Westminster College-Salt Lake City Top Questions

Location and learning environment are the most important factors in choosing a college that is the right fit for you. It is important that the area that you will be attending college at has things that interest you around it, whether that be the ocean, large cities, or mountains. Fun outdoors excercise is important to a healthy body and clear mind, and it is essential that you are able to participate in these activites that are fun, social, and benefitial to your health all at the same time. It is imporant that you can find a refuge in nature to escape the stresses of schooling at some point. It is also imporant to be learning together with somewhat like-minded people in an environment where your ideas are respected and listened too. For me a smaller school was benefitial because I have been able to establish stronger relationships with my professors encouraging me to want to do better as well as making it easier and less intimidating to seek assistance.

Have the student visit the college and if possible stay overnight with some of the students (most colleges have this option) because the social life is a big part of college and the student is able to talk to current students who can help by giving a first hand account of how student life is.

I would make sure that you are going to school for the right reasons and that you go with your own instincts.

Pick a college that you really feel comfortable with, not what others tell you should feel about them.

One of the most important decisions I had to make was whether I was the type of person who would succeed at a large University or would I feel more comfortable and would be more successful at smaller college.

Know what school you are attending. Understand that Westminster is a liberal arts college. The education at Westminster is very good, and the class sizes are small. But this isn't like high school at all, they do not expect the same things, and students are very different. Maybe diversity is to thank for that.

The most important thing to do is start your college search early in order to visit campuses. When you go, make sure to take your own tour without a tourguide; they are full of B.S. just like most of those pamphlets you get in the mail. Your goal when visiting colleges is to get a vibe for what your life will be like in the next four years. What are the students like, are the profs approachable, does everyone seem miserable, is the food tasty? Make sure you talk to at least a few upperclassmen, since they have the experience to know what is truly great about the school, and what are its worst points. Going to colleges period is the most important advice I can give. If you do this early then you will be better equipped to wade through the B.S., but if you've done a good job of that then just visiting your top 3 or so choices will help you finalize your decision. You ultimatley have to decide what aspects are important to you, and you will only know that once you know what exactly you want out of college.

As a high school senior, I was unfortunate in receiving a guidance counselor that did not help me with the college process. As a result, I was forced to do a lot of the searching and discovering myself. To start, I would recommend finding as many colleges as you can. You can do this by attending college fairs, looking at their websites, and talking to people you know who attend these colleges. The next step would be deciding what you want out of your college. What do you want to study? Do you want large or small classes? A great way to answer these questions is by asking people at those college fairs. Finally, your last step would be to visit the college. I made the mistake of not visiting my college before deciding I would enroll. I got lucky and ended up liking my college, but it was very different that I had imagined. You can't always trust websites and pictures. Visiting a college is the absolute best way to determine if it is the place you want to spend the next four years of your life. Once accepted, have fun. The hard part?s over. :)

Choosing a college that is right for you isn't about the money, the status or reputation it might have, but rather how it will help you and how comfortable you'll feel at that college. You might be worried that its too far, too close, too big or small, but its about what you will get out of that specific college you choose that will get you through the future. Yale, Harvard, UCLA, all great school, but not all great for all of us. Do your research, look up all the colleges that stand out to you and narrow them down by what you want from a college. I chose Westminster because it has a great learning atmoshpere for me and its close and far enough from home. Its all up to you where you'll enjoy your education.

Make sure you love the campus because you will spend a lot of time there.