College Searching

Lil' Red

Lil' Red

New member
I'm going to be a senior in High School this year and I've started doing some college searching. I'm looking for any kind of advice from suggestions on things to consider or schools to look at. I'm really not sure on what I'll major in, and I'm looking for a four year college. I'd prefer an in-state college but I'm fine with going out of state.

 
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Do you have friends or family in college at any of the places you are considering? That's a good place to start, that way you're not force-fed a bunch of BS by a tour guide that's trying to sell you the school. From there you can start to come up with things you like or don't like and start doing comparisons.

For me, the course schedule was the biggest thing. I went to Cornell College in Iowa. They do a One-Course-At-A-Time schedule. You basically have one class every day for a month, take your final and then you have a 4 day weekend.

I'm from a small town, so going to another small town didn't really bother me. Plus, Iowa Ciy and Cedar Rapids were well within driving distance if I ever wanted to do something (mall, movies, etc). So I guess if you're one of those people that HAS to be doing something like that all time, I'd make sure you're close to a lot of those types of things.

If you have interest in clubs, sports, club sports, Greek system, etc. I would definitely start looking at that stuff so you have questions to ask when you go on visits. I never thought I'd be in a fraternity, but it happened and it was great.

I never knew what I wanted to major in, so be sure that there are some sort of intro classes that you can take a variety of your first year to maybe spark your interest.

I narrowed mine down to about 10 schools based on online research. I applied to 8 schools and I got in to all of them, which didn't really help my decision. I visited all 8, and one (Cornell) just always stuck with me. Sometimes when you step on campus it'll just feel right or it'll totally feel wrong (I got a weird vibe at Drake that drove me away).

Hope my rambling nonsense is of some use to you. Good luck with your search!

*Note: I'm not advertising for Cornell, but if you do want to know more, feel free to PM me or whatev.

 
I would say that finding an area of interest/major might be a good first step if you leave the state.

I picked Journalism, so i started looking for great Journalism colleges out of the state: Hence the reason i came to Nebraska.

If you decide to do general studies, i suggest saving money and stay in state. If you find something you like or want to concentrate on, I would then look for the best schools for that major.

Nebraska is a great school but i wouldnt limit yourself to UNL.

Take visits, ask questions and explore your options. When you find what is right, you will know.

Good luck!

 
Yeah I guess I should clarify that I had pretty hefty academic scholarships to all of my choices, money wasn't an issue for the first year really. But then I got a couple bad grades and they reduced my schollie, so I'm definitely paying for it now (GD student loans!). :lol:

 
If you don't know what you want to do yet, consider community college. And make sure it's an accredited college who's credits will transfer to another school. Take a business, English, history, math, science, etc. class. Then also add in some elective/introduction classes in fields you might be interested in. That way you get a feel for what you might be interested in and also getting some core classes out of the way. Universities always seem to want some core class that has nothing to do with your major (I was a music composition student for two years taking speech classes). So if you can get those core classes done at a community college CHEAP (that's the key word)...and the credits transfer over, then great!

I may be the rarity, but one of the many things I got out of college is try and do it as cheap as possible. I can speak from experience that student loans SUCK. Do something you love, find a college you love...but consider what you will be doing four to ten years after school. Think about the city you want to live in and the potential job market for your field in that city. Again, you want to be doing something you love doing, but don't want to be stuck with debt in a job market that has no need for you. Or that doesn't pay you enough that you can pay back your loans. The rise of tuition fees and job salaries have not been proportional over the years.

So yeah, in short; consider community college to start you out. Especially if you're not sure what you want to do yet.

 
Community college is a good suggestion for the uncertain. Don't pay for out of state unless they have a program that you either can't get in-state, or is so much better that it's worth it. Or if you are able to pull off a great scholarship.

http://www.studentsreview.com is a pretty good site to see reviews from past and present students. For some reviews you can tell when someone just has an axe to grind, so read them all to get a general feel.

Getting info from friends and family is a good start but go visit the schools and take the tours yourself. Only you can get a real feel for how a school looks, and you will get that feel from a personal visit. If you're from a small town, for example, you may visit the UNL campus and be overwhelmed like you'll never be comfortable in such a crowded place, or it may look like the coolest place on earth. You won't know that from what someone else tells you. The tour guides do try to sell the school but they don't get a commission so you can ask them whatever you want and should get honest answers. Many school websites have online tours and other info to try to narrow things down a bit so you don't have to do as much traveling.

This is almost all based on going through it with my own kid a few years ago. For myself I had too good of an academic schollie to pass up at UNL and I didn't really look elsewhere.

 
As almost everyone has stated, if you're not sure what exactly you want to do, you're better off saving yourself thousands of dollars and going to a JUCO and earning credits that transfer to a larger school. If you end up going to larger school, say UNL right out of high school, you can always pick up a class or two during your summers off to save a little money, that's what I did. One thing I will add is that I don't think private schools are worth it, value wise. Unless you go for religious reasons or you receive scholarships that reduce the cost to state school level, JUCO and/or state schools are a better value.

The 'Great Recession' has really opened my eyes to analyzing education and the job market after graduation. To me, it has made one thing abundantly clear...now more than ever, you must look at the value that a specific school/degree will provide for you later in life. In my experience, the bigger the school, the better in some sense. I don't mean to come off as some Texas sized jerk-off, I'm not a native, I just work here. What I mean by that is, on a resume, a well-known state school (example UNL, Iowa, Indiana) is more recognizable than a small school (think Truman State in Missouri or Hastings College). Also, more companies and recruiters attend these schools' job fairs, sponsor academics, serve on various Boards etc. I'm not degrading smaller schools by any means, but when thinking about what your future college can facilitate in terms of career prospects.

