Hamline University Top Questions

Start early, visit every school that you are considering, and be realistic about your financial situation and what you're willing to spend. Apply to back-up schools too.

I advise parents and students to visit prospective colleges, sit in on a lecture, and eat lunch somewhere around campus. I would encourage the students to think about whether or not they could picture themselves thriving in that environment. I believe making the most out of the college experience comes from finding out who you are. Learning as much as possible in class and getting involved within the community outside of class are great ways to get to know yourself better. Once you know who you are, it's easy to know what you want. From that point, college can take you wherever you want to go.

My advice would be to definitely take tours of each school the student is interested in. It's really important to get a feel for the campus environment of each potential school. Talking with current students, professors, and admissions counselors would also be beneficial to get prospectives at multiple levels of the school. The most important thing in the school a student picks is if they are comfortable there. Being comfortable and secure not only in yourself but also in your academic surroundings is very important, you will be more likely to succeed on a campus that you enjoy being a part of.

Take your time to get to know a campus before you commit to going there. You should feel comfortable on a campus; it will be your home for the next 4 years. Feel able to talk to students or attend a couple classes. It will give you an idea of how the professors handle a classroom.

The most important advice I can offer is to sit down (both parents and students) and make a list of what are the most important qualities in a potential college or univeristy. Be open and honest with this list. After all, it is what will help you decide the next few years of your life. Be sure to organize your list by order of importance. Sit down with your parent/student and compare lists. Have an open discussion about what you are both looking for. The it is time to take your lists and visit the campus of potential schools. Don't be afraid to ask questions and make sure you get enough information about those aspects which are on your list of important things. Take every opportunity available to talk to administrators, faculty, professors, and students while visiting the campus. The campus visit is your chance to "interview" the college/univeristy to see if they are the best fit for you. Don't be afraid to make it count!

When looking for the right college be sure to consider the whole living experiance. Don't just look at the academic record be sure the school is a comfortable place to spend your time. I feel that it is very important to visit the campus before deciding to attend there, this allows each student to get a feel for how the campus works, how the students act and what it feels like to be on the campus. Once the best school has been chosen make the most of your time there, become involved in club and organizations. Get outside the campus and explore the surrounding area. These may sound obvous but they make your time in college more educational and more fun.

When you are looking for a college look for one that best fits you. one that has your major or if you don't know a major pick one like Hamline that lets students take different classes and explore their options. Also look for one that fits your personality. whether it's a big school or a small one. For students out there they do n't have to follow what their parents did make your own decisions and make your own journey. once you pick a college and you start justtry and meet many new people and do all the stuff you can to experience all sorts of stuff. Do these things and you'll have a blast!!

I think that a very important part of selecting a college is making sure you visit the campus first. Everything about a college will impact your time there, but it really is the enviornment and mood of the place that will play the biggest part in how happy you are there. Don't just go to a place because you have a friend that is going there; you are bound to meet many people in college and oftentimes you will become closer to them than to those you hung out with in high school. Also, pay attention to the class sizes. Those make a huge difference when it comes to the way the courses are run. If you don't respond well to lectures, aim for small campuses. If you hate in-class group discussions or projects, apply to larger schools. Most importantly? Never go somewhere for somebody else. Go where you will be happy and successful. It's the only way you'll get the most out of your time there.

My parents and mine biggest regret about my college experience is not starting the process of searching sooner and being so ignorant about it. So, when looking for the right college I would specifically advise looking at what programs you would be interested in and whether your school of choice offers it. When looking at schools I didn't even know what that meant. For example: I originally intended to go into theatre with an emphasis on perfromance and the school I attend now doesn't have a good program for that. Acquaint yourself with your potential schools' class catalogs. Once you get to college: sleep! Balance your blossoming social life with career related experiences, academics, study, and sleep! Finally, getting into college isn't the end of the adventure- keep up your GPA and find out what the GRE is! You may go to school to study music history or forensic anthropology, but in the end you are really going to learn about who you are becoming and what kind world you want to be a part of.

Make sure to focus on what you specifically are looking for in a college or university. Because all that matters is that you find what you are looking for. Enter college with an open mind but stay focused and motivated to succeed. Remember that college happens once in your life, and to make the most out of it and have fun!

