Allegheny College Top Questions

Do what feels right!

Find a campus that you really like. When you're stressed out and need a break, taking a short walk may be just what you need. If the campus is appealing to you, it may help relieve your stress. Sometimes the first month or two of college is a very difficult adjustment period. You may see others making lots of friends and enjoying their classes while you are not enjoying school at all. Give it a chance. Try new things- maybe try the game room or coffee shop on a friday night to meet some different kids. Hold any judgments and be careful of first impressions. Depending on the situation, people may act differently, so even if you think you don't like someone....give them another chance. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, get help as soon as you need it! Schools are filled with tutors and professors willing to help, so take advantage of it. If you do get behind on your work, make sure you talk to someone about it and plan how to catch up. Don't forget your family and friends at home, they are always a great support system!

My best advice would be to visit the school and spend a night with a student if possible. This will allow you to see if the school fits you and if you fit the school. Most of the time you will know that it is the school for you the minute you take the tour, but it may take spending some time with students to ensure a fulfilling four years. In order to make the most of the college experience, expect to be challenged and work hard, but make sure to allow yourself time to experience everything there is about "college". A lot of your college memories will not be from studying or graduating, but will be from going sledding on lunch trays, sabotaging a friend's dorm room, or going to a theme party. College is a time to really learn about yourself and others before you have to enter the real world, so take advantage of it.

My advice to prospective college students and their parents in terms of making the most of the college experience is to consider three things: cost, educational environment, and residence life. Cost is pretty self explanatory; you have to ask yourself "Can I afford it?" You should research colleges to see what kind of financial aid they offer to help offset expenses; my college, for example, offers aid based both on academic merit and financial need. Also, get help filling out your FAFSA if you need it, but don't pay anyone to do it for you! By educational environment, I mean the manner in which you learn things. Do you do well sitting in a big lecture hall listening to a professor, or do you prefer smaller classes with more direct interaction between you and your instructor? You should also research your professors to see if they hold the highest degree possible in their field. Finally, I use residence life as a general term for your life outside of the classroom. Is a big social scene important to you? What about Greek life and other social activities? It's important that you remember to have some fun while in college.

To the student, my advice would be to visit the campus. It is important that you feel at home and familiar with the college that you will be attending the next four years. You may like the idea of going to a big college party school, but find that the small town college atmosphere is where you feel most comfortable. Additionally, by visiting a college you will gain a sense of the other students that attend the institution. Ask them questions, they can give you first-hand accounts about the social life, the professors, the classes and the administration, and they won't hold back any dirty details! Be smart, find out exaclty what you're getting into. To the parents, my advice would be to not be daunted by the price tag of the college. Private universities are expensive, but most of the time they are more generous with their scholarships and financial aid packages than Public universities. Moreover, this is an investment for you, and there is no price limit on a good education that can take your child anywhere in their future career.

I would reccommend that students visit the college and think about if they could imagine themselves walking around the campus. Picking the best college for you depends on your personality and the way that you learn. If you feel that you need more faculty attention then you should attend a smaller college. At Allegheny we allow prospective students to come stay the night with a current student and i feel that this gives them a better idea of what things would be like if they decided to go there. Making the most of your college experience will require you to step out of your comfort zone. Be open and express your ideas and there will no doubt be someone that shares those thoughts with you. Going to the orientation events is a good way to get involved and meet people if you are more shy. Becoming involved on campus is the way that i feel you will get the most out of your college experience. Making connections with faculty and alumnae will also allow you to get more out of the college that you are attending. Just try to have fun, be honest, and open-minded!

The main thing that I would really advise families to do is to visit the school. Have the potential college student sit in on a couple classes in the field of their interest. Also, set up meetings with a couple professors. Finally, walk around campus and get a feel of the atmosphere, including what the students are like. My college offers overnight stays for prospective students. If the college that the student is looking at has this opportunity, take advantage of it. There is nothing more important than getting to know the atmosphere, students, staff, faculty, and academics. The college one picks will be his or her life for the next four years. Because of this, dive in and get to know as much as poosible before agreeing to go there. College isn't just another four years of academia, but rather another chapter of life. Because it's a place that one will learn more about his or herself and mature, it's important to know more about the environment of the college and not just how it looks on paper. Because college is where one truly develops as an adult, it's very important to experience the environment.

It's hard finding the right college. I know, having applied to 19 schools myself. So my advice is to start researching early and decide on the simple things you want in a school: small, big, West Coast, East Coast, in the city, not in the city, a liberal-arts college, or a school that emphasizes more on one major. In order to find the right school, you need to really know yourself and what you want to get out of your higher education. Do you really want to work hard on academics or are you looking to make life-long friends? You don't need to go to an ivy league college to get a good education and you don't need to go to a "party school" to have fun. Most schools offer you everything you want but it's being able to find that characteristic in your school and make the most of it.

Pick a college that fits you. Dont apply to a college to impress family freinds or because you think it will look good on a resume- a good fit is a school that challenges you and keeps you interested and places your career aspirations interests first. Its what you do with your time in college and your own merits, not the college's acclaiimed merits.

The best advice I can give on finding a college is for students to go where they feel most comfortable with the campus environment. On any campus tours a prospective may take, the student should try to picture themselves as students on that campus. Also, many campuses offer overnight programs that students should take advantage of for their top few choices of schools. The overnight programs generally allow students to stay on campus with a current student, sit in on classes that are of interest to the student and even meet with professors or coaches. These really give students an insight as to what life as a student at that particular college is like. Once students enroll at a college or university, they should take advantage of the many opportunities college offers. Students should get involved with student organizations and also pursue interests they thought they may never have a chance to explore. Another import thing is to really maintain a good relationship with your professors; they can really help you out, even in ways you never thought they might. Enjoy student life, study hard and have fun. Four years go by faster than you may think!