Education is one of the most important aspects in life. The realization of this aspect has led to the rise of many educational institutions. Although the institutions may provide the same ‘educational package’, they differ in several aspects. These include the type and quality of educational equipment, the level of professionalism of the various teacher/lecturers or even the culture of a given college. Therefore, the quality of education differs greatly in the various colleges in any given region. Additionally, different colleges offer different courses. It is important to make careful considerations before making the final decision about the college to join for one’s schooling.
One must focus on the course he/she wants to pursue. As aforementioned, different colleges offer different courses, thus it is important to know the course one intends to pursue. This is determined by the career choice of an individual-the line of work that one needs to be trained on (Kingston et al., 2004, p. 45; Loveland, 2008, p. 66). For instance, one should ask him/herself if he/she wants to be trained on a specific field or a general arts or sciences liberal field. The pre-professional courses or rather education offered in the college level of education helps one to be prepared for the advanced levels of study concerning their career e.g. engineering, psychology or medicine (Stevens, 2007, p. 118). The liberal arts courses help one to develop better reasoning ability, which he/she can apply in various fields i.e. no specialization. Once they have identified the course or rather career they want to pursue, they should do research on the colleges that offer the course they are interested in. This is the initial elimination stage about the college should attend.
As aforementioned, different colleges differ greatly as far as the quality of education is concerned. The student should carry out further research about the colleges he/she had chosen i.e. the ones that offer the course of his choice. Different colleges are ranked depending on the quality of education offered (Kingston et al., 2004, P. 56). This depends on the quality of professors and facilities available for the major one wants to study. Additionally, one should seek to find out the value that the institution attaches to that major. Some of the aspects include the number of students enrolled for that particular major as well as in the field in question, and the number of courses that are offered under the course (Stevens, 2007, p. 120). One may also consider the number of the faculty professionals that are tasked with teaching the course and other similar courses. This equips one with knowledge about the size of the department and the depth of the course in each of the colleges. This step is essential as it helps one eliminate the colleges that have not invested much on the course or the new colleges, which have not yet fully established their departments (Roberts, 2010, p. 16). If one seeks to pursue a major in a rather narrow field, they should consider the well-established and large colleges or universities.
It is important to seek assistance from people who are knowledgeable about the course one wants to pursue. Such people will make certain recommendations that you need to consider in choosing a good college. This calls for one to hold talks/discussions about the subject with their teachers, counselors, classmates and friends. One will also need to present to them the list that he/she has already composed from the steps given above. People are often generous with information and they will not only be friendly but will also give you valuable information (Loveland, 2008, p. 85; Roberts, 2010, p. 22). Owing to the fact that most of the people a student consults know him/her well, they will have a good reason why they would prefer one college to the other. The student should then weigh the recommendations and choose the top three colleges that won the approval of the majority of the people he/she had consulted.
It is also advisable to contact the three colleges. This can be done via e-mail, phone calls or visiting the school. However, it is strongly recommended that the student visits the three colleges to get a one-on-one experience about each of them (Loveland, 2008, p. 102). He/she will be able to collect first-hand information about the colleges. One should also choose two ‘reserve’ colleges i.e. the colleges one will not mind attending in case he/she fails to get admission in the three topmost choices. The two should be the colleges that one is confident that he/she cannot miss admission. After the visits or the information gathered from the various institutions, one should send his/her applications for the course he/she wants to pursue. The feedback/replies form the different colleges will determine which college to attend. One should carefully assess the feedback from the institutions. The student should settle for his/her best choice if he gets a positive feedback from all the top three choices. If he/she gets a negative feedback, he/she should settle for one of the ‘reserves’.
It is important to make careful considerations before making the final decision about the college to join for one’s schooling. The factors than one needs to consider include the career he/she wants to pursue, the quality of professors and facilities available in a given college as well as the opinion of close friends and family. The student in question should settle for the best college after going through the process described above.
References
Kingston, P., et al. (2004). The High Status Track: Studies of Elite Schools Stratification.
Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Loveland, E. (2008). Creative Colleges: A Guide for Students, Actors, Artists, Dancers,
Musicians and Writers. Belmont, CA: SupperCollege, LLC.
Stevens, M. L. (2007). Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites. New
York, NY: Harvard University Press.
Roberts, A. L. (2010). Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better
Education. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