Dont concider price. If you do concider price you will regret it. Go with your instinct, if you love a place stop looking and be content with it.

I think you need to think about what would be the best learning environment, and where you would be happy. You need a place where you will feel comfortable, because this is where you will be spending 4 years of your life. It is also important to look at how the college is rated and how it would affect your chances of getting the job that you are thinking of going into.

Find someone you know who went to the school and ask them what it is really like. Not just the classes, but the social life also. If I would have known that 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus would have been empty everyweekend, I may not have gone to Hamline. Make sure your political opinions are welcome there, but don't try to be too much into the majority or else you will just learn rhetoric. If going into science programs, ask what research options there are for undergraduates, and if going into business or something similar, find out where current students are interning. The more possibilities for sucess after graduation, the better.

Start early! I know it can seem like a bother to be thinking about college while you're still a year or so away from having to apply, but the more time you have to learn about the college system and all the options that are available to you the easier the big decision will be and the more likely you will be happy where you end up.

Life paths change. This was the first thing I realized as I stepped onto the 9-block square campus of Hamline University. It was as far from the Air Force Academy (my school of choice since age ten) as could be. The USAFA is stringent and dedicated to a common, directed cause. Hamline is liberal and made up of a swath of paths that you yourself must chose to navigate, to find your way to where you want to be. I was only then discovering that where I wanted to be might be far, far from the idea I had of myself and my career. You may have an idea of where you want to go, and what you want to be. This is great! Don't lose sight of that. But don't let it overwhelm you either. Sometimes, something new-- even something better-- comes along. If that is great too; if it looks right and feels right. Go with it. I went with it. I went with red brick instead of blue metal. Gorgeous trees and forgiving professors instead of high mountains and angry drill sergeants. The change changed me. It was the best choice I ever made.

Start looking for financial aid earlier than you plan on. If you plan to look for financial aid in a month don't do it. Start now. Scholarships are so frustrating when you are the plain Jane, don't expect to get one but don't give up even though that doesn't sound right. Don't let tuition costs stop you from going to the right college. If it's the right learning environment then the education that you will get should be solid enough for you to be able to pay your student loans and then gain a substantial amount of profit there after.

Visit each college you're thinking about going to. While the asthetics of a campus shouldn't be as important as other factors, it is important to feel at home at your school. Also, apply for as many scholarships as you can! In addition, I would strongly reccomend living on campus at least your first two years, unless cost is a huge issue. My experience would have been much different and less fulfilling had I not lived on campus I believe. Also, don't take things too seriously. Not that college isn't challenging and you shouldn't take it seriously, just don't take it TOO seriously. Have fun, meet people, party (in moderation) and use the experience of college to find out more about the world, but also to find out about yourself. Finally, take a second every now and then to stop and smell the roses, as they say. College is a blast, but it's important to stay down to earth and realize that these next few years will fly by and before you know it, you'll have to deal with the "real world". (College is waaay better than the real world!)

Always look at every college and what they have to offer. Make sure to do the campus visits and sit in on some of the classes to get a feel for the environment. Always make sure you have financial options available if you decide to go to an expensive college because it takes a lot of work to get the right loans and grants if you can't afford it all. Make sure the college you are trying to attend offers your degree options and make sure that you see which classes you are expected to take so you can better prepare yourself for the work that will be expected from those classes. Just make sure that the school and what it can offer you match your needs because it is a waste if you decide that you don't like it where you chose to go.

The search for the right college is really nothing to sweat over, especially if you haven't yet picked a major. Prioritize the most important qualities (closeness to family, money, public v. private). If your school does dissapoint you, you can always transfer. Before a student leaves, they should make a list with their parents of what they would like to accomplish in their first year--this way, parents know and can help their student stay on that track, and the student doesn't go into college nervous or confused. A smart student should create a budget for at least the first semester, along with a list of things they need or might want. Even if you get a part-time job, spending can get quickly out of hand if you don't have an efficient system for keeping track of your money. And we all know, money is a much-needed resource for poor college students! Ask questions of everyone you know. If there are only certain people you can ask certain questions of, don't be shy about approaching them. Lastly, seek out leadership opportunities. Employers love students who can prove that they know how to take initiative.