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College admissions
Course: College admissions > Unit 3
Lesson 1: Introduction: Exploring college optionsOverview: Exploring college options
The speakers emphasize the importance of keeping an open mind when exploring college options. They suggest students consider their academic interests, learning styles, community preferences, and extracurricular activities when searching for a good fit. Asking questions and not getting stuck on one school can lead to discovering many great institutions that match your needs and goals.
Want to join the conversation?
At about a minute into the video Mr. Phillips discusses that an individual should consider the ways in which they learn best when exploring college options.
Some would argue that most (generally public) schools are only utilizing a few out of the many different teaching styles/methods. Therefore, it could be quite possible that a student may only be using the methods they were taught even though there unknowingly to them lies a method much more effective.
So my questions are:
What are the various styles/methods used in teaching?
Which of these would I typically see in a college setting?
Which are most effective?(7 votes)
Teaching methods not only vary from school to school but from department to department and professor to professor. When you're talking to students, professors, and admissions counselors about schools you're considering, ask about the overall academic culture (cut-throat or collaborative? traditional or cutting-edge?) and what styles they've seen/used in the classrooms (lecture or hands-on? lots of guidance or student-motivated?).(5 votes)
How many colleges should I apply to?(3 votes)
The only downside to applying to many colleges is the cost and the time. Some have essays and other questions you need to answer. Don't waste time on essays for colleges you don't see yourself going to. Focus on the ones you're best suited for that you want to go to.
But if you have plenty of time, write all the essays you can and want. You'll find a lot of colleges have application fees, so the limiting factor may be cost instead of time.
In general, you'll want to apply to at least a few colleges of varying levels. Meaning you'll want at least one safety school (that you are very certain you'll get into), a few match schools (that you may/may not get into), and probably at least one reach school (that you'd love to go to but, realistically, it may be a bit out of reach). This way, no matter what happens, you have a fallback with the safety schools and will be able to continue your education .
Best of luck!(9 votes)
I am 13 years old and I have always dreamed of going to an Ivy league school, specifically Princeton. Currently, I have all A's in my advanced classes and I have been recommended for advanced classes next year as well. I will be going into Algebra I. I have a passion for art and am in the Art club and so far my PARCC and NJASK's have given me either Level 5's or a perfect 300, except for one specific year where my Language Arts went down to a high Level 4. Do you think I could go to Princeton if I continue doing what I'm doing?(4 votes)
Hey Niki! Congratulations, you seem to be on the right track to go to Princeton! But, colleges mainly focus on your high school activities (GPA, ACT/SAT test scores, Extracurriculars, etc), and not as much on your middle school activities. But you are definitely on the right track! Here are some tips for high school:
1.) Take as many challenging classes as you can, but make sure you will be able to get a good grade in them Colleges (especially Ivy League schools) like students who challenge themselves. BUT, don't take so many challenging classes that you can't keep up with them, and end up getting not-so-good grades. Only take as many as you feel comfortable with.
2.) Start prepping for the ACT/SAT Colleges really look at your SAT/ACT scores, so you want to try to get as high of a score as possible. To do this, I would recommend studying for them in 9th grade (or 8th grade if your planning on taking any of the PSAT's) and setting apart time each day to do some practice, even if if it just 20-30 minutes. Also, plan on taking the test(s) more than one time, for multiple reasons. First, in case you don't get as high of a score as you were hoping for, you will always have another chance to take it. Second, most (all?) students raise their scores when they take it more than once.
3.) Find a couple extracurricular activities that you like, and stick with them Your Freshman year is the perfect time to try out some extracurricular activities and find which one(s) suit you. Try as many as you want/can, because you never know what you may enjoy doing! In your Sophomore year, narrow it down to 1-3 clubs, and stay with them. Colleges love students who have long term commitments! Also, try to get a leadership role in your club(s). Colleges love leaders!
