| Five Steps To Choosing A College | | | | me to Harvard though) and therefore had a wider |
| My name is Debbie Ross. The information I have | | | | selection of options for myself. Therefore, my final |
| about my journey in finding a college can help both | | | | decision would largely be determined by the funds |
| parents and students alike. Going back a few years, I | | | | from my parents, any scholarships or grants, and the |
| was at the turning point of my life. Graduation from | | | | money I could earn through on-campus work study. I |
| high school was just around the corner and I had no | | | | visited the web sites of each college and took virtual |
| clue which college I was going to attend. My parents | | | | tours of the facilities they offered. Each had its |
| had their list of colleges that I could attend, and most | | | | strengths -huge libraries, modern student housing, |
| of my friends were already being accepted to their | | | | student body size, a variety of extra curricular |
| college or university. With deadlines for applications | | | | activities and sports, and more. |
| approaching, I knew that I had to begin finding a | | | | I was able to narrow the list from fourteen to five |
| college. Choosing the right college is such an | | | | based on the following criteria: going to college within |
| important decision, and so I came up with a game | | | | 4 hours of home, my budget for college, and a |
| plan to find a college. Here are the steps I took in | | | | smaller student body to offer a more personal |
| choosing a college. | | | | approach to my education. |
| 1. Choosing my future career | | | | 4. Parents and Applications |
| The first step I took was to determine what I liked | | | | Next, I got my parents involved in my decision. They |
| and what I did not like. I quickly ruled out being a | | | | had been helping me all along the way, but I needed |
| doctor, a lawyer or a dentist. In addition, I knew | | | | their help in making the final, important decisions. I |
| there were career choices that were out of my | | | | showed them the list of 5 colleges that I had, |
| league, such as being an architect or engineer. My | | | | including details, locations, and costs. Together, we |
| high school grades proved this! Therefore after a | | | | narrowed the list to three possible colleges that I |
| lengthy thought process, I narrowed down my | | | | could attend. They wanted a college or university |
| choices to Communications, Journalism, Business | | | | which would be easy for them to visit, but would |
| Management and Information Technology. | | | | also have excellent teaching and housing facilities. The |
| My school counselor also helped me by giving me a | | | | following weekend I filled out all 3 applications and |
| Career Assessment Test. This revealed many of my | | | | mailed out them to these colleges and universities. |
| strengths and tendencies. From this, I discovered | | | | Now it was time to wait for the response. |
| that I was best suited for Business Management | | | | 5. Making the final choice |
| related studies. I highly recommend this. Career | | | | Within a few weeks, I had received acceptance |
| Assessment Surveys are not very expensive and | | | | letters from all the colleges where I sent my |
| can be found through an internet search. | | | | applications. In the end, my parents and I decided the |
| 2. Matching courses with colleges | | | | best way to make the final decision was to visit the |
| The next thing I did was to list the colleges and | | | | campuses. We took two days to visit all three |
| universities that offered Business Management | | | | campuses. Visiting the actual university was vastly |
| studies and had a good track record. I used The | | | | different from the virtual tours. My final choice was |
| Fiske Guide to Colleges. Within a short span of time I | | | | actually rather easy. I decided on the University of |
| came up with a list of 20 colleges that I could see | | | | Texas at Austin. |
| myself in for the next 4 years. All of these colleges | | | | The most important steps along the way for me |
| had multiple specializations within my field of study, | | | | were to take the Career Assessment Test, |
| were fully accredited, and had good graduation rates | | | | researching my college choices online through virtual |
| with good reputations. I further narrowed my list | | | | tours, and sitting down with my parents to discuss |
| down to 14 by selecting those universities which | | | | which colleges to send applications to. This helped |
| were located near a larger city, one of the criteria | | | | make my final decision easier. I hope these steps can |
| that I was looking for in my college. | | | | help you in finding a college or university as you |
| 3. Narrowing it down to my top five | | | | make career choices. |
| I had above average SAT scores (nothing to take | | | | |