CHOOSING A COLLEGE

Questions To Ask YourselfWho am I, as a person and a student?What do I hope to gain in my college education?In what academic setting will I learn best?Why do I want to go to college?What kind of learner am I?What majors and careers are well suited for me?What are my strengths? Weaknesses?What am I passionate about?

FIT

+This is really important!! Get it wrong and you’ll probably end up transferring. Get it right and you’ll get a tattoo of

your college logo due to the LOVE!

Fit-How a school feels to you

The 5P’SPurpose…..Passions….Personality….Parent(s)…..Profile…..

MATCH

The whole point of college is to grow and learn academically. Sometimes students “dumb down”, i.e. picking a school way below their academic level. Don’t do this! You’ll be bored, you’ll probably transfer and you might risk not getting into the graduate school or profession of your choice.

Match-The amount of academic challenge a school offers

4.0 GPA + =

31 Flavors of CollegesThere are more than 4,000 colleges in the

U.S to choose from.

There are several things you need to consider to help determine the school(s) that is(are) a

good fit and match for you….

Size MattersBIG versus small

Small = up to 3000 students, i.e. Carlton College, Grinnell College

Medium = 3000-7000 students, i.e. Bradley University, University of Chicago

Large = 7000-15000 students, i.e. Harvard University, Loyola University Chicago

X-Large = 20000+ students, i.e. Northern Illinois University, University of Michigan

Don’t just go by total population if you are looking for a smaller school. Many large universities use the “school within a school” philosophy. Check out U of M’s Residential College Program at http://www.rc.lsa.umich.edu

Don’t rule out small schools because they are located in a small town. Carleton College is located in Northfield, MN population approximately 19,000. But it is only 35 miles south of the Twin Cities making it easy for you to get to a larger city in a short amount of time.

Did you know:•Private Colleges have endowments, some up to a billion dollars, and they get to decide how that money is spent?•If you choose to go to an out-of-state public school you will NOT be able to take your IL aid with you (MAP $)?•State schools save their $ for in-state students, so if you choose an out-of-state public school you will be paying out-of-state fees and probably won’t get much help from the university.

Liberal Arts College vs. a UniversityLA-Focus on the transmission of knowledge. Strong

science & math programsU-Focus on production of knowledge

Land Grant UniversitiesTeach agriculture, military tactics and home economicsPublic schools-UIUC, Ohio State, Michigan State & Purdue

UPrivate schools-Cornell & MIT

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s)

Single Sex Colleges

ConsortiumJoin forces with nearby schools or schools with similar

educational mission.Students enrolled one school will have access to resources,

cross-register for class, activities and enroll in study abroad options.

Claremont Colleges in California (Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps &Harvey Mudd).

Five College programs in Massachusetts (Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, U of Massachusetts & Hampshire).

Performing & Visual Arts TrainingStudents can study at conservatory (like Juilliard)Visual artists may train at art institutesOberlin Conservatory at Oberlin College or Peabody School of

Music at John Hopkins University

Broad Education vs. Career PrepDo your research. Although it may seem that

only future engineers should apply to MIT, they do offer majors in the humanities, arts and social sciences (although the choices are limited).

Decide your career path. Most colleges do not have graduate programs; universities do. Some universities, like UIC, have programs where you apply for their graduate programs at the same time as their undergraduate (the GPPA program) making life easier for you.

Going the distance

Questions to ask yourself:•How far from home are you able and willing to go? •Can you afford to get to and from college several times a year?•What forms of transportation are needed in order for you to do so?•How much of a city kid are you?•How much of a Yankee are you?•Is the only reason you are picking a school is because it is light years away from home?

“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Urban environments – big cities, tons of people, not a lot of room, public transportation, hustle and bustle

Suburban environments – strip malls, residential areas, SUVs, public transportation but not as extensive, close to urban environments

Rural environments – small villages, tons of cows and farms, wide open spaces, perhaps no public transportation

Ask yourself again, how much of a city kid are you? Are you able to adapt to environments different from Chicago?

Money, Money, Money

Cost is a major factor to considerDon’t base your college search solely on this,

but something to think aboutRange from $2,500 for a community college

to over $50k for an Ivy League schoolAverage cost is anywhere from $15,000-

$32,000.

Dig Deeper into College

What’s the history of the college?Mission & PhilosophyYearly CalendarSemester, trimesters or quartersBlock plan-one course every 5 wks4-1-4 w/one month abbreviated semester in

Dec/Jan4-4-1 w/one month during may termPrograms and degrees offered

Diversity UniversityAlthough this is a big deal to most colleges and

universities it might not show in their demographics. Don’t let this deter you. Instead research how committed the school is to diversity, programs offered, etc.

Diversity includes: socio-economic, race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, region/geography, family history, talents and abilities, etc.

Decide: do you want to be in a place with lots of different people or do you want to be surrounded by people who look and act and believe like you?

5 types of schools to have on your application list1. Crapshoot school A. 90% or better chance2. Reach school B. 5-15% chance3. Probable school C. Apply here later and only if necessary4. Safety school D. 50% chance5. Last-minute/financial safety school E. 25% chance

Remember, everyone’s list will be different; a reach school for one student might be a safety school for another.

Your chances of getting in are first based on how your GPA and ACT composite stack up against the school’s last accepted average; however, that may not be enough. Schools have a list of other requirements for admission that you might not even know about (refer back to the Diversity section).

HOMEWORK!Write one paragraph per P (Purpose,

Passions, Personality, Parent(s) & Profile). Please elaborate on each P and how it impacts your college search decision.

Please categorize your prospective colleges and indicate why each school is in each category (crapshoot, reach, probable, safety and last-minute safety). You should have at least one college per category.