Five Steps To Choosing A College
By Rich Niccolls, Sat Dec 10th

Five Steps To Choosing A College

My name is Debbie Ross. The information I have about my journeyin finding a college can help both parents and students alike.Going back a few years, I was at the turning point of my life.Graduation from high school was just around the corner and I hadno clue which college I was going to attend. My parents hadtheir list of colleges that I could attend, and most of myfriends were already being accepted to their college oruniversity. With deadlines for applications approaching, I knewthat I had to begin finding a college. Choosing the rightcollege is such an important decision, and so I came up with agame plan to find a college. Here are the steps I took inchoosing a college.

1. Choosing my future career

The first step I took was to determine what I liked and what Idid not like. I quickly ruled out being a doctor, a lawyer or adentist. In addition, I knew there were career choices that wereout of my league, such as being an architect or engineer. Myhigh school grades proved this! Therefore after a lengthythought process, I narrowed down my choices to Communications,Journalism, Business Management and Information Technology.

My school counselor also helped me by giving me a CareerAssessment Test. This revealed many of my strengths andtendencies. From this, I discovered that I was best suited forBusiness Management related studies. I highly recommend this.Career Assessment Surveys are not very expensive and can befound through an internet search.

2. Matching courses with colleges

The next thing I did was to list the colleges and universitiesthat offered Business Management studies and had a good trackrecord. I used The Fiske Guide to Colleges. Within a short spanof time I came up with a list of 20 colleges that I could seemyself in for the next 4 years. All of these colleges hadmultiple specializations within my field of study, were fullyaccredited, and had good graduation rates with good reputations.I further narrowed my list down to 14 by selecting thoseuniversities which were located near a larger city, one of thecriteria that I was looking for in my college.

3. Narrowing it down to my top five

I had above average SAT scores (nothing to take me to Harvardthough) and therefore had a wider selection of options formyself. Therefore, my final decision would largely be determinedby the funds from my parents, any scholarships or grants, andthe money I could earn through on-campus work study. I visitedthe web sites of each college and took virtual tours of thefacilities they offered. Each had its strengths -huge libraries,modern student housing, student body size, a variety of extracurricular activities and sports, and more.

I was able to narrow the list from fourteen to five based on thefollowing criteria: going to college within 4 hours of home, mybudget for college, and a smaller student body to offer a morepersonal approach to my education.

4. Parents and Applications

Next, I got my parents involved in my decision. They had beenhelping me all along the way, but I needed their help in makingthe final, important decisions. I showed them the list of 5colleges that I had, including details, locations, and costs.Together, we narrowed the list to three possible colleges that Icould attend. They wanted a college or university which would beeasy for them to visit, but would also have excellent teachingand housing facilities. The following weekend I filled out all 3applications and mailed out them to these colleges anduniversities. Now it was time to wait for the response.

5. Making the final choice

Within a few weeks, I had received acceptance letters from allthe colleges where I sent my applications. In the end, myparents and I decided the best way to make the final decisionwas to visit the campuses. We took two days to visit all threecampuses. Visiting the actual university was vastly differentfrom the virtual tours. My final choice was actually rathereasy. I decided on the University of Texas at Austin.

The most important steps along the way for me were to take theCareer Assessment Test, researching my college choices onlinethrough virtual tours, and sitting down with my parents todiscuss which colleges to send applications to. This helped makemy final decision easier. I hope these steps can help you infinding a college or university as you make career choices.

Rich Niccolls has been a college recruiter and professor for 12years. Read his 7 key factors for choosing the right college foryou. Visit the http://www.The-Right-College.com website.

About the author:Rich Niccolls has been a college recruiter and professor for 12years. Read his 7 key factors for choosing the right college foryou. Visit The Right College web site.http://www.The-Right-College.com