College of William and Mary Top Questions

The student has to feel comfortable at the school and also the city it is located in, because if you don't like the school, you will not have a good college experience. Also look and see if the school is strong in the area of your intended major.

Pick what feels right for you. As stupid as it sounds, try talking to students who attend the colleges you're applying too. They can give you the best feel for what the campus is like. Most importantly, don't stress. You will get into a college and while at first it may not be your top choice, everything will work out just fine and if it doesn't, don't panic. You can always transfer. As for what to expect when you get to college, life will present you with many opportunities. Parents need to just back away and let students discover themselves and trust that they will make the right decisions for themselves, even if it does not appear that way at first. It's college-it's all about self-discovery and building who you are as a person, based on what you want, not your parents desires for what they want you to turn out to be. Just work hard and don't worry. Everything will work out okay.

Don't listen to the campus tour guides. They are probably lying outright or at least sugar-coating most of what they say. Try the food before you get there. Be as specific as you can about housing. Talk to real students about what they think about the university. But most importantly, don't go to the college you've been dreaming about since you were 10. Odss are, you've put it up on a pedestal so high, it will only disappoint you when you see the atrocious food and housing, the bad classes you get and your first tuition bill.

Just this: when you step on the campus you don't "know" like everyone says you do. It is when you are on other campuses and they just don't seem as perfect as School A, or you can't stop comparing them to School A- you know that School A is "the one". Once there, embrace everything that place has to offer. Whether it's football culture, Southeast culture club, cooking classes, or Greek life- find what makes you happy and get involved, get involved, get involved! There is nothing worse than graduating college with just a diploma. A group of life long friends and memorable expereinces should follow you across the stage and into your future.

Don't just take the tour provided by the college, they'll only show you the best part of the school. They won't tell you the downfalls of the school because ultimately, they just want your money so they're going to show you what you want to see and tell you what you want to hear. Ask around on campus, students are friendly enough to talk to anyone. Ask them what they like most and what they like least, they'll give you straight answers. Make sure you get a tour of the freshmen dorms. While you might not necessarily make your decision based on this, it will at least make move-in less of a shock.

Location location location!

Be true to yourself, focus on the elements that are truly important to you in your life and make sure that they are available at whatever school you choose. Also, don't be afraid to change directions if something is not working out.

Look at a lot of different schools, and don't make the decision too quickly.

The best advice I can offer is to look outside the traditional criteria for 'greatness' of a university and focus on what type of learning experience would help you the most. Lots of people mistakenly believe that picking colleges based on rankings will guarantee success, but at the end of the day, you will be judged on how well you did, not how good your college was. When you put your heart into learning at a place with similar values, you're going to end up happier and more successful than if you'd picked a place with different priorities. I know some very smart people who would have thrived at the broad but sometimes shallow curricula of small liberal-arts colleges, but made themselves miserable at big research-oriented universities because of institutional prestige. Likewise, plenty of people at small schools wind up frustrated by the limited opportunities and might have been better off at big research institutes where they could focus intently on one subject. If they'd picked the right 'type' of school, they would have enjoyed the learning experience more and become more successful than they were trying to force round pegs into square holes.

Know youself