It is time to choose a college? The university is your path to your future profession. You can hear the opinion that today it doesn’t matter whether you have a higher education or not. But this is far from the case.
How to choose a university and get a good higher education?
To enroll in the college of your dreams, you must carefully select the place of study. Here are some practical tips to approach building your educational pathway wisely.
1. Choose a profession first
This advice can is one of the golden rules of career counseling: if you hit the road, then you need to know where you are going and see the target. Choose a suitable profession, and then begin to make a list of universities that will give the best knowledge and conditions for obtaining the desired profession. If you come to the solution of the issue from the other side – “I will first get an education, and then decide where to work” – then you risk being among those unemployed university graduates who do not know what to do with the diploma.
2. Make your own college rankings
On the Internet, you can find college rankings. Of course, these ratings combine many important indicators for the formation, and, having graduated from Yale University you will receive additional benefits with respect to graduates of lower-rated universities. But your personal pyramid of universities does not have to coincide with the official ratings.
When building your own college rankings, select the indicators that are important to you personally.
- Level of education. How many hours a day will you study? how hard is it to master the program? what will be your knowledge base and skills for final exams? If you choose a more complex program, then, most likely, your choice will bear fruit in the future. It will be hard for you to learn, but easy in battle. But it is important not only to enter college but also to study well.
- State or commercial university? Now there are budget places in state and private universities. When choosing a university, it is important that it has state accreditation. Only thus will you be able to receive an official state diploma. Ensure that the colleges selected by you are not blacklisted as non-accredited or ineffective.
- The difficulty of enrollment and passing exams. When choosing a college, you will be forced to take into account the results of the state exam. Even if you have a higher score, be prepared for any result. Include in your pyramid colleges with the most favorable examinations.
- Is it possible to study on a budget basis? If parents are ready to act as your investors, then it may not be so important to enter a budget place. On the other hand, learning on a budget increases self-esteem and develops students’ autonomy, and these qualities are very important for achieving professional success. We would recommend focusing on budget places or keep in mind the possibility of transition to a budgetary basis with excellent training. Self-reliance is an immensely valuable life skill.
- Availability of contracts with foreign colleges. Double degree programs expand the possibilities of training and further employment. Many colleges offer partnerships with European and Asian universities. More detailed information about this can be found on the website of the college.
- Educational activities. A good library, a strong faculty, guest lecturers, language laboratories, an administration that quickly responds to students’ requests, internships, expeditions, and other signs that college management cares about the effectiveness of the educational process. You can get this information on the official website and from student reviews.
- Student life and extracurricular activities. It’s often important that it is the college offers not only education but also a cheerful atmosphere. Study the pages in social networks and chat with students of selected colleges. But do not trust 100% of the information from official sources – they can talk about fantastically interesting student activities but in reality, this can only be a lure to a paid department.
- Student residence and canteens. If you plan to study in another city, do not forget to find out whether student residence is comfortable because it will become your second home in the coming years.
3. Study all available information about the college
Search, analyze and organize. Gather a variety of information about the universities that you are considering.
Where can you get information?
- on the official website;
- in groups of the college in social network;
- at the educational exhibition;
- at the Doors Open Days;
- on review websites, where current and former students publish their opinions about the institution.
Do not completely trust any source, they are all subjective: the official website, the Doors Open Days and the educational exhibition will show you the “glossy” side of education at the college. Reviews on sites, on the contrary, will bring a lot of negative. But with the help of this difference of voices, you can build an objective picture and understand how training and life are organized in a particular higher educational institution.
We wish to find the college of your dreams and enroll! We hope your pathway to your profession will be smooth and direct!