Northern Illinois University Top Questions

When trying to find the right college you first want to reaseach the colleges that have the best programs for the major you are interested in. Once you have a few in mind, you should go on college visits to each school. Talk to the department that you are thinking about majoring in, and see the requirements and possibilities of getting interships and helping to start a career. Also talk to students that are enrolled at that school and see the pros and cons that they have about it. It is also a good idea to sit in on one or two of the classes at the school to see if you like the learning environment and the ways the professors teach. Also research the costs of the school and what ones fits the best into your financial state. It would also be nice to go on weekend visits to your tops schools to see whether or not you will like the social life there as well as the academic. If you do all of these you will find yourself in the school that you will love and remeber for the rest of your life.

Pick a place that makes you happy. If you don't like big schools, don't go to a big school for a particular program. In the end, you won't get the most out of your college experience. I started at a small private school and realized after a large tuition bill that I didn't want to be there. Once you find the place where you want to be, take classes with professors you enjoy. You will always get more out of a course when you feel inspired, motivated and encouraged by the person instructing you. Also, make connections where ever possible. Go to office hours, email, and participate in class. The more people that know your name in a positive way, the more scholarships you can be nominated for. (Little known secret - there are lots of awards students can only be nominated by a faculty member for!) Finally, have fun. In the end, while GPA matters, when you look back on your college experience, you won't say to yourself, I wish I studied more.

I would have to say that you cannot pick a college based on location or price. A college should fit where you want to go in the future with your career. You should choose a school that to you has the best resources for your major and is the best college for you to learn at. I would strongly encourage visiting any school that you are interested and looking at what they offer for extracurricular activities. A college should encorporate all those aspects that meet your needs not what the guides say.

dont pick a school just for the parties

I would say definitely go with your intuition and go with the first college you choose, especially if you get in. I think that will make your college experience that more fun and you will want to learn more. Plus if you are excited about the school then you are more willing to participate in the activities around the campus (living on and if living on campus definitely find out what activities are going on around campus, especially if you live aroudn campus.)

Make sure that the school that you are looking at has what you want to do in life and your couselors at high school can advise you which school is good for that. NIU has a great business and engineering school with much funding. Fraternities and sororities are also great ways to get the true college experience but it doesnt need alcohol. In my fraternity chapter, there is only 2 people that drink and 1 who drinks regularly and he's over the age of 21. Make sure you look at the fraternity carefully and has the ideals which you believe in. Most state colleges are great and have no bad qualities.

Think about how much debt you want your child/children to aquire and how will they benefit from the school they plan to attend? Is this school the best option for their future, do they have their own drive?

Finding the right school is all the important. For instance, if you are all about being on the sport team then go to a school that thrives off their sports team. If you made your mind up about your profession then go to a school that offers the best in that profession. School is fun. There are many opportunities for you to meet new friends and meet your long time buddies. For me, I chose NIU because it was close to home, has a good Computer Engineering program. I also chose the school because I did not want to go to a big school or a small school and NIU is just right. So my advice again is finding the right school is all the important. Have fun choosing, cause I did!

visit as many as you can during the year and find out if this is really a good fit for you.

visit the colleges and you will know where you belong