Also, major in something that the job market demands. Develop a set of unique skills that you can offer employers...busines (not general, something specific like finance or accounting), science and engineering, hell, Golf Course Management works. This will greatly help you in the future job market. I know several people who majored in Sociology, Psychology, English etc and can't find decent jobs. That's because they didn't learn a unique skillset. Sure, those are interesting subjects (as electives), but what value can you create with an English major?

There are exceptions of course, but play the odds on this one, a lot of time and money is at stake. I'm sure I came off as a prick with no emotion, but you really have to look at the cost/benefit...I'm an accountant.

 
Do you have Scholorships that will transfer out of state? I advised my daughter to go out-of-state because she could experience another climate/culture. Of course, it is alot more expensive and student loans are a heavy cross to bear for many,many years. We saw some really neat out of state campuses and cities. Then she chose----UNO. But the point was, she made many visits and that was what she was comfortable with.

Have you considered the military? My neice joined the Air Force 2.5 years ago when she didn't know what she wanted to do and didn't get alot of really good scholorships. She is stationed at Nelles in Vegas and is living the life. She will deplore sometime next year, but she is looking forward to it.

You should probably ask yourself if your adventurous or if you value stability? There are so many experiences that a young adult can have between the ages of 18-24 that can never be repeated once children, real jobs, house responsibilities, and other family obligations begin to happen.

 
All good ideas - the only new idea I have is visit the college over a Thursday AND Friday night (away game) if you are not able to go home at will. One of my former students went to a college and it was DEAD at night - everyone went home and she was miserable and transferred to KU.

Go somewhere that is affordable, that has the right feel and get a degree in something you can market AND ENJOY.

 
As a college senior, I recommend avoiding community college. You make great friends and make lifelong relationships in your early college years, something you're not likely get at a JUCO knowing you're only going to be there for a year or two. A lot of times, JUCO core classes likely aren't going to help you find your major any better.

UNL is a great school, and it's in state. And come on, you have Husker football. There's a big enough selling point right there.

 
Wet campuses and easy girls are a PLUS!!!! :thumbs

But seriously all the advice above is great but it all coes down to you. Try to get an idea of what you like or maybe interested. List them. You can always take your frosh year and knock out the majority of your general core courses and declare late your freshman year or even you soph year. Hit up your visits and there is no dumb questions when on your visit. You'll figure it out, hell even I did. If not there is always alcohol to help make sound choices :cheers :corndance

 
bennychico11 said:
If you don't know what you want to do yet, consider community college. And make sure it's an accredited college who's credits will transfer to another school. Take a business, English, history, math, science, etc. class. Then also add in some elective/introduction classes in fields you might be interested in. That way you get a feel for what you might be interested in and also getting some core classes out of the way. Universities always seem to want some core class that has nothing to do with your major (I was a music composition student for two years taking speech classes). So if you can get those core classes done at a community college CHEAP (that's the key word)...and the credits transfer over, then great!

I may be the rarity, but one of the many things I got out of college is try and do it as cheap as possible. I can speak from experience that student loans SUCK. Do something you love, find a college you love...but consider what you will be doing four to ten years after school. Think about the city you want to live in and the potential job market for your field in that city. Again, you want to be doing something you love doing, but don't want to be stuck with debt in a job market that has no need for you. Or that doesn't pay you enough that you can pay back your loans. The rise of tuition fees and job salaries have not been proportional over the years.

So yeah, in short; consider community college to start you out. Especially if you're not sure what you want to do yet.
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Pretty solid advice. It is unfortunate that we have programmed into our society that our youth must paint themselves into a corner at 18. They then spend the next 30 years of their life paying off a loan that in a lot of cases was avoidable.

 
The first thing to do is to be honest about yourself. Are you small town, or do you want big city? Do you want a place that is a city that has a college, or a place that is a city because of the college? Is it important to you to have smaller, hands on classes because you need that approach to learn well, or are you the kind of person who could be just a number in your gen eds and never have one on one with the professor?

Will you be living in dorms or possibly off campus? what types of opportunitys are important to you? Sporting events, student groups & greek life. Campus setups. Is the campus centrally located? Are most classes close to campus housing? Can you get to any class within 15 mins or do you need 30+ mins of time to get there? Are you more comfortable with 5K other students or 25K?

These are all things you need to ask yourself first. Make a checklist, pros-cons, whatever...just be honest with yourself. I have friends who made choices based on friends or perception and were miserable at their schools. They either stuck it out and hated it or transferred.

I will say this about what HoustonSker said. Big state schools or well known private schools are better if you know you will not be someone who stays in the region. If you went to Truman State (very good school by the way) and plan on living in say....St Louis, then thats great. IF you go to Truman then move to California they dont know that schools rep. Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa ST will always carry better out of this area than UNO, Northwest, Kearney and so on.

Most important is cost. Are your parents rich? Do they have a college fund for you? do you have money saved and put away? are you going to be eligible for scholarships? These are all things to consider. Most degrees with fall within 120-140 required course hours to get you B.S. And thats without extra electives or course work with you trying to figure out what you want to do. So the cost per hour and cost of living are important. The difference in price for just your courses when one school is $100 per credit hour and the other is $150 is $6000 for 140 hours. So 140 hours at $150 each is $21K. That doesnt included books, living expenses or food. So Before you spend a single penny on any of those things you need, food and a place to stay, your already 21K in the hole. I say this is the most important because unless your parents/guardians are loaded, have a fund for you or you have a full ride...this is all money you will have to pay back. And will be paying back for some time.

Lastly, as others have said tour, tour, tour. nothing will help you make that final decision better than standing on that campus and picturing yourself there. You will get the feel, right or wrong.

Best of luck to you.

 
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