Do you find yourself having a hard time choosing which university or college to go to? That could be a real problem especially if you have a lot of options to choose from.
If you have decided to pursue a college degree way back before graduating from high school, you may have already made a list of possible colleges you wish to attend. So, go back to that list, and know your real priorities. Know what’s important to you – your course, the location, campus size, student organization, etc. Focus on the things you really want.
To get you started, we have come up with a list of the most important characteristics you need to find in a university/college.
Appealing Curriculum
If you still need to do a lot of thinking about the course you really want to enrol, take a look at each course curriculum to get a good idea. Check the general subjects offered with the course. Ask yourself if they make sense to be in that course.
Does the course cover all the relevant topics you need? For example, if you want to be an accountant, the course should have more subjects relevant to it, and not talk a lot about marketing.
Student to Faculty Ratio
A student is able to acquire better learning when studying in a small group, so knowing how many students are accepted in each class is important. The smaller the group, the better.
The National Center for Educational Statistics indicated that an ideal student to faculty ratio in college is 18.
A small class also familiarizes a student with his or her classmates making the student comfortable and able to ask any questions he/she has in mind regarding a subject matter. It will encourage students to participate and make the excellent ones standout in class.
A small class is also less stressful to a professor, and makes him or her get to know the students better.
It is important to learn about the students so the professor will know how to handle each one because each student would have different levels of learning ability.
Internship Opportunities
If you’re planning to enroll in an engineering, medical, or communication courses, these courses generally require going through a practicum at a reputable institution.
Ask the admission department for information on this so you’ll know the extent of their internship program.
Internship will give you a hands-on experience to apply what you learned in class. Theoretical learning is not sufficient. Practical learning is a must to give students an idea about how the work is done in the real world.
The hands-on knowledge you get will help you showcase your education and experience to prospective employers when you start searching for a job after graduation.
Admit it or not, most employers prefer those who already have an idea about the job because it lessens the time a recruit will spend familiarizing himself/herself with the work, and make him/her productive at the soonest possible time.
Safety in the Campus
Recent news reports about shootings in school campuses should make you think about the safety of the college grounds. Check on this thoroughly.
The college security should ensure that only students and college staff could get inside, no outsiders who have no official business in the campus.
The college administration should also be very keen from banning students who are involved in grave misconduct to ensure the safety of its student population.