What Factors Are Important in Choosing a College or University?

Picking a college or university can be overwhelming. There are a lot of aspects to consider: cost (both tuition and cost of living), availability of financial aid, ranking overall and for your intended major, graduation rates and post-graduation outcomes, and of course, the location.

Costs and Financial Aid (including Scholarships)

How much can you and your family afford to invest in your education? Be realistic. A good option for tighter budgets is public in-state schools. Not only are many of these just as prestigious as private institutions, the tuition is much less, as long as you are a resident
of the state. Be sure to factor in the cost of living into your calculations. Sometimes, the school tuition may be slightly more expensive, but the cost of living more than makes up for it.

No matter your situation, be sure to explore what scholarships might be available to you. Some schools base financial aid and scholarships purely on need, but others offer scholarships based on academic achievement or other factors. Even if they do not cover the full cost of tuition, scholarships are often the difference between scraping by in college or being comfortable.

Rankings, Availability of Majors and Research Opportunities

While the overall ranking and prestige of universities is important, don’t forget to check out how it fares in other categories that are important to you, especially your intended major. A school might be one of the best engineering schools in the United States, yet not have the offerings in biological sciences that you want.

In fact, be sure to pay attention to all the majors offered at an institution. It is common for students to change majors or to add another degree or minor. Are the majors you might be interested in offered or are your choices limited? Do the different disciplines work well together so that double degrees are possible in a reasonable time? Are the departments equally valued at the school? Try to get a sense of the reputation of the department and graduates in your intended major and at least one other one. Also, if you know that you want to major in a field that involves research, be sure to choose a college or university that is doing research in the discipline.

As a note, don’t forget to research the intangibles. How beautiful is the campus? What are the dorms and student cafeterias like? How diverse is the student population? How involved are alumni? These factors can be just as important to a successful college experience and can make the difference when deciding between schools.