Saint Mary’s College of California Top Questions

The advise that I would give parents and students about finding the right college is to make sure you research all of your top choices and make sure you schedule an appointment to tour the campus. By touring the campus the student and the parents will be able to make a choice whether or not the college is right for them. Also, make sure that you check with financial aid and see which school will offer you the most financial help and go for it. Once you start your freshman year at the campus of your choice at first it will be very difficult to adjust to the college life, but sooner than you think you will encounter your friends that will become your best friends and your acomplices. Make sure you make the effort to meeting new people and never judge a person until you really get to know who that person reallly is because sometimes they could be putting on a face that will fool you because they may just as well will be feeling the same fear you might be feeling. enjoy your first year because the next three will be difficult. Good Luck!

Visit as many colleges as you can. You will know when one college "fits!"

Talk to the academic councilor about the best options for you. Academic Councilors are familiar with colleges and they can help pick the best school for you.

be very careful in choosing your school, but once you're there (because it's never going to be perfect) it's time to step up, stay positive, and make the best of it -- because it's going to be the best four years of your life!!

The cliche that everyone considering college hears is "it is one of the most important decisions of your life," and for most up to that point in their life, it is; but there is no need to add any pressure to your decision. Life prior to going to college is safe. One can live in their perverbial box and know what is true and who they are. Once you step out of that bubble though, once you live, and think, and interact with the world and people around you on your own, the shell of who you think you are can crack, and a new person can imerge. Thats what college is about; cracking that shell of safety, and experiencing things for yourself. When choosing a college one should look for a cacoon where they can learn and grow and imerge from as a new person. Dont put pressures and expectations on your choice, find a place that most has the academic and social outlets that you need to be who you are. Make a list of what is neccessary for you to be happy and successfull and choose the college that meets those requirements. Set yourself up for success!

Research!

The most important part of finding the college that will be right for you, and making the most out of the experience from beginning to end, is to visit. If you feel like your campus is a place where you belong and can thrive before you ever become a student, you will be ready to dive in from the first minute of move-in day. Can you see yourself eating lunch in the dining hall, hanging out with those people, sitting in those classes, being part of those clubs, and calling yourself a _________? If you can, if you find yourself thinking 'Yeah, I can spend four years here," then you can and you should. Once in school, do not be afraid to jump. Ask your professors to have a cup of coffee with you and talk about their work, join student clubs, check out the local entertainment scene. The niche you saw yourself in on visit day is the niche it is now time to fill, and only you can make that happen.

What determines which college fits you? How do you know if you will like it months later, after only visiting it for a few hours? The advice I would give to students looking for the right school would be to consider everything they think important. For example your parents, maybe they are older (mine are), so you might want to consider how you would feel if one of them ended up in the hospital and you were a plane ride away. What about friends from home? Can you stand to go months without seeing them? Even think about jobs, in this economy nobody knows if there will be a job waiting for them when they move out. What about the surrounding area around the college? Make sure there are things to do (movies, shopping, boat rides, restaurants etc.), you don't want to be board. Keep in mind all of these questions and try not to think about how all you want to do is get away from your parents. You may think that they drive you crazy now, but just wait until you've moved out and there is nobody to pay for anything any more. Good luck.

Be sure that it's a school that you can afford. Make sure that it's the right size for you; some people like to be anonymous, while others prefer being close to their teachers and classmates. Be very, very sure that you speak to someone who's actually at the school, and have targeted questions about what interests you. Visit the campus before you accept, and have some variety in the schools to which you apply. Above all, take your time.

stay positive, look for an enjoyable education, not a training program for your career. it doesn't matter terribly what degree you have, you'll be able to get your job -- but you don't want to be burned out on your career before it even starts.