University of Alabama in Huntsville Top Questions

I would advise parents to visit as many colleges as possible in order to compare the schools of interest. The college experience is completely up to the student.

Do not allow an athletic team to sway where you decide to go. Choose a college or university that has an emphasis on acedemics, getting a great job, and not one on paying a head coach of an athletic team.

Advice that I would offer to parents and students regarding selecting the right college and making most of college experience lies in pure intuition. It is of utmost importance to feel comfortable with whichever University the parents and student are looking into. Campus visits are a great way to seek out the right college selection and its insightful and helpful to feel as if you know someone at the college and know your way around. As far as making the most of college experience, parents need to be careful about crowding their students- this is a common occurence when a student first goes away to school. And students need to get involved as soon as the arrive to campus and not be fearful to drop their name to various organizations and people. Getting involved is the first step to having an amazing college experience. The next step is persisitence academically. Your at college to learn- so, get to know your professors- they can be great mentors and wonderful friends as well.

First of all, keep everything in perspective. Many students want to run off to other universities out of town just to get away from home, when they have a perfectly good and highly respected school right in town or nearby. Financially speaking, the cost/benefit analysis of what you get from most local universities far outweighs the benefits of spending thousands more to go to school a few hours away instead. When many students think of the "college experience" they imagine wild parties, hot dates, and all sorts of new and crazy experiences. In reality, if this is what you are seeking then you must choose a school in which that is possible. However, the college experience can be so much more than that, and it can be something much more mature. We must begin by making sacrifices, choosing the goals of our futures over the goals of the here and now. Our transition in life through college is the last bridge we must cross before entering adulthood, and it is the best time to learn what it really means to be responsible. Parents, let the students earn their own success, let them work to make it happen.

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Make sure that it offers what you want. There are plenty of opportunities at the larger universities, but if you want a more homey feeling to your school go for a smaller one.

find a college like UAH that focuses a lot on research and not partying as much, a technology based school.

Make sure you go through the pros and cons of all your options and pick the one that is most comforable for you, yet still challenging.

When looking for a college to attend take into consideration many different criterion. First make sure you can afford it. No one should graduate with so much debt that they can not afford to live...student loans can not be expunged from one's record! Second, choose a school that is challenging enough that when you graduate your diploma means something to employers. Third, for parents, do not send your children to schools known for partying. Your children need an education not a drug/alcohol induced coma, and most college students cannot seem to resist the temptation when they are thrown into that environment. Overall, just go somewhere you feel comfortable and makes you smile whenever you drive or walk onto campus. Four or more years is far too long to be miserable all the time, especially when you are paying a fortune for it.

First look at the surrounding area of the campus. Many parents/students look only at the specific aspects of the college ignoring its location. The city in which the college is located can be just important in a student's academic life as the college itself. Know your interests and what kind of environment you want to spend the next four years of your life in. Also determine the major that is right for you as soon as possible without constantly changing your major. This will allow for the student to take classes that suits their needs immediately without wasting a lot of hours on classes that are unimportant for the field they want to study. If done right it is possible to graduate in less than four years which would save a considerable amount of money. Also move off-campus as soon as possible, college is supposed to lead to an education as well as teach someone to be self-sufficient. Living off-campus teaches a student how to live in the "real world" and provide for themselve. Money management is a lesson easily learned and is just as important as anything learned in college and often overlooked.