University of Mary Washington Top Questions

Visit lots of schools and stay with students to get the real scoop

Make sure to visit the colleges that you are considering. Ask lots of questions and don't just talk to your tour guide, talk to students around campus, it will give you a much better impression of what the students really think of their school. If you have the chance try an overnight stay, you'll get a good look at what everday life is like at the school/s you're interested in. Try and keep an open mind while doing your college searching, you may find that your needs and preferences change as you visit different schools. Once you choose your school and start your first semester try to get out of the dorm and involved in different activities so that you can make friends in different places. Try to fit some studying in if you're a party animal because at some point all that work you didn't do will catch up with you. But don't worry too much, that class you're sure you're going to fail will probably not be as bad as you think it is. And remember to always keep a positive attitude, it can make or break a situation.

Go visit all of the colleges in person. Trust your gut. You'll know once you set foot on a campus whether or not it's right for you.

Stick with your instincts. If you feel like one school just isn't right, don't commit to four years there. Also, make sure that they offer a wide range of majors that interest you instead of just one. That way, if you want to change directions you can do so without changing schools.

Research, visit and know your goals.

Spend a lot of time thinking about it in the last two years of high school and choose an environment that you will very happy at instead of a school where you think you might be happy at.

Do you like large crouds and partying, or do you like small crounds and intimate conversations. That makes the biggest difference in choosing your school. I started out at a school with 40,000 undergrad, and quickly realized I needed a place where my teachers were reachable, and actively involved in my learning.

You have to find a place that makes you feel comfortable. For me it was a small school and being in an old town. Dont go where your high school friends go. College is for making new friends and going new places.

You must talk to students on campus. Not the tour group leaders, human resources, etc. Do not beleive them Especially at Mary Wash. You must look and eat on campus off tour days, you need to talk to students in your department, etc.

Follow your passion. To lead an ultimately happy life, you must put yourself into the field of study which you love. When searching for universities and colleges, be sure to eliminate those which don't include an undergrad major in your area of interest. While taking in information from all the different schools to which you wish to apply, stay organized. Parents can be a great asset in this, helping prospective students with filing and recyling all those brochures you receive in the mail! Once you have selected the schools that interest you, it is of utmost importance to conduct a campus visit. This is often the make-or-break point in deciding which college to attend. If you don't feel at home on the campus, then you will not be happy spending four years of your life on it. Once at your school, a new world will be opened up to you in the form of parties and other such temptations. While having fun with friends is a great way to let off steam, don't forget the ultimate purpose of attending a school of higher learning: to learn the tools you will need to follow your passion.

[I just like filling out surveys, I don't wish to apply for the scholarship]

let ur kids decide

Apply to many colleges so your options are open. Visit each college and do the research behind the differernt programs and as to what makes each college unique. Know what you are looking for in a college. Become involved in your campus community by participating in community service and extracurriculers. Make responsbile decisions in how you spend your time. Balance your time well between academics, community involvement, and free time. Have a positive attitute.

Make sure you visit the campus of the college you are interested in applying to! Try to envision yourself in the places you go, and see if it would be a good fit. To make the most out of the college experience, make sure you get the most out of your education by getting to know your professors, but also by getting involved in the school community through clubs or sports teams. Don't be afraid to try new things!

Find a school that offers many different majors/minors. Chances are high that you will change your mind. Be sure to visit. Take a stroll around without your parents and the tour group and talk to students about their interests, dislikes, the school atmosphere, etc. Sometimes students are guarded with their answers around parents and tour groups.

have fun

Don't panic - there's always a place for someone.

In searching for your perfect school, it's helpful to contemplate your personality and your goals. For example, I knew that while a small school might not have quite as many ammenities as a big school, the closeness of its community would enable me to more easily overcome my shyness of making friends and the intimidation that I felt about living in a brand new environment. Furthermore, I realized that being able to have close relations with my professors was important to me since I wanted to be involved in research on campus and I knew that they would be able to guide me in my university career and help me set larger goals for myself. And while I do think that such careful contemplation about one's choice of school is something that should be taken seriously, I believe that it is also important to recognize that even if you don't end up falling in love with your selected school within the first semester, it is not the end of the world. Utimately, you can be happy anywhere you go if you allow yourself to be.

