Hofstra University Top Questions

College is a great experience. It's fun and allows you to really become an independant person. It is easy however to lose sight of the most important part of college, which is your education. Being able to balance the work with your social life is critical. A student must be able to discipline themselves enough to remove factors that will cause them to fall behind in school, whether it be drugs, alcohol, or even people who are a bad influence.

Go and look at all the school you plan on applying to

Make sure you research the school. Make sure you visit the school. I can understand not visiting before you are accepted but difnitely do so once you are. It is very common for someone to ignore this, even when everyone is telling you to heavily research the school you are interested in, but the work will pay off when you realize how happy you are wherever you end up.

Make sure that a car is not needed on campus if you are not planning on bringing one. Without a car in a suburban enviornment you will be totally bored in your free time and unable to do much. I suggest visiting the campus at least twice once on a weekday and once on a weekend so you can see how active the campus is on the weekend. Also make sure that you will fit in with the student population and that campus life is not geared to those who live in the area where the college is.

Don't pick a school without visiting it.

Balance partying and schoolwork.

The best advice that I can give to students about finding the right college is that they don't have to attend a prestigious college or an ivy league college in order to have a great and amazing college experience. Many times at ivy league and well-known colleges students don't have a great experience at all but rather a difficult and stressful one. When chosing the right college, a student should pay attention to things such a tuition costs, location, faculty, the student population, educational programs, and the overall environment of the campus. Can you see yourself interacting with faculty members? Can you see yourself interacting with the student body in positive ways? Do you feel that you will be able to grow and learn while being on campus? My school was not my first choice at all because hardly anyone thought it was a prestigious university. However, after visiting the campus, it seemed like a very calm and beautiful place to learn and study. This did not however mean that everyone would find it the same way. The point is, for me, it turned out to be the best place, and that is the most important thing.

Definately visit the campus of the school before commiting to it.

It is very hard to select the best college for you because it is a decision that largely impacts the future you. Its easy to know whats best for us presently but hard to try and place yourself in the long term. For those that are not positive of what direction they want their life to go, I suggust a larger school with a good co-op program. These types of schools allow new students to discover who they want their future selves to be, while still graduating on time. I attend a small university and feel trapped, and at twenty years old thats wrong.

College is a complete learning experience. College gets you prepared for life while still allowing you to experience it and have fun. Choosing where you want to spend two, four, or more years is very important. Making a list of the most important factors is key. Location, Size, Major availability, Job placement/Internship Programs, and Financial aid/Affordability are some big factors that can help choose, and definately help eliminate schools. Sometimes finances can play a big role in your decision, considering the price of schools (private school vs. public school). After narrowing it down to a handful, it is a PRIORITY to visit the campuses! It would be best to visit during classes, even if it is curing summer or winter classes. After all this is done, you should have a really strong feeling about where you might want to go. Even if your first choice is not there after this process, I'm sure that your gut feeling along with the preperation will help you choose an excellent place to achieve greatness and make some great friends along the way. GOOD LUCK!