Hands on advice on choosing the right school.
Planning to go to college? Here’s some advice on picking the right school from the book “How to Survive Getting Into College” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who’ve done it:
“Be realistic. If you are not the most studious person, don’t go to an extremely rigorous school. At the same time, if you have enough potential in your chosen field, opt for a school that will help you to be the best you can be in your field. And absolutely do not base your decision on location!”
—Courtney Heilman, Boston
———
“Be selective during the application process. My parents told me to do as much as I could do to narrow my choices so I could focus attention on fewer schools. They said that when you get in, you’ll know it’s where you want to go. Try to avoid getting into 20 schools. Other people applying to college might get screwed if you apply to a school you don’t even want to go to and you get accepted and take their place.”
—Brian Rosen, New York City, Princeton University
———
“My parents had some stringent ideas on which schools were the best for me. I got them to consider other schools by doing research and selling them on things like low student-teacher ratio, the percentage of high SATs, and the like. If you’re trying to convince your parents to let you go to a school other than the one they prefer, I recommend this tactic: Sell, sell, sell!”
—Nancy Poehlmann, Atlanta, Agnes Scott College
———
“The first thing, other than money, that you should worry about is which school is best in the field that you want to get into. I want to get into early childhood education, and my school is one of the best schools in the area for that. Plus, it is very advanced technologically, with the whole campus now wireless. It’s good to keep those kinds of amenities in mind.”
—Rachel Lynch, Frederick, Md., Coppin State University
———
“I was nervous that i knew too many people at Maryland. It’s my state school and a very popular choice for people from my high school, so I was afraid I wouldn’t meet new people. I was so wrong. I have stayed close with some of my friends from high school who are in college with me, but I’ve met tons of amazing new people in college, through social activities, classes, and even through friends from high school. It has also been nice to see familiar faces when walking around campus.”
—Elana Brownstein, Baltimore, University of Maryland,
College Park
———
Hundreds of Heads Books’ survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life’s biggest challenges and have insight to share.
———
© 2006, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.