Visit colleges and spend the weekend there. or go and visit friends who go there. make sure that there are enough things to do at the school.

Don't take this decision lightly; having to transfer truly destroys part of your college experience but "sticking it out" in a bad situation only worsens that situation. Be very careful choosing a school.

visit the campuses, talk to students, sit in on classes, and eat the food!

College is amazing. You will probably have more free time than you're used to - use it wisely. Explore the University and the town or city you are living in for these few short years. Find the best hole in the wall restaurant, corner bookstore, or coffee shop the locals frequent, and hang out there. Talk to your professors and the kid sitting next to you in class; meet as many people as you can and remember their names. You two will likely cross paths again (and always give a friendly smile when you do). This is a prime opportunity to reinvent yourself, to change in ways that your hometown wouldn't let you (or in ways that you were afraid to before). After college, you will have a whole new world of roots (careers, family) that will make it harder for you to go where you will. So travel now, explore the world while you are young and new. Your frontier can be your college town or a foreign country, but wherever you go, you will only get out of it what you put in, so dive head first. Cannonball into the deep end and see what happens.

I would advise parents to let their children make their own decisions when it comes to their school, especially if there is no difference in tuition. Students usually have a good idea of the right environment for themselves, and people perform better at schools that suit their personality.

Don't go immediately for what people tell you to. The right college is all about where you feel the most comfortable and have the best opportunity to expand your horizons.

pick the one that feels right when you visit

Visit the school more than once. Talk to students who are currently enrolled and ask them questions. Sometimes you make think you want a big school, but then feel more secure at a smaller college or university. On making the most of their college experience, I would say never close your dorm room door. Make friends, and don't just attend parties, but also lectures, club meetings, and on-campus events (fairs, sporting events). Everyone there is there for the same reason. College is a place to discover who you truly are. Don't let oppurtunities pass you by - try everything once! Also, attend class - you're paying for them.

The most important thing to know while applying is that there is no perfect school. There is a lot of valuable information available and it's smart to take advantage of any resource that you can to find the best fit, but the truth is: it is the responsibility of the individual to make the most of the college experience. What's more, I believe it is possible to succeed in that venture at a whole range of schools. My college did not serve every need that I had to perfection. Socio-politically I found myself at odds with a number of my classmates and I found the administration difficult to work with. But more importantly, I found a great group of friends with whom I felt completely at home - and I had the most incredible professors who opened whole new worlds for me. But I believe that I could have been just as happy at a number of schools. The key is shouldering the task of seeking out what interests you and what drives you to do well, and being open-minded to new experiences and people. There is more to every school than meets the eye.

Spend the night for a weekend, alone with no parents. Ask the current students what they like and don't like about the school. Go to the school and eat. Always consider size, space, and cost of the school.

For a student, name brand schools are not all the important. What is important is finding a school where you can exceed academically, but as well give you a good step to finding your career path. Choose a school not just for what it has, but you can get out of it. When in college, take advantage of extracurricular activities that may interest you, try something new because college is a time where you should be adventurous and exploring new opportunities. If the college you choose has research opportunities take advantage of them because they definitely give you a different perspective on an interest you may have. Internships are great opportunities as well that I think every student should complete because they give real world experience before you actually graduate and can help any student in deciding their career path before graduation.

Your college experience changes your life forever. I was a completely different person from my Senior year of high school until now, and that is because of the challenges and experiences college has given me. Through studying all night for tests, working hard to win an Intermural Flag Football game, or attempting to win against our big rival in the college softball game, I became who I inteneded to be all along. I am a more developed adult and a more conscious worker. I know what it takes to get the grades now, I know what I need to do to succeed, and I know what college is all about. College helps you become the adult you need to be in your life after school. In choosing the right school, look at the surroundings, look at what your interests are and what they offer at the school as close to those. Look at the departments and the teacher's credibility. Most of all, when you visit, see if you could see yourself walking down campus walk just like those students. Comfortableness is the main key, as well as visibitlity.

