Choosing a College
Consider These Things—
Campus Size: Do you want…
Very
Small (500-1000) Small (1000-5000) Medium (5000-10,000)
Large
(10,000-20,000) Very Large (over 20,000)
Class Size:
Small:
13 – 15 Medium:
16-30 Large: 30 + Very Large: Theatre (200+)
Location:
What
setting do you prefer?
Urban Rural Suburban
Geographically, where do you see yourself?
Close
to Home California
Only Outside
of California East Coast
Type of school you’re looking for:
Public Private Co-Ed
or Single Sex Community College
Academics: How demanding would you like the academics
to be?
Moderate Rigorous Very
Rigorous
Are
your GPA and test scores in line with those of students from Aptos High, and
other schools, who were accepted at these colleges? (See campus profiles for
each school)
Is
having an extensive library and research facility on campus important to you?
Cost: How much does your family expect to contribute?
Under
$5,000 $5-$15,000 $15-25,000 $25-35,000
Financial Aid Needed
Is
it important to have on-campus housing available?
How
many students live on campus? Is this important to you, or would you be happy
at a “commuter” school?
What are the extracurricular activities and social life opportunities that are important to you? (such as sports, school spirit, clubs, theater, music, studio art, student government, etc.)
Are
fraternities and sororities an important aspect of college to you?
Steps to take to help you
make decisions:
Talk
to your parents, your counselor, your teachers, and your friends. The choice is
yours, but talking it through with others will often be enlightening.
Study
college catalogs and college handbooks (available in the Career Center). Check
the requirements for admission.
Send
for your own copies of catalogs by writing to the office of admissions of each
school.
Investigate
course requirements for the college major you are interested in.
Investigate
the costs of attending colleges, including housing.
Attend
college representative meetings in the Career Center. Dates are published in
the Daily Bulletin and on our website.
Find
out about financial aid, part-time work, loans, scholarships, etc., if you will
need financial help to go to college.
Visit
as many campuses as possible. Colleges are happy to make arrangements for such
visits.
Now What?
Narrow your choice to a range of 6-8 schools that vary in terms of selectivity, but that each have the most important features you desire. It costs approximately $60.00 to apply to each college, so don’t use the “shotgun approach” of applying to many colleges. Similarly, don’t only apply to your top choices of colleges.
While there are no hard and fast rules, students should include two or three schools from each of Groups I and II and at least one or two schools from Group III.
GROUP I Your top choice schools. It is okay to include a couple of “long shots” in this group.
GROUP II Schools that possess the features you desire and at which the probability of admission is even to slightly better than even. These are categorized as “realistic”.
Group III Schools that have most of the features you desire and at which the probability of admission is highly likely to certain. Schools in this group are your “safe” schools.
Schools that qualify as “long shot”, “realistic”, and “safe” vary greatly from student to student. Each applicant has an individual academic profile and should select colleges accordingly, making sure that there are choices in all three groups. Aptos High School’s Counselors can help you make your selections.
There is a college
for EVERYONE!