University of Florida Top Questions

Choose for yourself and not for what other people want you to choose. Because you have to live with that decision for the rest of your life.

Before choosing a school, sit down and brainstorm on what you feel as though you should become in life. Make sure to visit the top schools of your choice to get a feel for the town and see if you would be comfortable living there while seeking your degree. Your social life will change over the course of time, but do not let it distract you from what is most important, your education. Many students get cught up in their surroundings and loose focus on what they initually came to do. Pray about certain decisions you make because quick reactions can effect you. Trust and God will see you through.

The first and main thing to keep in mind when selecting and experiencing college is to be open, open, open. You/your child has not finished growing, and are not yet the person they will call their adult self. They have not finished making all the friends thay will make, and forming the worldview and philosophy that they will carry with them for the rest of their life. Keep your mid open; if you knew everything that you thought was important academically or in life, then you would not be in college! Meeting and adjusting to people and ideas from different parts of the country and different parts of the political spectrum, let alone different parts of the world, can be the best way to learn and grow into a good citizen of the country and the world. Your beliefs may be sharpened and refined and you will find yourself a wholly different person. Leaving home, if that is a possibility or option, may make you love home more. There is something deep in you that you want to know more about when you graduate high school. Pick a college that piques your interest. See where life takes you!

One piece of advice I would give to students and their parents about finding the right college and making the most of the college experience would be to find the campus that makes them feel comfortable. The student must feel comfortable about the layout of the campus, the surrounding city, and especially the size of classes and the student body in general to be able to make the most of these years. If the student wants more attention, then a more intimate and smaller college should be sought after just as much as if they want an experience where sports and school spirit are a must, then a larger university would be their answer. I would just tell them that it all depends on personal choices and their willingness to make the most out of any situation and decision they make, not only when it comes to choosing the "right" college, but also during their everyday experiences.

When picking a college, one should not look at extracurriculars, cost, or the friends they already know there because all of these things will change through the years spent in college. There are many more important things to consider. Will my university give me the tools and connections I need to succeed after graduation? Does it offer a strong program in the academic course I chose? Is it in a location that I can handle (distance from home, climate, etc.)? Is it a large or small school? The permanent suroundings are more important in the college choice than the variables. Once one has chosen a college, the best way to make the most of the experience is to become involved in a group that one is interested in. Even if one does not make a varsity team, there are also club sports. Being actively involved in a student organization not only boosts a resume, but it helps with making friends and networking. The right types of extracurriculars can vastly impact one's college experience.

I urge future students to take the entire college atmosphere into account. Never decide upon a school based upon one strong department, but really take some time to explore every aspect of your personal college experience. In finding the right school for you, spend a few days just experiencing the campus and surrounding area in order to really feel comfortable with the people and accessibility of said area. Also remember that no work can be done without a little fun to supplement your mental health! Get out and get active in your free time and you will never grow tired of your studies.

Choose the best college that your child can get into. That's it. Don't shy away from large universities, because you feel you will be lost in a crowd. At every university, you will find people with interests similar to your own. As you do so, you will begin to build a small community. Strongly consider the financial implications. Is the school giving you the bang for your buck? What is the school's primary source of funding? Is that likely to decrease in the future, forcing them to cut programs and classes?

Carefully research the priorities of the university It is more important for the student to learn in a intellectually conducive environment than to have graduated from a highly-ranked school. And save money. Lots of it.

Visit all campuses applying for in order to get a feel of the campus and surrounding environment. Do NOT, during campus tour (preview), get discouraged about going to the school. You tend to feel a drag during this time because of all the orientations, paperwork, and things to get done in a short time span. BIGGEST MISTAKE are credit cards. Let them only have one with a $500 max credit limit and still have the parents monitoring it. Careful with jobs, they tend to interfere with studies and grades begin to suffer because of it (work-study on campus jobs are ok). A lot of off campus jobs make you work long hours and work with your school schedule for the most part but not too much.

Do what you love, go for your dreams, and don't let anyone sway you away from it.