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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
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