What to Consider When Choosing a College

     Personal Education and Classes:

As college decisions are being released, seniors face one of the most difficult decisions of their lives. Picking the college they believe will be right for them. As a senior myself, my time here at BHS has been a total rollercoaster. I have taken many classes that I absolutely love and classes that I absolutely despise but nevertheless, no matter how hard certain courses like Algebra 2 or Calculus have been, I have always tried my best. My overall GPA is unweighted at 3.67 and weighted at 4.33 as of right now.

    Application process:

The application process for college so far has been easy on common app. I didn’t have to fill it out alone, as my mother helped me through every step of the way, which made this process way less stressful. I ended up applying to six colleges, and it was not very time-consuming as I started early and had a lot of time to complete them before the due date.  Some parts of the process were annoying because I had to fill out information about my family and taxes, but it wasn’t very tiring because, again, I had a considerable amount of time to complete them by the due date.

                      Factors to consider when deciding on a college:

 So far, I have been accepted into Notre Dame of Maryland University, Salisbury University, UMBC,and Towson. Main factors that I’m considering when choosing among these colleges is the graduation rate as it tells me how successful I can be to graduate in that school. As well as, if I decide to go there, if they specialize in the major I want as this is a very important factor and can impact my career for the rest of my life, and what scholarships I have been given by the university. Another thing to consider is the proximity from my own home as I do not want to be too far from my family. Lastly, consider the population and area around the campus, as it can raise safety concerns and some people may prefer a university with a smaller population of students. For instance, NDMU meets most of my standards as they have the major I intend to take. Also, it’s close in proximity to my home, meaning in-state and it is a private university, which means a smaller population of students compared to public universities. This will allow for more one-on-one instructional teaching, which makes learning easier for me. 

Overall advice when deciding on a college:

Overall, it is best to do research into the universities that you are applying to and get input or advice from your parents or guardians when deciding on something as important as your education. Make sure to consider different factors by asking yourself important questions like, “Will I be fine if I was a long distance away from my family?” “Do I work well in crowded spaces?” “Does this university have my major?” One of the most important things to consider is, “Will I be able to afford this college or will I be stuck with a bunch of student loans afterward?” In summary, the college process and deciding on a college isn’t easy, but remember to factor them out by what you are looking for in a college and do plenty of research.