Mercer University Top Questions

Take an extended amount of time to find a place that you (the student) feels comfortable. While what the parents think is important, the student is the one who ultimately goes to the school. If the student does not feel at home or comfortable with the atmosphere or structure, they will not reach their full potential. Learn early on that while it is always great to have fun and enjoy your college experience it is also important to remember why you are attending college in the first place. Work to find a good balance between enjoying yourself and doing well in school. Also, you will make mistakes socially and scholastically; learn from them and try your best not to repeat them. Remember, no one is perfect but it is good to try your best too.

Pick somewhere with a lot of options, because you're going to change significantly during those years, and you don't want to be stuck somewhere that only fits who you were your senior year of high school.

Make sure your heart is where you go because that will determine your success at the institution. Remember to have fun and not to take everything so seriously. When school starts to feel overwhelming, take a step back and breathe or walk away if necessary.

Take a tour of campus! Ask real students your questions and don't feel pressured to go somewhere just because of the name or because someone else told you to go there. Keep an open mind and try to find somewhere that meets your needs, and all of them: intellectually, physically, socially, and spiritually. There is a place. You just need to look for it. Best of Luck!

The first thing I would tell them is to not limit their choices to schools in their state. There is such a wide variety of colleges and universities to choose from. If possible I feel you should try to venture out of the comfort zone and try something new. Secondly I would tell the student and/or parents not let money be a limitation on a college choice, though it can be sometimes. There are always loans and scholarships to apply for. In the end however the school chosen to attend has to be something they really want and works for them and their life style.

Coming from a Christian background, I would say first and foremost, pray about it. Go has a better idea of where you are supposed to be than you do. Secondly, I would recommend campus visits to all of the schools you are considering. It is one thing to like the academic reputation of a school, and another thing to feel at home while you are on campus. Remember, this is where you will be spending 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of your time over the next 4 years! Once you decide on a school...I say jump in head first! Pick a few sports or organizations that you want to be involved in, but make sure you budget time for school work. It is one thing to make good grades but you still want to have fun memories of your time in college as well. They say these are the best years of your life, so why not make the most of them!

Look for the college that fits yours or your kids personality.

When helping their child apply for college, parents should first consider the student?s academic needs and willingness to devote time to his or her studies. Because some colleges universities expect more from students academically, the school may or may not be right for the student based on this alone. Ultimately, which college to attend should be the student?s choice with consideration of availability of financial assistance from both parents and the school. In conjunction with the academic quality of the school, perspective students should find information about opportunities to get involved on campus before they arrive at school, as this involvement generally provides students incentive to perform better in classes. Campus involvement is the key to enjoying being a student at any given university and provides the best way to make friends and connections with professors and administrators. If one is highly involved and needs assistance, financial or otherwise, the student is much more likely to receive the aid needed if he or she has made a positive impression. Ultimately, making the most of the ?college experience? is learning to challenge oneself academically while participating in enough campus and community activities to balance academia.

Students should actually visit the colleges they're interested in, and talk to current students at those colleges besides the ones whose job it is to sell the college to prospective students. They should figure out just how important greek life is to the social life of the school and perhaps visit the fraternities or sororities if they think they would be interested in greek life. They should also look over a list of other student organizations and activities in order to determine any potential interesting ones. If they do not know what they want their major to be, they should look at the list of majors offered by the school and determine how many at each school they could potentially be interested in.

I would tell future college students and parents to look for schools that will offer the majors that the students are interested in. The size, location, and number of students should be a factor as well. These things help to make the adjustment process easier. The most important advice I can give is......Start looking for scholarship early because college is not cheap! Be diligent in the search.