United States Coast Guard Academy Top Questions

Know what you want to do with your life before you spend thousands of dollars on a big university. If you do not know what you want to do, take some courses at the local community college....it is much cheaper and it gives you some time to think about what you want to do.

I would tell parents and their prospective students to, no pun intended, do your homework. Make sure you find out all you can about a school before you commit to it. Stay overnight with students already attending, and ask them questions. Visit the campus as many times as you feel is necessary. Also, if you do well in high school, the college acceptance process is much easier. Better grades mean a better school; however, don't just focus on grades alone. In high school, do your best to be a well-rounded student. Participate in extra-curricular clubs, sports, and community service projects. Some of this can also help make up for sub-par grades. My last bit of advise would be to start early. The college search can be stressful, but if it is started earlier (end of junior year/beginning of senior year) the amount of stress can be decreased, or at least spread out. Finally, don't let other people decide for you. If your heart isn't in it, you will most likely be miserable at whatever institution you choose.

Base where you want to go to school on the student responses and opinions, they really give you the best idea.

Choosing a college is a very important and hard decision. However, I would give these few simple tips when trying to decide where to go to school. First of all you must realize what means the most to you. For instance, if being close to home is really important to you, then you should try to narrow the schools that are close. In other words, try and organize the factors that you most want in your school and rate them on what is most important. This way you can really understand what kind of school you are looking for and eliminate the ones that don't work for you.