First, start by making a list about all of the things that you enjoy about going your school now. Then make a list of all of the things which you consider important to have in order to enjoy your college experience . The select a number of prespective schools with these traits and go vist their campus to get a feel for what it is like. If you have any freinds or aquantences who go there ask them what they like and dislike about the school. If you pick the school that seems the closts fit to your wnats and needs then you will ave an increadbly enjoyable college experince no matter where you go.

Go to the college and listen to your heart.

It's very important to visit the schools in which you are interested. Nothing is more honest in determining the size, friendliness, and pride of a school. A visit will show you whether or not you need to plan your classes around how fast you can walk. Touring the academic buildings allow you to see where the school invests it money most: in the theater department or science department. Make sure to like the environment and feel comfortable. Generally, it doesn't matter where you earn your undergraduate degree. If you have no idea what you want your major to be, make sure to visit schools with a wide variety of majors. If you finally decide your major while at one college, you can always transfer to another school with a better program. To limit yourself by what's available at your current school denies you get the best out of college.

Check out the school first. Talk to current students about what it's really like. I really regret choosing UMW.

When looking for the right college, definitely have an idea in mind of what you would want to study and find the college that has the best to offer in that field. When I decided to go to this relatively small liberal arts university, I thought going to a small school would be the bes choice, and in reflecting I don't think a larger school would have been a bad decision either, communities of interest form easily thus making it less daunting. In order to make the most of your experience get involved in what you find interesting, it is much easier to do at the beginning, and then weed it down to what you find will continue to be important to you in the future. Never be afraid to take chances, as they help to make you who you will become, and this is a huge time where the importance of taking a chance will give direction to your future. Be open-minded, and if the going gets tough, don't transfer unless you are in a bad place for your major. I knew a lot of freshmen transfers who transferred back soon after, its a transitional difficulty.

There are so many things about college that are difficult to predict or even fathom before getting there. In today's heavily competitive college application process, it's easy to lose sight of one of the most important things in choosing a school: it needs to be right. So many will do anything to get into their "reach" school, will over-commit in extracurriculars, will live and die by who and what institution accepts them. Always keep in mind the end result. Barely making it into a competitive school means you may feel overwhelmed your entire time in college. When looking at a school, most people take a tour and walk around. While this is important, there are places people don't think to look at that will matter much more to you, should you attend that institution. Check out the campus career center. After all, college is your gateway to employment. On a similar note, try to find statistics on attendace of students at graduate schools and programs. Dig deep to find out about campus clubs. Some of the most active and biggest campus clubs are often neither recognized nor advertised by the school. Most importantly, talk to professors!

When choosing a school, the size of the school is the most important aspect that shapes all college experiences. I am so glad to have chosen a smaller school with great relationships between professors and students. When students feel appreciated and their hard work is noticed, they are more motivated to work even harder, verses being just a number. It is crucial to know the school size and the students preference, as it is the factor that can make a student like or dislike a school and their entire college experience. Another important point is to know about the college town; as grocery stores, boutiques and malls make the college experience much more enjoyable. Also, the town surrounding the college hints as to what the college experience may be like at that school. It is crucial that the students visit the campus before making a final choice. The online pictures and brochures can make the school look like a dream come true, but actually getting a physical feel for the college's environment will allow for the student to make the important decision.

Unless you know what you want to major in, just pick a college. If it turns out that they don't offer what you want to major in, you can transfer.

Make sure that it has a variety of classes to be able to have a diverse education. Also, always keep in mind how the student learns best, whether in bigger class settings or in smaller ones where there is more of a relationship between the teacher and the student. Be honest with yourself in regards to how much studying you want to do vs. how much of a social life you would want. Also, always think about what type of environment one wants and sees oneself happier in (in/near a city to be able to go out and have more culture, or a more rural area where people mainly stay on campus).

I would suggest that students spend a lot of time finding out about extra cirricular activites that a certian campus provides.

You should go to the school and see if they allow you to observe a class in progress. Don't rely on what the tour guide says, or how the buildings look from the outside. Tourguides are paid to say that the school is a wonderful place for every single type of person known to man. You should research the schools you are very interested. Talk with real students, on campus, don't just read the messages the school releases saying "these are thoughts from real students!" They have had editors select the essays that make the college look the best. Above everything, go with your gut feeling about a school. It will usually lead you in the best direction.

