For many high school graduates the end of high school means the beginning and the end of so many things in your life, one of those especially being the beginning of college. The idea of starting your college life is both an exciting and stressful time. The thing that is most stressful (at least in my case) is choosing which school you want to call home for the next 4 years. It is a decision that is far from easy, and my college decision was no exception. So here is how I made my choice, and some suggestions to hopefully help make your decision making process a little less stressful:
When I first started the process of choosing where I might want to go, the one thing that I knew for sure was that I wanted to go away for college. The experience of living on my own and really developing my independence was something that I knew I always wanted. It is the first choice that I suggest you make when you begin the process of making your college decision.
After consulting with my advisor in high school and doing extensive research online, I narrowed down my choices to about eight schools and applied to all of them. My next suggestion is that you do a lot of research online before deciding to apply or visit a school. (You do not want to make an unnecessary trip).
While waiting for the letters about my fate with each school, I decided to go on some trips to visit a few. The Mount was my first stop. While I loved everything about it, especially the aspect of a small campus (which I never would have pictured for myself), I still was very unsure if the Mount was the right fit for me. I continued with my visits and every other school always had one or two things that turned me off from it. My last college visit was to a school in Connecticut, and by the end of it I thought that I had fallen in love right away. I left the visit with sweatshirts and lots of merchandise thinking I had found my home for the next 4 years.
Then the next morning came.
The day after my visit I immediately felt this sense of regret and not knowing what to do. My parents (who were probably fed up with my indecisiveness) were the ones who pushed for me to pick the Mount. I spent the next few weeks (right up until a week before your decision for college had to be in) thinking about what to do. Finally, after a lot of careful thinking the feeling hit me one day, out of nowhere, that the Mount was the right fit for me…..and now four years later I have never once regretted acting on that feeling.
The main things that you high school seniors, or anyone trying to decide on where to go to college for the first time, need to remember is to do a lot of research about each school you apply to, do not solely base your decision on how you feel after a visit, and most importantly take your time when making your choice. Now I do not suggest you wait until the very last minute (Like me!) to decide where to go, but definitely take the time to let how you feel about your options sink in. My best suggestion I can give you about the college decision process is to sleep on it. Do not let anyone rush you (Remember it is your choice!)