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Seniors, consider these college factors

When choosing colleges, there are many options to consider. Don't know where to start? Here are some factors to use in your college decision-making process.

1.Academics: One of the most important factors is whether the school offers the program you want to major in. Once you've thought about that and decided what you want to study, look for schools that offer that major.

2. Size: Colleges vary in size. Some colleges are huge and have classes with as many as 100 students. Other colleges are smaller and have classes that might average 20 students. 

3. Location: Do you want to go to a college that is close to home or far away? Also, think about whether you want to go to college in an urban area, a suburban area or a rural one.

 4. Diversity: Most schools are co-ed, but not all of them. That's something to think about. Also, find out the diversity rate; this means things like the acceptance of minorities, the number of students from other countries and their multicultural offerings.

5. Extracurricular activities: Like high schools, colleges offer plenty of extracurricular activities to participate in, but some colleges may not offer certain ones. If you want to play a certain sport or join a particular group, make sure it's offered. If it is, see if scholarships are available.

6. Facilities: You want your college to be efficient learning centers and have up-to-date technology and great facilities in things like their music, theater and athletic departments. 

These may be some of the bigger factors to consider where you go to school, but they're not the only ones. Some other reasons could be that the school is where your parents attended or it's the home of your favorite college sports team.

However you rank these factors is up to you. Picking a college is a personal choice, so only you can decide what's right for you. 

If you're still unsure and need help in your college decision-making process, you can find it in College Summit, which is a program that encourages students to go to college. In it, teens get help filling out their applications, learning how to write a personal statement/essay and making right college-going decisions. As part of College Summit, trained teens called peer leaders go into classrooms and assist students at their school who are having difficulty with college selections and applications. They are representatives to encourage a "college-going culture" and can be helpful to talk to if you have questions about going to college.


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