. Good instructors matter. Not only can they provide you with the knowledge and skills you will need, but they can provide you with contacts out in the professional world.

Another way to gauge what your school has to offer is to look at its program accreditations. For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) accredits clinical psychology programs. This accreditation is a statement about the psych program in which you might be interested. It tells you that the major association governing the quality of such programs approves what your college’s program is offering. If you visit the APA site, you will probably be able to find out more about what their accreditation means and why your school is better than others, etc. When looking at accreditations, remember, there is a difference between program accreditations and regional accreditations. A regional accreditation just means your school meets certain standards to operate as a school . . . program accreditations say something specific about each of the programs your school offers.

The quality of programs matter, and that doesn’t just apply to things like law school and engineering . . . it applies to vocational programs as well. If you want to be a mechanic, then find the school that is the best at turning out great mechanics. Understand what distinctions make the program great. And research how the school and its programs will help you reach your own goals.

One thing I’ve come to realize over the years is that the road to college has a different starting point for everybody. You might be a traditional student who is gearing up while still in high school, or you might already be through your high school years and have decided to attend college at some other point in your life like I did. Regardless, choosing the right college matters. Here are just three things to think about as you begin your journey.

First: What are the possibilities?
As a first-generation student who hadn’t spent a lot of time during high school preparing for college, my possibilities for college were somewhat limited. My inexperience with the whole concept left things even more limited . . . in fact, I didn’t really know what the possibilities were.

As a future college student, you have to think about your own possibilities. For example, are you able to move across the country and attend some prestigious school somewhere (do you have the grades?). . . or do you plan to stick around your own neck of the woods?

Do you want to start out at the local community college? Or are you headed to your state’s major university?

These are important questions and ones that you have to be realistic about.  When you think about choosing a school, you have to examine your own situation in life to determine whether or not you can make things work.

Second: What are your goals?
One question you really have to ask is what do you want to do with your life (I know people have been driving you crazy with that one since your freshman year of high school, but the reality is that this question has a lot of power to guide you in your selection of a school)? Are you looking for the best place to prepare you for law school? Do you want to go into medicine? Or do you want to just learn a trade?

Knowing what you want to do will help you answer a lot of questions. For instance, if you’re hoping to learn a good trade then you probably won’t have to search much farther than your local community college. If you hope to go into medicine, then you might want to look at your state’s major university.

Regardless, knowing what you want to do with your life is important to help you begin to search for a good school.

Third: Online or On-The-Ground?
Over the last ten to fifteen years, online colleges have truly established themselves as viable options for students worldwide. Nowadays you don’t even have to leave your bedroom to attain a degree. Online schools provide many great advantages, including a lot of great degree choices. Going to school on campus somewhere can provide you with connections and experiences you will never forget, but attending an online college may be the best choice based on your life situation.

These are only three basic things to think about as you move forward thinking about your college choice. For more information and ratings on colleges across the nation, check out US News and World Report. In the meantime, take care.