Kansas State University Top Questions

Please visit more than one. Don't let your kids go to a school because their friends are going there or because you believe the out of state schools won't give you a schlarship. Check it out. Miracles happen.

I would advise parents and students not to come in with high expectations for the start of college. EVERYONE is trying to adjust, and sometimes the ones who adjust most easily are the ones who don't make it all the way through college. Students should not expect to feel like they are having "the time of their life" too early on. For me, it wasn't until my junior and senior year that I really started to know for sure that I was right where I should be and I was having the time of my life. Your childhood friends or high school friends took several years for you to feel comfortable around, so it may take quite a while until you feel like you've made "true friends" in college as well. Don't let doubts or second guessing consume you! Just be patient...your day will come!

Take the time to look at different colleges and make a list of what is the most important to the least important. For example, do you do better in large or small groups? Do you prefer to walk or drive/take a shuttle to class? Do you feel at home as you walk through the campus? Is this college affordable? Also, look at the different opportunities to be involved. If you are interested in the greek system, check it out to make sure it is the kind of community you want to be a part of. Look at the credibility behind everything you are looking at. If you don't do this early on, you may be disappointed later. I got lucky with the things I chose to be involved in, but not everyone is.

One thing I did not do was campus visits. I did community school my first year and realized very quickly that it wasn't for me. By visiting the school really tells you a lot about the people that go to school there and also what the school has to offer you. College is a lot of work but get involved in anything and it will be worth your time. School spirit is huge and if you hate the school you go to you will see that it will effect everything. Have a good time, find the school that best fits you by doing the campus visits!

Culture is SO much more important than academics for the average person in most feilds of study (obviously not true for, say, Vet. Med. students and such).

Visit the school! Almost every school offers a variety of majors, similar housing, dining, classrooms, etc. The choices are to determine the size of the campus (which usually translates to bigger and better events for after class, and a larger number of activities), and whether they have the mix of potential majors (career choices) that you wish to pursue. Remember that every student changes their major about three times, so academic flexibility is important. So - the school needs to feel right to you, since most of the rest is really all about the people you meet and how they interact with you.

Visit every college you are considering attending! Ask friends or family what their experiences were like, if you know anyone who has attended a college you are considering. Try to find unbiased information about each university or college.

I think that it is important to find a school that has good balance between it's academic and social life. Obviously the number one reason a person goes to college is to get an education but it is also important to have a school spirit, connect with others and to gain experiences that will help prepare a person for their future career. My advice to a person searching for a college is to find one that has good professors, a strong program in the major he/she is interested in and then get as involved as possible in extracurricular clubs and activities.

It is a lengthy decision but one that you should spend the time on. It shouldn't be an impulse decision and you have to decide for yourself whether or not that college is right. You shouldn't let your parents or friends influence you because what they want or what is good for them is not necessarily the same for you.

I think students and parents should look at schools from more than a purely academic perspective. This will likely be the most important decision the student has made up until that point in his or her life. In my opinion, it is of the utmost importance to choose a school and a community in which the student can grow academically, emotionally, and socially in a comfortable, happy, and healthy manner.