Choosing the best school for your future can feel daunting.
Many students and families wonder how to even begin the search for the right school for them.
This makes a lot of sense.
After all, choosing the right school can have a dramatic effect on your future.
Schools lay the foundation for a career doing what you want to do, provide you with the education necessary to succeed in the workforce, and even serve as a platform for valuable connections into the real world.
Even a future salary can be largely dependent on where you end up going to college & what you decide to major in.
So, how can you find the best school for your future?
Here are 10 amazing tips for finding the best school for you.
10. Liberal Arts College or University
For the majority of students, the liberal arts college and the university represent the two most significant options for choosing a college.
What are the differences between these two types of schools?
The university is widely considered the “classic college experience.”
Think football, athletics, Greek Life, tons of majors on campus, extremely large libraries, multiple schools under a parent university, and very importantly, a large number of students.
Most universities have at least 10,000+ total students. Almost every major research university has a substantially large graduate student population as well.
There can be quite a lot going on at a major university.
On the flip side, the liberal arts college is very different.
The liberal arts college is small, has less than 5,000 students, and does not place the same emphasis on sports and Greek Life.
There are still many majors at the liberal arts college, but it is a certainly smaller and more intimate environment.
Think about which one would make the most sense for you.
9. Match Your Grades to a School’s Average Incoming Class
This can be important, though our opinion is that too many guidance counselors overemphasize the grades when choosing the right fit schools.
That said, many schools have different standards for admission when it comes to entering students.
Comparing your own transcript to that of the average incoming students at a school can help determine which schools match you.
For example, only a 3.9+ may be acceptable at Williams College, a great liberal arts option.
That said, even if you don’t have the 3.9, there are literally thousands of other amazing options that can give you an amazing liberal arts college experience.
Assessing grades and how they match to a school is an important and necessary step of the process.
