Criteria on Choosing the best College

I wanted to share my thoughts on how to choose the Best College for you.  To start with, one first needs to determine what you want to gain from your education and then match that with the school that meets your criteria.  I have been able to narrow down my choice of the best college for me to 5 important criteria.  Everyone has different goals about what they want out of their education, so criteria will vary from person to person.  However, I think if anyone applies the five criteria I used listed below, you will be able to choose the best college for you like I did.  

Criterion #1    Reputation of the College:  Probably my most important criterion.  Best way to determine a college’s reputation is from ratings of colleges that are in many different publications.  Also speaking with past alumni and also reading student ratings of classes and faculty will give you a good idea of a college’s reputation.

Criterion #2    Cost of the College:  Cost of a college’s education is equally important to its reputation.  I always think like a businessman.  If reputation is high and cost is good, then you will get a good return on your investment by getting a great education at a great cost to get that education.  

Criterion #3    Variety of Majors Offered:  You want a college with a good variety of majors offered, but not too many that the college doesn’t have a good focus on what the college excels in best.  Some colleges are strong in agriculture, while other are stronger in business.

Criterion #4    Job Placement Statistics after Graduation:  Finding out the success a particular college has for job placement is very important in ones determination of which colleges is best for you.  Every college has these kinds of statistics, and I feel that if a college educates its students well, then they will have better job placement success.  

Criterion #5    Distance from Home: Probably not the most important criteria, however, if having a family support structure in place is important to you, then you must consider how far away the college is that you are considering going to.  

These are the criteria I chose to pick the college I will be attending in the fall.  Although my criteria is not an exhaustive list, I am sure that in utilizing these top five, you will have the success in choosing a college that I have had in choosing the best one for me.