Luther College Top Questions

Save your money! I did not save really at all the summer before I went to college. I ended up having both on-campus and off-campus jobs and never had much time to do anything fun. Save your money so you can focus on your school work and still have time for fun. Also, stop saying "No" to things. Take chances, try new things, broaden your horizons, and let yourself open up to new and exciting adventures!

Make sure you have criteria before starting the search. Do overnights at colleges you want to go to. Choose the school YOU want to go to. Not the one 3 generations of family have gone before. Name of the college isn't everything Take average ACT scores of schools with a grain of salt, the higher the ACT score, the more scholarships. Remember homework is only part of college. Live each day fully. They go fast! Get off campus and out of the town every once in awhile. Take advantage of your professors! They have office hours for YOU! Don't be afraid to ask them questions. If you still don't understand, go to the free tutoring. Get involved in an extracurricular. At orientation as a freshman, everyone is new. No one knows anyone and this is the only time in life where there won't already be connections. Take advantage of this and talk to whomever you want. Go abroad. Don't worry about what your major is. Take classes that interest you. GPA is only a number. Don't stress about it too much. Above a 3.5 is good despite what you got in high school.

Look for somewhere where you feel like you really belong. Don't look at the price, or the quality of the education first, determine how you feel on that campus first. Safe? Belonging? At home? If you feel uncomfortable there, don't go there. If you do feel omfortable there, then start to weed out the colleges that are too expensive, don't have what you want in the terms of education, and don't fit your other standards. Hopefully, you will have found the perfect college if you give yourself enough time and choices. Be sure to visit at least one or two of the potential colleges before you decide to attend. When you are in college, don't be afraid to get out there. Even if its hard for you to make friends, don't be afraid to get out there. Spontaneously hug a person and introduce yourself if you have to! Staying in your dorm room with your studies may be tempting, but not all that fun. Make friends in class; go out to a local cafe; volunteer! Just get out there and do something, and you'll find yourself with a worthwhile college experience.

Do not just look at the school, but also the community it exists in. The size of the town/city can affect how you spend your weekends and free time.

Transitioning to college is a hard thing to do; finding the place that feels like home, saying good-bye to those you love, and figuring out what you would possibly want to do for the rest of your life. However, the most important thing to do is find some place good enough to call home. The minute you step on campus should determine if it was meant of you or not. You will feel it, an excitement that runs through your veins; an excitement which will fuel your drive for success in college. To the parents, if you have already had a son or daughter go through this college transition, you will already know this, but please let your children go. It is a difficult idea to let your children loose into this new realm of independence, but please do it. This new independence and responsibility will help shape our lives and who we will become. Help us along the way, but let us lead for a while.

Don't look for the school with the strongest academic record or the longest list of accreditations. Those are important too, but you can find all kinds of schools that excel in those. Find something that you want out of your school that most schools may not have, and then out of those schools make your pick. For me, I decided I wanted a midwest liberal arts school with a good music program, from which I could whittle it down to Luther.

Visit every college you can as often as possible (while not intruding too much on high school!). Personally, I set aside five Fridays in the fall of my senior year to visit colleges. I made sure to visit colleges I wasn't entirely sure about for the experience of visiting more colleges. After that, just wait until you get that 'special feeling'. Be careful, though. That 'special feeling' must come from you, the student, and not the parents. After you have moved in, be sure to fill your time without overloading your schedule. This is a difficult balance to find, so having an easier first year will help gauge your capabilities. Last of all, but most important, you must enjoy yourself completely. Without entertainment, friends, and fun, no college experience is complete. Best of luck!

My advice to the students when checking out colleges, is ask yourself "what does it feel like on the campus." If you feel like you belong, or you can see yourself spending four years there, then it is a good choice. As for the parents, don't limit the schools your child can pick from based on cost. My parents were hestiant to let me go to a private college because of that, but I love it. I can't see myself anywhere else but Luther. In order to make the most of the college experience, meet as many people as you can freshmen year. Some of these people will become your friends for life. They are also your support system when things get tough. I can't stress enough to have fun. I struggle with that sometimes, I get so stressed with homework and exams that I feel I have to spend all my time studying. You need to enjoy this experience too, studying will get done but take a break and spend some time with friends. College is alot of work and is stressful but you will never get these years back, so make the most of them!

Each individual's college experience is unique, so don't let anyone try to tell you how college will be! What your parents experienced will have been very different from what you will experience. Also, find a school that fits YOU! You want to spend four years at the college or university, so you want to be happy there. Visit, get a feel for what the campus is like. I knew my college was right for me because when we drove down the bluff that brought us into the valley the school is situated in, it immediately felt like home. Although it has been challenging being away from home and in an isolated location, it has been worth every minute of it. I will be leaving this community with wonderful, life-long friendships and experiences that have enrichened and prepared me for what I will experience away from the academc setting. Be bold and find the right place for you, and no one else!

Though it may seem cliche, the best way to choose a college is to follow your heart. When you find the perfect college, you'll know. It's as simple as that. Some people get the 'Aha!' moment from class sizes, the student body, or, for the more shallow high school seniors, it could be the attractiveness of the students! But really, the quintessence of the perfect school differs from student to student. The only way to find which factor is the most worthwhile for you is to travel as much as possible and visit as many colleges as many times as you can. That way, your chances of finding that 'Aha!' moment sooner can increase dramatically! The investment of time in your college search may be great, but your choice of colleges, though not final, will define you as you grow into the college life. Follow your heart, and the right one will appear! I wish you the best of luck in your search for your 'Aha' moment and the epitome of your future college.