My College Choice | 5 Things I Forgot to Consider
When you’re young, you don’t always make the best decisions. I know I certainly didn’t make the best choices. Not only am I a non-traditional student in terms of age and disability, but I also attended another university 10 years before I made another college choice to start over at another institution. If you listen to my experience and apply it to your college choice, you can avoid the trouble of having to start all over again. The key to wisdom is learning to listen and applying the knowledge and experiences of others to the big decision of making a college choice.
- Money Should Never Be Your Primary Concern: Money is important, but college is an investment. Like any good investment, you should weigh the initial cost versus the value of the career that degree will allow you. You should treat the investment like any other purchase. Shop around for the best value for your money.
- Ultimately, the Decision Is Yours: Of course, you should factor a great deal of feedback from parents, friends, and teachers, etc. into your college choice decision, but remember you are making a decision regarding your life and must live for the rest of your life with that decision.
- College Isn’t Just About Credits, It’s Also About Making Connections: Many people these days make their college choice based on a marketing plan and not a life plan. Let me enlighten you. A college degree is not the key to the door of success as you might have been told. Knowledge without ambition is like a car without wheels.
- Before Making Your College Choice, Make Sure There Are Activities in Which You Can and Will Become Involved. Relating to the factor listed above, the college experience is largely a social one. If you aren’t socializing to some degree, you’re investment isn’t paying its full dividends.
- One Size Most Certainly Does Not Fit All: A haircut’s a haircut, a car’s a car, and a suit is a suit, right? Wrong. One college isn’t necessarily just as good as any other. Some may thrive with a throng of people surrounding them constantly, while others will wilt and shy away back to their comfy parent’s homes (and basements) with all that attention.
Whatever your college choice, wherever and whatever you decide to do with your life, make sure you understand the decision and the repercussions of not making the correct one. I don’t mean to scare you. I truly believe you can make the right college choice, but you can’t expect any old college will do. Make your college choice for and about YOU!
