University of Arizona Top Questions

The "right" college depends upon the student. College is a time for many life changing decisions and experiences. You might even say that college is where you start living your life. It may seem like the right choice to pick the most prestigious college possibly, but that is often incorrect. Most, if not all, colleges will put you in the world with similar skills, what changes is how hard you work. I strongly believe that to have the best college experience one must make the most of what their college has to offer, leading to know what he/she wants and what the college does offer. To choose the "right" college, a student must ask himself what he wants out of his college experience. Whether it be a large, friendly student body or a temperate climate, the diversity of universities throughout the world will allow one to fit most, if not all the the students needs. Many times people forget the basic needs of students in examine the academics of each college. What I ask is to forget the academics for a short time and realize the simple truth. College is where life lessons and learned.

Find a college that has the right program for you. The college you may be attending may be highly recognized and prestigious, but that is not worth much if the area in which you are going to study is lacking at that school. Furthermore, find a college that has a high level of school spirit. This not only makes it exciting to attend, but alumni who have graduated from this school that are interviewing you for the job will have a strong desire to employ you for this reason. In addition, get involved with activities on campus. Not only clubs and organizations, but most importantly, working side by side with a professor on one of his or her projects. This will expand the scope of your field tremendously. In addition, it will help to get actual hands on experience that will bolster your attempts at getting an internship or a job. Also, talk to your professors, especially in your junior and senior year. They have a lot of knowledge that they are willing to pass on if you show you are willing to learn.

Know what things types of things to interest you; knowing them will help you make your decision (but remember don't pigeon hole yourself with something too specific, your interests are plastic, expect and plan for changes). Visit the college, and walk the campus before you take the tour, and if you know someone going there already visit them over the weekend to see what kind of things students do on their free time and then take the school-run tour. Go with your gut feeling on which college fits you best but be sure to consider academics, social life, extra-curriculars, the area surrounding the college, whether or not you fit in well with the students already there, and future career prospects. You will know the right college when you see it, but thats the important part: make sure you really SEE the college you are thinking about attending.

I would tell them to not be afraid to apply to as many schools as they wish to apply to. Although I enjoy life at the U of A, I regret the fact that I didn't apply to the out of state schools of my choice because of financial difficulties.

Go where you want to go. Dont let your parents influence your choice or give you limits about where you can go. You'll probably spend a lot of money on your education so make sure its something that you like and want to do for the rest of your life. Get involved with you school and try to meet tons of new people. Join a club, sport, or group of somet type. Be open to new ideas and people. Look at life as a learning experience. Go and see a few different college campuses and apply to more than one school. Live on campus the first year and live with a room mate that you've never met before. Take road trips. Get as many new experiences as possible. Take a class just for fun, not because its required.

After three and a half years of college, I have enough advice to write a small book ; advice I wish I could have had before I began my college career. When loking at a college, academics should not be sole focus of ones choice. Parents and students should look at the cost of college, the academic environment, the types of extracuricular activitities available , the town the college is located in, how far the college is away from your hometown, etc. These are some of the major factors that should play into making the choice on what college to attend. Its important to remember that the college you choose will take up four years or more of your life and that is a huge commitment. It is also important to remember that what you get your degree in is often more important than where you received your degree from. In terms of making the best of the college experience, that decision on where to attend has a great effect on the overall experience. Everyones different, but my biggest piece of advice would be study hard, get involved, and most importantly enjoy your time. It is a great chapter in ones life.

The right college would provide the education of your interest. Avoid colleges that specialize in areas that you are not interested in or willing to learn more about. Find a college that fits your abilities and wants; whether that be sports, high academics, extra-curricular activities, or social groups/

I would recommend that you find a school that best fits your needs financially, academically, and environmentally. Find a school that you can afford that will allow you to complete your desired major in the best environment possible. Keep in mind that the environment of the school is critical to retaining your focus and to helping you grow as a person throughout your college years.

As a parent, let your child figure out where they feel they would fit. I feel that finding the perfect school is not all about what schools have the best program sfor your degree, because we are young and often change our minds. The degree we think we want to get in high school can change. College is where you find out who you are as a person and learn to grow on your own. Many people change their majors, so choose a school where you could visually see yourself attending. For students, I think you should visit the school you are interested in and talk to students who attend there and research it. Choosing a college is a difficult choice, but wherever one goes it will definately be a memorable decision that will lead you to lifetime friends, memories and lessons learned on the way.

research your classes selections so you don't wast time taking classes you won't need.