Covenant College Top Questions

The 'act' of selecting the 'perfect' college is actually more a process than an act. There is no 1 perfect college - just a spectrum of really good to dismal options. Prioritize your needs and wants and whittle down your options from the 3,000 options. Acquire a copy of the College Handbook. Search by non-negotiable characteristics your prospective college must have by your preferred state(s) of study. Clearly mark promising pages. Peruse profile statistics and check out Freshman class GPAs/SAT scores - some are very low (red flag!). Look at retention rates, if they are low - red flag!! Check the tuition and yearly rate of increase. Check the amount of financial aid students receive. Look at ethnic diversity. Make sure the school is accredited!!!!!!!! When you have gotten down to under 15 colleges, then you will want to take a closer look at each one - visit websites, talk to friends, call admissions representatives, chech out campuses etc. If you realize you've whittled down too much, then widen your parameters. Be flexible and open-minded. Sometimes our best laid plans and systems can be random lead. Be intuitive, be inquisitive, be proactive, be far-sighted.

The best piece of advice I can give about finding the right college is to visit the colleges in which you are interested. However, don't become overawed by the tours and the memorized "great facts" that you inevitably hear. Talk to the regular students rather than only your trained tour guide, wander around the campus as if you were a student yourself (with a map of course), visit the departments you're interested in and ask the professors about your major. Being on the campus itself can help you determine whether you could live, study, and work in that place for months at a time and give you a picture of what your social options would be there. People don't say hello? Don't hang out around the campus? Look unhappy? You may not want to go to school there if friendliness and a lively campus are important to you. Also, visiting more than one college will help you determine the pros and cons of each location in relation to home, the climate, etc. College is not merely a theoretical experience; it's not a brochure that you live in for four years. Choose in person; choose wisely.

Look around a whole lot. Tour lots of campuses. Apply at any potential college. Make a list of pros and cons. Find out what kind of financial aid and scholarships they offer. Look at athletic facilities, dorms, academic buildings. Stay in the dorms. Sit in on classes. Eat the food. Go to the games. Sit in chapel. Look at things to do off campus. Overall, Pray.

Colleges are all different and offer unique opportunities, and when looking for a school, finding the best fit for who you are as an individual person is of the utmost importance. Picking a college needs to be like trying on clothes, or maybe even renting a video game before buying it, you need to try it out, visit, talk to people who attended or presently attend the school. See if you think it fits, and then go to it. If after a semester you don't like it, give it a second one, it takes time to adjust, but if after two semester you still don't like it, transfer. It is totally okay and totally normal to not like the first school you go to, and it is totally okay and totally normal to love it. Relax and enjoy the perusing of colleges, take the time and effort to find the best one for you so that the next 4 or more years of your life are as memorable as they can be. Good Luck!