• Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group

University Survival

  • Student Success Skills
    • Picking a College
    • Financing Your Education
    • Choosing a Major
    • Preparing for College
    • Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College
    • Developing Discipline to Do Well
    • Managing the Social Side of College
    • Being an Efficient Learner
    • Taking Tests
    • Ensuring You Receive The Grade You Want
    • Managing Group Projects
    • Becoming a Campus Leader
    • Student Athletes
    • Navigating College Practices
    • Succeeding on Internships and Co-ops
    • Making Critical Decisions
    • Overcoming Challenges for Specific Types of Students
    • Setting Goals
    • Being an International Student In The United States
    • Using Resources
    • Communication Skills for College Graduates
    • Building a Professional Network
    • Using LinkedIn to Develop Your Network
    • Preparing for a Career
    • Understanding Job Protocols
    • Developing Essential Career Skills
    • Becoming a Leader
    • Overcoming Career Challenges
    • Planning for your Financial Future
  • Parent Connections
    • Parent Topics
      • Being a Supportive Parent
      • Making Critical Decisions
      • Financing Your Student’s Education
    • Parent Emails
  • Teacher Resources
  • Resources
  • Community
  • About
You are here: Student Success Skills » Picking a College » Making the Decision on a University

Student Success Skills

Making the Decision on a University

by jennifer
December 27, 2012

Making a decision on a university to attend is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.  That’s what you are told.  But the reality is that nearly every student who graduates from a university will tell you it was the best decision they ever made.  Do you think that all of these students were that perceptive and made the right choice?  Of course not, especially considering that many students didn’t get into their first choice.

The reality is that the university you select will be the right one for you if you take advantage of the opportunities available to you.  With this in mind, it would seem that your choice of a university isn’t as critical as you might imagine.  That’s true, but you should not be careless in thinking about your university decision.

Here are some general principles you might consider in selecting a university.

 

Principle 1: Select a university that you can afford.  You don’t want to be in debt for years into your adult life.
Principle 2: Select a university where you feel comfortable socially and academically.  A university will become your home so you want to live where you feel wanted.
Principle 3: Don’t let parents or friends unduly influence your choice.  You will develop new friends, and parents often have reasons for selecting a university that aren’t the same as yours.
Principle: 4 Use your own rankings (See the topic: Understanding University Rankings) and not those of some national organization.  Most of these rankings are bogus.

 

When you have narrowed your choices, make your decision.  Write down what your decision is and your reasons then sleep on it.  When you wake up the next day, see how you feel about your choice.  If you are still uncomfortable, write down what’s still bothering you then ask yourself if another university would help make these concerns go away.  Eventually you will find a university you can be comfortable with..

← Getting a Real Sense of a University
Developing an Interest Profile →

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Rate This Topic

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Testimonials

  • My biggest problem before this semester is class attendance.  I have developed a reward system for myself to motivate me to go to class.  Each week that I go to every class, on that Friday, I go to the vintage video gram store and buy a game.  I really do enjoy collecting old video games so I have a strong motivation to attend class each day.  I have also improved on getting my homework finished earlier than the day before it is due.  I try very hard to get the homework that is assigned to me finished on the day it is assigned.  I use all of my time between classes to work on homework and study for tests now.  I still have a couple different things that I am working on still.  Note taking being one.  Whenever I am in class, I tend to listen to the teachers lecture more than taking on it because I am afraid of missing something important.  I have begun to record each lecture now and try to go back and make notes.  I also have problems studying at home because of television and games.  This is going away slowly though because I have developed some self-discipline..

Sign Up For Student Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly student emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Sign Up For Parent Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly parent emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic
© Copyright - University Survival