Utah State University Top Questions

Choose what you like. Pick something that holds your values. Go somewhere where you will enjoy to recreation. School is important, but there is more to education than class.

It is important to consider 2 things when looking for the best college for you: Academics and Student Life. Decide what you want in those 2 categories and then find a school that best offers what you are looking for.

Make sure the prosepective student visits the campus before they are entirely set on attending it. They need to experience it first, maybe stay a couple days, get to know some people, their advisor, and even attend athletic events.

Although it sounds cliche, my advice is to follow your heart. There are so many wonderful school options out there, but only a few of them are exactly what you are looking for. If you are torn between favorites, talk to students that currently attend your prospective university. Ask them what they like and dislike about the university, campus, housing availability, social network, actities, sports, financial costs and academics. Make a list of all your pro's and con's and weigh your options out. Once you find the right school that fits you, you will discover a new drive within yourself to be better, to study harder, and to make more friends. Don't be afraid to live it up and be whoever you want to be! Live life with no regrets. Instead think of every experience and every mistake as a learning and growing opportunity.

Do your research when looking at schools. Don't just look at price and the prestige of the program you want to go into. More often than not a student will change their major so for the most part you'll want a well rounded school for an undergraduate degree. Take into consideration the social life as well. Visit the campuses you are considering and wander around. When you do go to college do all that you can to break out of your comfort zone and make new friends. Go to activities, randomly visit your neighbors, and do what you can to meet new people. Learn how to prioritize your time - pulling all nighters generally isn't worht it. Have fun! Take out loans to do internships and study abroad. You'll never have those opportunities again. Take your time as well. If you have the option of graduating early - don't. These are your last years you can be a kid so make the most of it. College really can be the best time of your life up to that point!

Start saving early, if at all possible. Money should not have to be the final deciding factor when choosing a college--the educational success of the student should. Even if the student has not settled on a field of study, they can sometimes narrow it down to a broad category such as the arts, or the sciences, etc. Keep that in mind when choosing a school and find one that is stronger in that area. Location matters! The student should not feel stifled, isolated, or condemned because of the location and demographic of the college. And finally, it is possible to work while in school, but BE CAREFUL! Don't bite off more than you can chew. If your grades suffer, all that work to pay your way through college has gone to waste, and you may find yourself working that same fastfood job for the rest of your life. You only have one chance to be a young university student...make the most of it.

Know what you want in life and be motivated while trying to achieve it, create a balance between academics and your social life, and learn as much as you can.

Find a college that has everything you could possibly think of wanting. Make sure that it has the programs that you are looking at. That it has programs to help you decide what you want to go into. Know the reputation of the college, whether it is a party school or one that is more focused on academics. Talk to your kids, find out what they want and listen to them. Make sure that it is financially feasible for you to attend that college. You don't have to attend Harvard just to get a good education; there are other schools besides the Ivy Leagues. Do research on the colleges you are interested in attending. Understand what their good programs are and match them to your interests. Don't waste time at a school that doesn't have what you want. If you want to go to a 2-year school first make sure that you take classes that will transfer easily, there is nothing worse that classes that won't transfer. Go where you are comfortable, it is hard enough making the changes of living on your own, you don't need to make it harder.

If I could chose one thing to tell parents and students that are going to college, it would be that to prepare to change your mind on things. College is an experience that is meant to expand how you think, to question things and figure out your own path in life. So many are not prepared to break from the mold of being told what to learn and find it hard to handle this new intellectual growth and it can hamper a students learning experience. Prepare to challenge yourself and others on your journey of discovering who you truly are and what you want to do with this adventure called life.