College Planning: Selecting A School

Selecting a college (see some colleges in Dubai) should be a process that takes months if not years to accomplish. After all, a lot of important decisions need to be considered prior to submit the deposit fee that secures a student's place in a particular institution. In fact, during this time, the student may change his mind several times over. Therefore, the more research he has completed, the more likely it is that his final decision will be a good one.

Questions to Ask When Selecting a School

• Does the student prefer to attend a large university or a private one?
• Does it make a difference what the ratio of teachers to students is?
• What are the average class sizes?
• How small is the smallest class?
• How large is the largest class?

These and so many more questions should be answered as the search for the perfect college begins. Narrowing down the choices by limiting the options is perhaps one of the best strategies for limiting the final list of possibilities to a number well below 10. Deciding between a private or public college effectively cuts down the number of campuses that might be selected and so on down the list.

In fact, students who know exactly where they wish to spend particular school and 2 or 3 safety schools. For those students who haven't been able to select their number one choice, applying to several different colleges will offer them the best opportunity of finding a school that fits their needs.

What Are Safety Schools

A safety school is a college or university that the student believes beyond a reasonable doubt that he will be able to gain admission into for the next year. It is a college that his level of SAT scores, GPA, and extracurricular activities qualify him to get into. It is important to understand that good scores alone or even the added enhancement of multiple extracurricular activities is often not enough to guarantee admission.

Therefore, other factors have to be considered as well. Safety schools generally are not highly competitive to get into and offer admission to the majority of their applicants in many cases. This is one reason why they are noted as being a safe school- it is safe to assume that the applicant will receive admission into that particular school based on his academic record and qualifications.

However, even those students with the proper credentials might not gain admittance into certain elite universities including those that are highly competitive. This is why those colleges and universities that are highly competitive should never be considered a safe school for even students who have achieved rank one in their high school.

The world is full of smart people trying to get into school and many factors are taken into consideration. Schools with lower expectations for their applicants are generally a safer bet for admittance for those students looking for a sure thing. Moreover, large universities and colleges generally accept a greater number of students, providing better odds as well.

Visitations

Visitations are important in order to establish the feasibility of a good fit between the individual and the school. This is especially important if the student has not been able to make a clear decision as to the size, location, etc. of the college that he will attend. At least one visit to each type of college should be attempted.

Plus, the student's top three choices on his list of prospective universities should be visited in order to assist him in determining which school is going to be the first choice or best fit. This strategy provides a firm basis that can be used to narrow down the choices as the student discovers what type of campus claims his attention.

In some cases, the prospective college student will not care about the campus itself but will only focus on the academic facets. In other cases, the specific weather conditions, campus cafeteria, and extracurricular activities featured on the campus will make an impact on the individual who is checking out the campus. 

Visiting a college campus is one of the most exciting steps in choosing a college. If possible, it’s best to visit colleges before your applications are due. That way, you can be confident you'd be happy at any of the colleges you’re applying to.

It’s also best to go is when the college is in session. That way, you’ll get to see it when classes are meeting and day-to-day activities are taking place.