When looking at schools within the U.S., there
are many factors that must be considered before making the initial decisions as to
determining schools that are of interest to you. The
3,200+ schools in the U.S. are spread throughout the 50 U.S. states and represent all the
variety of elements of the United States. Not
only is it important to know what you want to study but you also need too know
“where” you want to study in terms of location, school size, climate, cost, and
lots of other factors.
Location
Urban? Suburban? Rural? Long, cold winters?
Sunshine year-round? Near a
city? Not a city within hours? One of the easiest ways to start narrowing your
search is to consider where you want to be. You
are not only selecting a school but a place to live. Campus
settings range from places such as New York University and George Washington University
blending right into urban setting with no identifiable campus at all to campuses of 10,000
acres of forests and hills several hours from a city of over 100,000 people. Your personal happiness for your four years of
study is going to depend greatly upon the environment in which you study so you must
consider the actual location of schools. If
being near family or friends are important, fine, but then use that importance to pick out
possible locations. Keep in mind that being in
a small town does not mean “nothing to do” and being in a large city does not
mean necessarily mean “lot to do”.
Types of Colleges
Colleges can broadly be divided into either
liberal arts or comprehensive universities. Generally, a comprehensive
university is large and has many different departments and degrees are generally
professional training programs in areas such as law or medicine. Liberal arts
colleges, by comparison, provide students with a breath of knowledge and majors are
usually of a more general nature (English, psychology, and biology) and help student to
become better thinkers, writers, and problem solvers.
Students that know they will be going into graduate programs often find
liberal arts colleges to be good preparation. Specialized Colleges – those that offer
majors in one particular area. Examples of
these are generally in the fields of the arts (Juliard), business (Bentley), or
engineering (Harvey Mudd). Women’s Colleges – are those that are
totally committed to the personal, social, and academic development of women. They provide extensive opportunities for leadership
and independence.
Size
Colleges in the U.S. range from 24 students
to 55,000 and the school size is very important as you evaluate what you want. Consider: Will you feel comfortable in a lecture
class of 700 students? Do you prefer taking
notes rather than discussing issues? Is it
important for you to have a teacher know your name? If
a more personalized education is your preference, then you should be looking at the
smaller liberal arts colleges where a student is a name as well as face. Pre-med programs can make a liberal arts college an
excellent choice in terms of working with and getting to personally know professors. Small colleges are those generally referred as
those having fewer than 3000 students while Mid-size refer to those with between
3,000-10,000 students, and large are those that have over 10,000 students. Not only do you have to consider the size of the
school population but you must also consider the size of the community it is as well as
the typical class size.
Cost
You and your family must take a close look
at the cost of a college education. As the
annual cost of private education in the U.S. can now exceed $35,000, it is likely that a
private institution will cost your family at least $150,000 over four years. Is this a cost that is affordable? Public institutions currently range from
$10-18,000, which will still amount to possibly $80-90,000 for a four-year education. If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident,
you are eligible for institutional-based financial aid in a combination of grant,
work-study, and loan monies. Most financial
aid is Need-Based which means a family has to demonstrate financial need. The financial aid for foreign national is severely
limited and very, very competitive to be granted. Non-U.S.
citizens must select schools for which the family can provide complete financial support
as documentation of complete support is required for getting a student visa.
Programs of Study
If you have a specific major in mind, make
sure that the schools to which you apply have that program.
If you are undecided about a major, it might be a good idea to apply to
schools that have a range of majors so that you can pick a major later and have some
choice about what to study. If you decide to
apply to a “specialty” school (i.e., a school that specializes in just one area
such as business), make sure that your interest to study that subject is strong. If you enroll in a school that specializes in
business, for example, and decide that you don’t like business, you will probably
have to transfer to another college to study “something else”.
Student Diversity
Schools vary greatly in terms of
percentages of international students and/or American students of color. Generally speaking, an international student might
feel more comfortable in a school in which there are other international students. A college that has 90+% or more of in-state
students and 1% foreign nationals is not going to offer the diversity of students that you
might prefer. If a school has 3% or more
international population and at least 10% American students of color, you can consider
that school as having a relatively diverse population.
On-Campus Housing
It is important to consider the percentage
of students who live on-campus. The personal
growth and learning that goes on in the residential arena on a campus is important as in
an international student feeling “at home” away from home. If fewer than 50% of the students live on campus,
weekend activities could be limited.
Pre-Professionalism vs. A Liberal Arts Education
Pre-professional programs of study are ones
that are designed specifically toward certain career goals.
Pre-med, pre-law, engineering, and business are good examples of
pre-professional majors. Majors that do not
lead directly to a specific career goal fall into the Liberal Arts category. The goal of a liberal arts education is to teach
students how to think creatively and analytically, thus preparing them to pursue any
career. There are pros and cons for both. If you really know what you want in terms of a
career, then a pre-professional course of study might be most comfortable for you. However, if you are not sure, a liberal arts
education is an alternative route into a professional career track.
Freshman Satisfaction
One statistic provided in most guidebooks
is the percent of freshmen who come back after their first year. If this is a high number, it indicates that most
freshmen were satisfied with the school and were successful.
If this statistic is low, it would be good to find out why. However, keep in mind that not all schools are
suitable for everyone and that you should focus on finding a school that is right for you.
Academic
Atmosphere and Campus “Culture”
Each
college has a different “Culture” or feel. Some
offer a large variety of intramural and extracurricular activities while others are more
limited. Some have large international
populations while at others the international percentage is small. The degrees of stress, competition, and intensity
are also all different and will impact on the overall quality of personal life at any
college. A stress-filled environment does not
necessarily indicate a high-quality education. The
analogy of “the big fish in a small pond/small fish in a big pond” merits some
consideration. |
