California State University-Stanislaus Top Questions

The best advice I offer to parents and prospective students to any college, would be to visit the campus. Make sure that the school you chose to attend best suites you and your lifestyly. If are looking for a school that is small, friendly, and has more opportunities with the professors themselves, look in smaller cities. If you are looking for a crowded party school that is most likely to be more diverse, you might like it better in a place such as San Francisco; but still, you can never tell from pictures or letters. It is a huge investment. An investment that can determine your future and later success in life. It can make a huge difference! So research away, tour, have fun, and good luck!

As hard as it may be, encourage them to go away to school. Having them choose the college is important because they will know best if they fit into a large school, medium school, etc. As hard as it is living on campus your first year is very important. You usually can walk anywhere you need to and you get to know the school very well. Encourage your children to attend sporting events and take advantage of community events as well. As moving away from home was hard for me, I can tell you now 4 years later even in my two years it was an adjustment, however, now it is the best thing I could have done! I am independent, confident and am able to tackle tough situations on my own. Make sure they have a good selection of schools to choose from from different sizes, etc.

Find a school where a student can stay focused, and not waste a lot of money on an education they are going to waste.

The only advise that I would give parents and students about picking the right college is start looking early. The earlier you start the more options you have. This gives you an opportunity to make a well-informed decision and rule out the colleges that are not suitable.

Find the right college for the student. Even if the price is too much, if they will be happier and get a better quality education to their specific needs, then it will be worth it.

I highly suggest that both parents AND students do the research on colleges/universities together. Take the time to talk over with your parents, not just your high school college advisor, what you want out of a college. I have learned that picking a college is not just picking the one that offers you the career you are looking for. In order to be truly comfortable, happy and receive the level of education you are seeking, your college/university choice MUST include extra curriculum activities, sports and/or sporting events that interest you. Check out the campus before applying, don't just assume that what you see on their website is what the campus is ACTUALLY like. I like my school and am trying to get a good, satisfying education, but I wish we had a few more "distractions" to help maintain my sanity, all studying and no relaxing makes your college experience a really tough one to handle. I also highly recommend an indepth research practice into who you will be living with, best friends are not always the best roommates, they can be a VERY big drag on your study time!!

Make sure you want to graduate from the school you start at.

My advice would be to make sure that you visit the schools you are considering while school is in session. Sit in on a couple classes, big and small, so that you get a true feel for what you like and/or feel comfortable class size wise. Also, make sure you do a lot of research about the prospective schools, learn as much as you can about them. Join extra curricular groups and participate as much as you can in the campus life, you meet a lot of great people that way. If you want to be successful you need to attend your classes regularly; you really do get so much more from the course. Overall, embrace the college experience to its fullest.

The best piece of advice I could give to parents and students who are looking for a college that best fits them, is to visit the college at different times of the school year. I would not recommend visiting a college during summer term, because it really does not give a student the true feel for the school. The other advice I would is to ask a lot of questions of the university staff. No question is too stupid so make sure you get answers to any questions you might have. Sometimes the answers may surprise you, and could be influential in helping make the decision of where to attend college.

The best thing to do is to go visit as many campuses as you can before you pick a school. Try to go while there are classes in session; Most professors are flexible in allowing prospective students attend classes in session as long as there is room. Do not procrastinate. Do everything in a timely manner so that you avoid late fees. The sooner you get done with registration, the more class options you have; And the sooner you get done with all your financial aid paperwork, the faster it will get disbursed.