The 8 Steps to College INFOGRAPHIC

Finding Your Best COLLEGE FIT

 

Links of Interest:

• Finding Your College Fit
• Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Your College
• Sizing It Up - The Big vs. Small College Experience
• Urban or Rural College - What's best for me?
• Is a CARRER College Right for ME?
• Want more?  Visit the BIG FUTURE website for more links and resources.

Checklist for your COLLEGE CAMPUS VISIT

How to Make the Most of Your Trip

Visiting a college campus helps you get a sense of what a college — and life at that college — is like. This can help you decide whether the college is right for you.

 

When planning your campus visits, make sure to allow time to explore each college. While you’re there, talk to as many people as possible. These can include college admission staff, professors and students. Below are some other things you can do while visiting. Note that some activities, such as meeting with an admission officer or staying overnight in a dorm, might need to be set up in advance.

Gather Information

Find out what you need to do to apply and see if the college’s class and major offerings are what you want:

• Take part in a group information session at the admission office.
• Interview with an admission officer.
• Pick up financial aid forms.
• Sit in on a class that interests you. If classes aren’t in session, just see what the classrooms are like.
• Meet a professor who teaches a subject that interests you.
• Talk to students about what they think of their classes and professors.
• Get the names of the people you meet and their business cards so you can contact them later if you have questions.

Explore the Campus

Get a feel for student life and see if this college is a place where you will do well:

• Take a campus tour.
• Talk to current students about life on campus and the college.
• Check out the freshmen dorms and stay overnight with a student, if possible.
• Visit the dining hall, fitness center, library, career center, bookstore and other campus facilities.
• Talk to the coaches of sports that you may want to play.
• Walk or drive around the community surrounding the campus.

Check Out Campus Media

Tune in to learn what’s happening on campus and what’s on students’ minds:

• Listen to the college radio station.
• Read the student newspaper.
• Read other student publications, such as department newsletters, alternative newspapers and literary reviews.
• Scan bulletin boards to see what daily student life is like.
• Go to the career center and learn what services it offers.
• Browse the school’s website and any campus blogs.

Questions to Ask During Your Visit

Here are some questions you may want to ask your tour guide or students you meet on campus:

• What are the best reasons to go to this college?
• What’s it like to go from high school to college?
• What do you do in your free time? On the weekends?
• What do you love about this college?
• What do you wish you could change about this college?
• Why did you choose this college?
• What is it like to live here?

Adapted from Campus Visits and College Interviews by Zola Dincin Schneider.

Planning Your College Visit

Visiting a college campus is one of the most exciting steps in choosing a college. If possible, it’s best to visit colleges before your applications are due. That way, you can be confident you'd be happy at any of the colleges you’re applying to. It’s also best to go is when the college is in session. That way, you’ll get to see it when classes are meeting and day-to-day activities are taking place. Plan your visit in advance and make sure classes will be in session.

Visit the BIG FUTURE website for more information on planning your college visit.

Below are some guidelines on when to visit.

Plan your visit well ahead of time, so you can make sure that you see what you need to see and meet with the people who can tell you what you need to know.

Mondays through Thursdays are ideal for visits since campuses are generally in full swing. Visiting on a Friday may not be as practical, as students, faculty and staff might be busy with social activities starting Friday afternoon. High school holidays that fall on Mondays are often great opportunities for making college visits. Many colleges are in session on these days — and you won’t be missing any of your high school classes.

The late summer and early September before senior year are convenient times to visit, since many colleges begin their fall semester as early as mid-August. The spring of junior year is a good time if you’ve already researched colleges.

Spring break is also good if you play fall sports or are considering applying under early action or early decision plans, which usually have application deadlines in November of senior year. It may be more useful for seniors to wait until the fall through winter to make their visits.

That timing can help seniors narrow college lists.

Many colleges invite their accepted candidates to spend a few days on campus before the May 1 reply date to encourage them to enroll. This is a good opportunity to make some in-depth comparisons between the colleges that have accepted you. However, if you're planning to wait to visit colleges until after you've received acceptances, keep in mind that you may have only a few weeks to visit and make your decision.

Most colleges don't mail acceptance letters before April, and the standard reply date is May 1.

Check specific dates with each college so you don't arrive when the campus is deserted. Call the college or look on the college’s website for the academic calendar to find out when breaks, reading periods and exam periods are scheduled.

Colleges are not in session during:

• Thanksgiving weekend
• Christmas week
• Winter and spring breaks
• Summer, unless there is a summer session

College classes don’t meet during:

• Reading period
• Exam weeks
• Saturdays and Sundays

The admission office may be closed to visitors at certain times. For example, admission officers may be too busy to meet with you in May and April — that’s when they’re reviewing applications. Check with the college. Adapted from Campus Visits and College Interviews by Zola Dincin Schneider.

HCC Foundation accepting scholarship applications until June 13

A wide variety of scholarships are available to HCC students through the HCC Foundation. All scholarships require that the student be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at HCC; many require enrollment in 9 or 12 credit hours. Applicants will be considered for every scholarship for which they appear eligible.

The scholarship application for 2014-2015 is available until 2 p.m. on June 13, 2014. No applications will be accepted after the deadline and no exceptions will be made. Scholarships are awarded based upon various criteria.

For details on available scholarships and how to apply, visit  hccsfoundation.org/scholarships. 

Major Choices: Online tool helps your students decide how future careers affect loan repayment

How much should a student borrow to finance a degree? While college graduates typically earn more than high school graduates, not all college graduates earn the same. Students often struggle with finding the right balance between following their hearts into lesser paying careers on the one hand, and building a stable financial future on the other.

 

To help address this issue, TG is pleased to provide Major Choices, an online calculator that students can use to get an estimate of median debt-to-income ratios for particular majors at many public college and proprietary institutions within Texas. This ratio can help students estimate the amount of their first year earnings that will go toward student loan payments.

 

The calculator can be viewed from any type of electronic device, including mobile phones, tablets, and personal computers; provides pop-up help in understanding postsecondary education terminology; and includes links to essential information specific to a student's needs, including:

• Scholarship searches tailored to a chosen major
• Institutional net price calculators
• Money management tips and student loan repayment options

The online calculator allows students the opportunity to compare information for different majors at the same institution, or compare the same major at different schools. With more than 400 majors listed, students can see how their decisions about college may affect their ability to repay student loans based on potential income during the first year after graduation.

 

The calculator was created as a companion tool to Balancing Passion and Practicality: The Role of Debt and Major on Students' Financial Outcomes

It's never too soon for students to think about how they will repay their debts, given their likely salaries. Armed with this knowledge, students can make academic decisions that allow them to pursue their passions without ignoring financial realities.

Students and parents can find the online calculator and other college planning resources at www.AIE.org/MajorChoices

College Greenlight and Cappex Join to Present Scholarship Marathon

The Scholarship Marathon is a free virtual event that runs all day at CollegeGreenlight.com. It starts at 9am, and is a chance for students from all over the country to win raffles, prizes, and money for college just for applying to scholarships!

How it works: Registration will be available very soon. You'll fill out some simple info, and if you don't already have a College Greenlight profile you can complete one with your registration. Then on the 22nd you can join us online anytime from 9 to 9 (am to pm) to upload proof of your completed scholarship applications, enter raffles and giveaways, get one-on-one scholarship help from our team, and even win a $1,000 scholarship from us just for participating!