Saint Mary’s College of California Top Questions

The advise that I would give parents and students about finding the right college is to make sure you research all of your top choices and make sure you schedule an appointment to tour the campus. By touring the campus the student and the parents will be able to make a choice whether or not the college is right for them. Also, make sure that you check with financial aid and see which school will offer you the most financial help and go for it. Once you start your freshman year at the campus of your choice at first it will be very difficult to adjust to the college life, but sooner than you think you will encounter your friends that will become your best friends and your acomplices. Make sure you make the effort to meeting new people and never judge a person until you really get to know who that person reallly is because sometimes they could be putting on a face that will fool you because they may just as well will be feeling the same fear you might be feeling. enjoy your first year because the next three will be difficult. Good Luck!

Visit as many colleges as you can. You will know when one college "fits!"

Talk to the academic councilor about the best options for you. Academic Councilors are familiar with colleges and they can help pick the best school for you.

be very careful in choosing your school, but once you're there (because it's never going to be perfect) it's time to step up, stay positive, and make the best of it -- because it's going to be the best four years of your life!!

The cliche that everyone considering college hears is "it is one of the most important decisions of your life," and for most up to that point in their life, it is; but there is no need to add any pressure to your decision. Life prior to going to college is safe. One can live in their perverbial box and know what is true and who they are. Once you step out of that bubble though, once you live, and think, and interact with the world and people around you on your own, the shell of who you think you are can crack, and a new person can imerge. Thats what college is about; cracking that shell of safety, and experiencing things for yourself. When choosing a college one should look for a cacoon where they can learn and grow and imerge from as a new person. Dont put pressures and expectations on your choice, find a place that most has the academic and social outlets that you need to be who you are. Make a list of what is neccessary for you to be happy and successfull and choose the college that meets those requirements. Set yourself up for success!

Research!

The most important part of finding the college that will be right for you, and making the most out of the experience from beginning to end, is to visit. If you feel like your campus is a place where you belong and can thrive before you ever become a student, you will be ready to dive in from the first minute of move-in day. Can you see yourself eating lunch in the dining hall, hanging out with those people, sitting in those classes, being part of those clubs, and calling yourself a _________? If you can, if you find yourself thinking 'Yeah, I can spend four years here," then you can and you should. Once in school, do not be afraid to jump. Ask your professors to have a cup of coffee with you and talk about their work, join student clubs, check out the local entertainment scene. The niche you saw yourself in on visit day is the niche it is now time to fill, and only you can make that happen.

What determines which college fits you? How do you know if you will like it months later, after only visiting it for a few hours? The advice I would give to students looking for the right school would be to consider everything they think important. For example your parents, maybe they are older (mine are), so you might want to consider how you would feel if one of them ended up in the hospital and you were a plane ride away. What about friends from home? Can you stand to go months without seeing them? Even think about jobs, in this economy nobody knows if there will be a job waiting for them when they move out. What about the surrounding area around the college? Make sure there are things to do (movies, shopping, boat rides, restaurants etc.), you don't want to be board. Keep in mind all of these questions and try not to think about how all you want to do is get away from your parents. You may think that they drive you crazy now, but just wait until you've moved out and there is nobody to pay for anything any more. Good luck.

Be sure that it's a school that you can afford. Make sure that it's the right size for you; some people like to be anonymous, while others prefer being close to their teachers and classmates. Be very, very sure that you speak to someone who's actually at the school, and have targeted questions about what interests you. Visit the campus before you accept, and have some variety in the schools to which you apply. Above all, take your time.

stay positive, look for an enjoyable education, not a training program for your career. it doesn't matter terribly what degree you have, you'll be able to get your job -- but you don't want to be burned out on your career before it even starts.

First and foremost is to find a school that has the major the student wants. Next, look for a school that is reasonable for tuition price and availability of on campus resources. Always take a tour of the campus and ask questions about the school and what it has to offer. If the student wants to explore and attend a college that is far away from home then let it happen. The child wants to be able to have the sense of freedom to see if he or she can be independent. Do not restrict the child from what he or she wants to do. It is always great to be supportive about a child's decision. Lastly, do not go to college just to party. Parties come and go but grades are the ones that defines a person. Do not waste time in college because you will regret it.

it's hard to say, since everyone is so unique. Really try to know who you are as a person and what type of experiences you're looking for in a college. If you want to party a lot, St. Mary's wouldn't be the best choice. If you're dedicated to social justice and liberal arts, st. mary's would make sense for you. Also make it a point to visit the colleges you're seriously considering BEFORE sending in an application, and asking people who attend that school what their experiences are like.

If I could give any word of advice to parents or students searching for the right college fit, it would be to set high standards and dream big. Don't settle for second best. Visit the colleges you want to apply to and be very critical. Ask lots of questions and make sure that it is the right fit for you (not your friends or your family or the location in relation to home). Once you have found the school that seems right for you, make contact with present students and ask what events are happening on the campus. Try to participate and realy step into the college's community. It will make the separation process (that begins the minute your parents leave after moving you in) a whole lot easier because you will have friends to lean on and a new family to be a part of!

Please find a place that feels like home. The studies become as your routine and therefore you can do great!

Have no doubts and know that things will work out, don't stress out about it. It will be fine.

Seek out information by going to college fairs, asking questions, visiting colleges, anything! Have a positive attitude because what you put into it is definitely what you'll get out of it!

