Elizabeth
I would advise parents and students to visit a lot of schools and try to stay on campus and observe what campus life is like. Talk to current students and sit in on some classes. If it is the right school for you it will feel right.
Kylie
Look for a place that has a good program for your career choice. Don't go somewhere just because all of your friends are going there, choose somewhere you like. Also, figure out if you are a family person or 'home-body' or if you are independent. I had a roommate who loved being home. She would go home every weekend and eventually she started commuting because she hated staying on campus. If you like staying home, find a good place to commute to. If you don't mind or love being away from home, then look at places close as well as far away. If you can handle not seeing your family for weeks at a time, don't limit yourself!
Kimberly
I would tell them to get involved with a club. IUP was not even on my list of schools, and things happened and it was March 2007 and I still did not have a college. IUP was coming to Harrisburg for an orientation type event, and my dad and I went, and I applied, and I was told before I left that I had been accepted. I was so happy, but kind of scared because I did not really want to go that far away from home. (It is 4 hours away where I live) I attended CUSP and learned a lot about IUP, and I joined a theater group, and that is where I met most of my friends and I had the best first year ever. I made life long friends, and I can not wait to go back. I love IUP and what it did for me, my heart will always be at that campus. So I say get involved. Study, and work hard yes. But also get out there and meet new people, and make really close friends. They become your family. Its really amazing.
Amanda
In order to find the right college for you, you definately need to visit the campus. During your campus tour, if it's during the semester, try to visit the department you are applying to and sit down with the head of the department and talk about the program. I am a nursing major, and it would have been helpful to me if I had done that because I had no idea the cost involved for my program until it came time to pay for all the extra stuff.
If you know someone that already goes there, talk to them about what they do on the weekends and how they like the school. Just because a school is more expensive certainly does not mean that it is a better education. I go to a state school and receive a great education with less hassle of trying to get scholarships which I know people at private schools go through every year. If you get there your freshman year and hate it, don't worry, it'll get better. I hated my freshman year but once I got to know people and got in the swing of things, it was fine.