Prospective College Students Should Follow This Advice

For high school students, the future may seem far away, but, in reality, it is right in front of them.

Students need to be ready to take that next step toward a university if that’s what they decide to do, and there are so many informational resources of which they should be taking advantage.  

Here are some sources and recommendations to look out for to help guide students in decision-making when it comes to college. 

Often times, students go into college decisions without guidance. They have helpful resources available to them, and yet they do not take the time to take advantage of them.

“One of the biggest mistakes students make is choosing their undergraduate university at an expensive big-name school. Your undergrad education will be the same at a state-run university and you will save money. You can always do the first two years at a small university and then transfer somewhere bigger,” Penn Graduate student Renata Lisowski said. 

It is a common theme that students tend to go to a big-name school for their undergraduate years, and it ends up costing them more money to do so, rather than going to a state school and then transferring.

Students also tend to choose a college based on where their friends are attending rather than the programs that a university has to offer for the student himself or herself. 

Even though the college system is a completely different battle than high school, there are certain things students can do to prepare themselves for college itself while still attending high school.

“Step outside your comfort zone, get involved, and take challenging classes,” English teacher Tara Carino, Fleetwood’s Accelerated English teacher, said.

Students need to learn how to take on difficult situations and develop the social skills needed to succeed in a new setting.

“The most important thing to prepare for college is to keep an open mind about the kinds of studies you want to do at university,” Lisowiski said.

Students feel rushed into making a decision quickly about what they want to major in. However, they have more time to decide than they may realize.

Be open to the opportunities that different studies can bring . A person never knows what he or she actually may want to pursue. Students can go into a university for a major in one thing and end up having a degree in something completely unrelated. 

College is a time to find one’s self and truly experience what it is like to be on his or her own.

“Figure out who you are and what you stand for; define your dream and follow it. If you do not love what you do, the paycheck means nothing,” Carino said.