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| Choosing College |
 4. Distance from Home
Closely tied to location is the issue of how far from home you want to be. For some students, going to college is a chance to explore a totally different part of the country. Others want to make sure they can have dinner with their family once a week, or go home to do their laundry. When you determine how far you want to be from home, think about how likely you are to get homesick, and how much money you can afford to spend in travel. The farther you are from home, the less often you'll be able to visit. However, with email and cell phones, you can still feel close to home even if you're in California and your sister is in New Jersey.
5. Cost/Scholarships & Financial Aid
College cost is one thing that most parents think about when the topic of college comes up, but did you know that not all colleges cost the same amount? Do you know about different types of financial aid at different schools? Are you aware that your grades - or musical talent or athletic ability - are good enough you could earn a scholarship?
Often public universities offer much lower tuition rates to in-state students, but their fees to out-of-state residents are usually pretty similar to private schools. As for private institutions, they charge everyone the same high tuition, but they often have privately-funded scholarship monies available, so it's worth applying to them even if the price tag seems too high.
6. Student Population
College students are not the same. There are schools, particularly large schools and those in big cities, which tend to have students from a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. As for small schools and those in very rural locations, they tend to have a fairly homogeneous student body. Other things to take into account in student population is whether most students live at the school or commute, how old the average student is, and how many students are in the Greek system, if there is one.
7. Majors and Requirements
If you are aware of what field you want to go into after college, it's important to make sure you go to college somewhere that will prepare you for your chosen profession. There are schools, which are particularly well-known for a specific major, like pre-med or architecture. Visiting one of these schools will put you in a great position to get a job in that area when you graduate. However, if like many entering freshman, you're not so sure what you want to do, you should choose a school that will give you plenty of options.
There are schools, which require students to take classes in a wide range of areas during their first year or two. Such schools are great for students who either want a well-rounded education or are trying to figure out what area to focus on. But other schools let students just dive in to their chosen majors without a lot of other requirements. Such schools are great for focused students who know what they want to do and don't want to spend their time in classes that won't help them in their major.
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