I would advise students to narrow down their college choices alone or with the help of a guidance counselor before discussing sticker-shock with their parents. If the student is pretty much set on what he or she wants to do, choose a school with a well-developed program for that career (i.e. pre-med or pre-law). Consider the size of the school, the teacher-student ratio, the type of campus (urban, suburban, or rural?), financial aid opportunities, scholarships, campus diversity, research opportunities, the social scene, and location (think weather and distance from home!) when researching schools. Once you've narrowed down your search to 8-10 schools, VISIT THEM! This is SO important! You learn more in a day or overnight visit than you can from all the college search books and college websites combined. Once you've chosen your final schools, be sure to tailor your applications to each school. Pick up a college newspaper during your visit, and understand the ongoings of that campus. If you search for what you want, and choose a school that is good for YOU, you will have no trouble with that first semester away from home!

Visit the school, talk to current students.

Parents, want to know what you can do for your baby who is preparing to enter the big, bad world of college? The answer is to sit back and leave the anxiety up to us. After all, the college experience is about us, not you, and that includes the long and wonderful college-finding process. The most important thing you can do when we say that we want to attend a school far away from home and in the middle of a crazy city is smile and say, "That is wonderful, dear. We support you 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}." We may not be the brightest at the naive age of eighteen, but we will learn soon enough that being 500 miles from home does not work when ill with the flu. We do know ourselves and what we want, at least, we will soon enough. As for the college experience, call us every few hours of our first days until we get annoyed and claim that we never want to hear from you again. Then wait until we realize how much we really miss you; we will come crawling back to you...asking for edible food and more underwear.

The biggest mistake that I made in my college search was not looking at or applying to enough schools. I only toured five schools and only ended up alpplying to two schools, my first choice and an alternate. I ended up being waitlisted by my first choice and had to settle for my safety school. While I have found a place for myself at this school and love my major and department, I had a really rough freshman year as I dealt with being at a school I didn't really want to attend. I would also say not to limit your college search to just public or in state schools. Private schools or out of state public schools, while usually more expensive often give competitive scholarships based on merit. There is also something to be said for moving far away from home and living in an exciting new place. Getting involved in clubs and other student run organizations is really important in order to make the most of the college experience. These organizations help create a sense of community and an attachment to place that can be lacking if you never get involved.

When you take your tours of campus, take a minute, stop and look around. Decide if you think you could be there everyday, for 4 years. Don't be distracted by all the bells and whistles that the school brags about, most of the time it's not something that you'll really use or be involved with anyway. When choosing to attend my college, I felt completely comfortable taking the tour and being on campus. Although I had my gripes for some things, overall, I enjoyed what I saw. Don't be stubborn either, no place is going to be 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} perfect, so weigh out your options, and choose accordingly.

Visit the school! Even if you don't think size matters, it definately can. And environmental factors such as setting and the people are so important, it can't be stressed enough. Just check it out!

I feel that students should have the most say in the decison on which college is right for them. College is not only a time to grow academically, but also to mature as an adult. Choosing the proper atmosphere and place where you can feel comfortable helps aid in that process significantly. On the other hand, students should also find somewhere they feel like they can also have fun and savor the chance to meet new people and try new things. Students should definitely consider if the location is suitable to the activities they would like to pursue, should check out a few majors that interest them before agreeing to attend the college, and also see if they would feel comfortable being a student in the class sizes that their prospective colleges offer. Most importantly, students should strive to choose the college that they feel can be their "home away from home," and have a sense of pride in telling others that that is the school they attend!

Choosing the right school is a very personal thing. Don?t just rely on what your friends or family think what you should do. Don?t just pick a school because it?s prestigious. There are some really great schools out there (like the University of Mary Washington) that are just as good (and you?ll be just as happy at) if you just give them a chance.

Tour all of your prospective colleges when there are students on campus. If possible stay overnight with a friend or a campus-buddy student to really get a feeling for the school. Don't make your choice upon the school's stats or which has the craziest parties- choose which one feels right to you and you feel comfortable. Thats whats most important.