Spend as much time at the colleges you are considering as possible before you make a decision. Spend time with the students there. Visit campus on the weekends. Go to classes. Ask students their opinions of the school and don't just attend Admissions hosted programs! The Admissions Offices and the students working there are trained to tell you about the best aspects of the school. This information is important, true, but just as important, are the worst aspects. Find out what students dislike about campus, classes, the faculty and then decide if these are things you can live with. Find the school with the best AND worst aspects that suit you best!

My advice to parents is, let your children decide what they want. Make sure they are making the right decisions for themselves based on what they believe they need to suceed academically while feeling comfortable and safe in their environment. Do not force them to do what you want them to, but be there to support them and make sure they choose a school that will help them progress rather than a school that is unengaging and has a reputation as a party school. My advice to the students is, be mindful of what you are getting yourself into. While party schools with easier classes are appealing, the whole point of college is to learn more to help you get ahead. Don't waste this opportunity in life to better yourself. After your undergraduate years, you may never have another chance to improve yourself. There are a lot of experiences in college; learn from them and apply those lessons to each following year. Remember moderation, don't be too excessive in staying home and studying or in going out and partying. You need a balance to keep your head. Choose the school that will push you to succeed.

In order to find the right college that is perfect for you, set up tour dates with many varities of campuses, and set up dates with a professor or adviser who works there to know what kind of school you are really getting into. Find the kind of atmosphere and size fits you the best: big, small, city-life, rural, suburban, college down, sororities and fraternities, there are many different aspects. Make sure the school has a great financial aid program and provides the major you wish to proceed. As for making the most of the experience, make a good group friends fast (try not to be a wallflower; its hard to become one anway because there is always someone you can relate to) so you can become better friends with them and develop lifelong relationships, but do not isolate yourself to just that group. Join clubs, play intramural sports and find a job so you can have spending money for the weekends. Study as much as you need to, but do not forget to be social and have a good time because the stress can be overwhelming at times and we all need a break. Have a great time!

Visit the schools and talk to the students. It takes a couple days to really get a feel for a campus; make a list of what you want, prioritize it, and evaluate each campus based on those needs. Be careful not to be sidetracked by smaller, more short term gratifications--remember that you'll be living, studying, and sleeping at the school for nine months a year, so take everything into consideration before choosing!

many high school students feel they need to get as far away as possible from "home" in order to be on their own. in my experience, though, picking a school that was about a 2 hour car ride from home, instead, was perfect. it's far enough that i really am on my own, and my parents don't show up (un)announced all the time and drive me crazy, but it's close enough that (especially during freshman year) if i need my parents, or if i just want to go home for a weekend, it's only a car ride away, instead of having to pay for a plane ticket, hope there's room on the flight i need, find rides to and from the airport, etc. an added benefit of the car-ride-distance vs. that of the plane-ride is the extra ease of moving in and out of dorms/ apartments: just packing up your car, instead of lugging a thousand suitcases and paying all the new extra baggage fees.

Ask other students their experience and also ask students that left, why they left. You can never know how the school really is till you attend it, so try to sit in on some classes.

To parents I would say do not worry about the money, there is always someone out there willing to lend you or your child money to make it through college. That seems to be the biggest concern of parents is money and the children will see that and choose a school that does not have a quality reputation or education and will lead them to regrets about their schooling. Also parents need to be there to support their kids through the college experience because its not easy. To the students choose a college that fits an atomsphere you like. Find a school that is the right size, offers your desired major, and will put you were you want to be after graduation. Those are the things that will make you like or dislike a school and will alter your experience. Get involved is another piece of advice I can give because you'll enjoy college more. Lastly, stick with it, no matter how hard it gets you'll regret giving up. That first year is the most important because its a totally different atomsphere and your going to take awhile to get use to it.

Choosing a college can be one of the most important decisions in a seventeen or eighteen years old life. My advice for students is to look at the schools you have been accepted to and take the time to really think where you will be most happy. Do not worry about where your friends are going, you will make new ones. And remember all the other freshman are in the same position as you, scared and excited. Besides it is always fun to see your high school friends at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break. Also, you can visit them at their college or they can visit you, which is fun because it gives you a chance to experience other colleges. If there is a school deep down inside that you want to go to but your worried your parents will not be happy, it is to expensive, it is to far from home, or you do not know anyone, those excuses are not good enough, do what you want and what will make you the happiest. College will be a much better experience if you make a decision for yourself.

My best advice to any parent and student is to allow the student to go to there dream school. Nothing will ever fulfill the dream of attending a great school that the student can succeed in. If you are happy in the place where you will be learning, you will most likely succeed academically, socially, and spiritually. Especially if you go out of your home state you want to be comfortable where you are. I am speaking from experience. Also make sure you have one person in which you can rely on when times get tough. It doesn't need to be a person from the institution but it can be a family or friend who lives near the community. Don't let any obstacle come in the way of you achieving your best, expecially financial obstacles. You can work to pay off your debt, but there is no work that you can do to change your past or past decisions. Make the best of school! Good luck!

Make sure to visit the colleges you are applying to and be open minded. Ask lots of questions, but know what type of school you are looking for before you appply or visit. The most importatn thing is to participate in an overnight program. You don't really get a feel for the school until you have lived there!