The library's living tree - College of St. Benedict, MN
You did it. You’ve been admitted. Through all your hard work on those applications and essays – not to mention your work in school - you showed the colleges why you would be a great addition to their student body. Congratulations! You should be proud of yourself. Now comes the next step; deciding which one to say “yes” to.
Undoubtedly, you have your own thoughts on this, but you are most likely getting advice from family and friends as well. You’re probably hearing opinions based on everything from the perceived prestige of a school to their most recent football season. While these voices may give you important perspectives worth considering, the most important voice needs to be your own. You are the only one who really knows where you feel the most comfortable. There’s a lot to be said for being comfortable in a school or on a campus because it affects so many crucial things that lead to success in college.
Presumably, you’ve already done the research to know that the schools on your short list offer everything, or almost everything, you want; such as your major and any special programs you’re looking for, and you have taken into consideration the financial commitment required to attend those schools. So, now you need to look at them from a slightly different perspective. An important part of doing this involves visiting the campuses – alone. That doesn’t mean that your parents aren’t welcome to accompany you on the trip, it just means that while you are on campus the only opinion and concerns you should be listening to are your own. It’s much easier to do that if you are by yourself.
If you’ve been on the campus before, skip the tour. Instead, walk around and get a feel for the campus and the people who go to school there. Sit in the student union building or wherever students seem to gather. Take time to absorb your surroundings and listen to the conversations going on around you. Check out the bulletin boards and read the school paper. Ask yourself if this is a place where you feel like you fit in.
I highly recommend that you also make arrangements to sit in on a freshman class. Pay attention to the subject being taught, but also notice the students around you. Do they seem like the kind of people you would enjoy studying and discussing things with? How do they interact with the professor? Is that interaction something you would like?
Sometimes schools offer admitted students the opportunity to spend the night in a residence hall. Decide if this is something you would like to do. Just remember that the person you’ll be staying with has been there for almost a year and will have his or her own nuanced perspective on the school. While their views and experience can provide you with a flavor of the campus and residence life, your experiences will not be exactly the same, so pay attention to how at ease you feel with the people you meet and the things that you do.
Once you’ve done this, you can look at the colleges you are considering from a more personal and knowledgeable perspective. Having taken into consideration all the school has to offer, including financial aid, the sense of comfort and belonging you experience on a campus becomes a reasonable tipping point because the more contented you are in a school, the more likely you will get involved and become an active participant both inside and outside of the classroom. That school may be the one with the well-known name or the fabulous football team, but it might also be the one that’s not as well known. In the end, the advantages of attending a school where you will thrive will last a lot longer than the decal in the window of your car. The truly important thing is to choose the school where you believe you will be able to be the most academically, socially, and personally successful.
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