Searching for a College? The Importance of Location
Soon after high school seniors hear Pomp and Circumstance play at their graduation ceremony, they are off to a new land and a new experience called college. But how do you get to that point? You might begin your college search by opening up a map and thinking about exciting destinations. With over 4,000 colleges and universities throughout the 50 states, your choices are endless. You can chose to live in virtually any part of the country. You might prefer a mountain setting or to be near a beach. Some students pick a metropolitan area like New York City whereas others look for a rural, small town setting. But before you decide on where you want to live, make sure your college offers the right academic programs for you. This post will help you think about how to balance your location interests with your academic interests. Here is my top 3 list of how to incorporate location into your college search process. And if you get to the bottom of my post, I’ll tell you how location played into my college search process.
Photo of mountains near Forth Lewis College in Durango by adamscarroll
1. Think about your life. Sit down and make a list of everything that you like to do. What are your extracurricular interests? What do you do with your free time? What do you like to do with your friends? What sort of shops or restaurants are important to you? In visiting colleges, ask tour guides about some of the items that are important to your life and whether the college or surrounding area can support your interests. Examples include: Where is the closest Starbucks? Is there an Indian restaurant? What churches are nearby the campus? At first, these questions might seem unrelated to the college search process, but some of these items might be very important to you and you might not want to be without them for the four years of your college experience.
2. Don’t rule out a school because of location. While this one might seem counter-intuitive to the title of this blog, make sure you give each college on your list ample consideration. By getting too caught up in the geographical location, you just might miss a college that has the perfect academic program or mentor for you. A college’s location should be just one factor in the consideration process. It’s important, but remember that it’s only one variable.
3. Dont just associate location with school’s geography: In college you will meet students from all over the world. A large aspect of the college experience is meeting new people and being exposed to different ideas. Your new friends, study abroad programs, and internship programs literally can take you all over the world. While you will be based on the school’s campus for the majority of your college experience, there are many different opportunities to explore the world. Ask college representatives about the make-up of their student people (i.e., how many students are from out-of-state; how many different states and countries are represented on the campus), what study abroad opportunities are available, and where do students conduct professional internship or research programs. Through these questions, you might find a certain school provides the perfect opportunity for you. At Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado for example, Business Administration students can cruise the Caribbean Sea as part of a Resort Management class that investigates the cruise ship industry. Sounds pretty good, eh? Sign me up!
So, in thinking about where to apply to college, location should be a factor. You want to chose an environment that you like, in which you feel safe, and that you might enjoy returning to as an alumnus. At the same time, you shouldn’t get too caught up in a college’s location. Many other factors such as academic programs, alumni services, financial assistance, career opportunities, and extracurricular activities should come into play. Think big, and consider all of your options. It’s your one chance to try a different environment out. The world is yours for the taking.
**OK, if you were paying attention, I mentioned earlier that I would share how location played a role in my college search process. Alright, here’s the scoop. I grew up in sunny and warm Georgia-never really experiencing snow or cold winters. I made a decision that I wanted to attend a college where I would experience “real” winters. Well, I ended up in South Bend, Indiana, and boy did I experience winter. I can distinctively remember walking to class one cold, snowy February morning when the temperature was -21. What kept me slogging ahead? Thinking about the warm weather back home in Atlanta! Go figure!