That's all I have for ya! I really hope it helps you, Niki, and best of luck!(5 votes)
what age can you get a job? (a real part time job)(3 votes)
the age when you can officially get a job is sixteen(4 votes)
Why do students decide to go to a community college first rather than a 4 year university?(1 vote)
Community colleges are so much cheaper than universities. You don't have to pay room and board, you don't have to pay for a full meal plan, and you don't have to pay expensive tuition fees. It's a good option to get gen ed requirements out of the way.(8 votes)
- I think... I am not a perfect student. :( I have no idea if I am even going to get into a school ever. I am a disabled student. That is about the only thing I have going for me. But I have flunked out before... No idea if I could ever be considered for a second chance.(3 votes)
Don't worry and don't get depressed! Just because your best may not be on the level of another's best doesn't mean it counts for any less. Just try and work hard and try to stay positive! :)(3 votes)
do ivy leagues allow double majors
can someone recommend a site where i can find out about these things ?(3 votes)- Some Ivy League schools do have double majors! Honestly, you should just check out each of their websites and explore around to see if each school offers majors that appeal to you. While the Ivy League is often grouped together, they're less similar than people think, so you have to go school by school.(2 votes)
- How can I be sure I have found out the personality of a school since there are so many different lenses a school can be viewed through?(3 votes)
im a homeschooler and im in 9th grade. i want to go to ole miss as a baseball player.
im currently taking:
bible
English
geography
chemistry
and algebra
i was wondering if all my highschool grades matter or just my jr and senior year?(2 votes)
All of your high school grades matter for college(3 votes)
- How do students adjust to university coming from small high schools or community colleges?(3 votes)
- Some choose to go to small universities, and then it's not much of a problem. Others who end up at large universities take care of themselves by joining clubs that provide a close knit community so they don't feel lost. In the end, you know yourself best, and no matter where you end up, college life takes time to get used to.(1 vote)
Video transcript
- I think it can be so overwhelming, just the sheer number of schools. When you open up a guidebook, and the guidebook is more
than 1,000 pages long, you just wonder, where do you even start? But I think students who keep an open mind can do really well in the process because there's so many
wonderful institutions out there, and probably schools that you might never have even heard of. So if you're willing to go
outside of your comfort zone, if you're willing to go to a school that you maybe haven't heard of, or in a part of the country that you're not really familiar with, you can really open up many,
many doors for yourself. - I think the process starts-- let's start with academics. A student thinking a little bit about what they've done in the
last three or four years with their academics, the
classes they've taken, which classes they've really liked. Is it because of the teacher? Is it because of the subject? Is it because of the way it was taught? Really starting to think about what they may wanna study in college, and to think about the way
that that material's delivered. Was it in a lecture format? Did they do more group work? Did they do discussion-based
conversations? And really thinking about what are the ways that they learn best. Ultimately for me, when
I'm talking with students, especially low-income students that are looking at this process with, you know, not a lot of
help in the process, really thinking about how to
put yourself in a position to be really successful in college. Thinking through those sorts of things. Thinking through, a little
bit about community. What kind of community
are you gonna be in? Who's in that community? Where are they from? Are they all from the local area, are they from a national
pool, and international pool? If you're an underrepresented student, an international student,
those sorts of things, is there a population on that campus? If that's important to you, you can look at those sorts of factors. Extracurricular activities. The things you're doing
now in high school, are they things you wanna continue to do? So maybe you're a flute player, and you wanna continue to play in college, although you think you may
wanna be a Biology major. Is there a school where you
can still be in the band, in the symphony, but be a Biology major. - Ask questions, anything
that comes to your mind. Ask the question, there's no question that somebody else hasn't thought about, or that you should feel, "Oh
that's a stupid question, "I won't ask them that." - Sometimes I think students
become stuck on one school, when in fact there is
no one perfect school out there for them. In fact, there are
many, many, many schools that will be a good fit. It's more about figuring out what's the personality of a school, and how does it mesh with your personality in what it is that you hope to achieve? Keeping that open mind so that
you will have many options, and you'll ultimately end up at a place where you'll be really excited to be, and where you will be able to
have incredible experiences that will really broaden your perspective.