This December, I'll be graduating from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, with a B.S. in Health Communications with minors in public relations and chemistry. It's been a long road but the reward is in sight. It's such a feeling of accomplishment to know you've succeeded in meeting one of your goals and that you're qualified to enter the field ...

Richard O’Brien wasn’t sure he wanted to attend a community college. “Most of my friends were going straight to four-year schools and there is some negative stigma attached to attending community colleges,” he says. After considering the pros and cons, O’Brien decided to attend Danville Area Community College and then transfer to complete his engineering degree at the University of Illinois. ...

FastWeb users share their schools! The size and location of your campus can make a big difference on your college experience. FastWeb users attend all types of schools—from big urban universities to small rural colleges. They share what they love about their schools. “I attend Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, NE. This is a small school maybe a bit ...

During my senior year of high school, I was very thorough in my college search. There were many important factors for me to consider when choosing a college: location, cost, size and enrollment, professor/student ratio, resources, opportunities to study abroad and athletics, just to name a few. I looked at everything from public universities, to technical schools, to private institutions with ...

What should you consider as you make the big decision on where to go? We asked high school and college students what they looked for in a college. Academic Programs "The thing I found most important in selecting a college was the types of programs available for my major. Were they accredited? Was the school known for their program in that ...

I find it ironic that my classroom windows overlook the Littleton Cemetery. Strangely enough, in a rare childless moment, I found myself meandering among those very headstones just three months ago. As I wandered aimlessly, I looked down the grassy burial grounds across the train tracks towards Arapahoe Community College disheartened and unsure if my dream to go back to school ...

Q: How many schools should my junior apply to? Is there really such thing as a “safety” school? What does that mean? A: Trying to decide how many and which colleges to apply to can be one of the most challenging aspects of the admissions process. Fortunately, by beginning this process in the junior year, your son or daughter has more ...

Are you a realist or a go-getter? The answer could define your strategy for selecting your college of choice. There are three legs on the college application stool. You could apply to a "reach" school -- one you might get in. You could apply to a "safety" school -- one that you should easily get in. Or you could go after ...

The process of finding the right college can be as exhilarating as it is exhausting, just as any high school competition can be. Find the right fit academically, athletically, socially, and financially. It may sound simple, but I assure you it is not. I recommend that my clients look at the entire process as though it were a 4-quarter game—9th and ...

It’s March Madness! As we fill in our brackets and enjoy buzzer beaters and Cinderella stories, it’s easy to forget that our favorite college basketball players are students first and foremost. Over the years, I’ve worked with a number of students looking for schools with a rigorous curriculum and successful sports teams. Colleges are often known for one or the other—rarely ...

Closing Time: You Don't Have to Go Home, but You Can't Stay Here Feb. 17, 2006 Hola, ladies and gents. The good people at FastWeb have informed me that my contract is up! No more blogs from yours truly. Dry your eyes. It'll be okay, I promise. You can still believe in Santa. The past six months have gone by really ...

Academics, living arrangements, and costs may be at the top of your list of factors in choosing the right school, but experts say you should pay attention to one more thing: a school’s efforts to welcome students of your heritage. "It is crucial for a college-bound student to select an institution that reflects his or her values, cultural heritage, and aspirations ...

Maybe you're planning to go to school at night while you work a full-time job. Or maybe you're scheduling class time around daycare for your preschooler. Or perhaps you're going back to school after a stint in the military. If any one of these describes you, you're part of one of the fastest-growing groups on college campuses. Non-traditional students include a ...

If you're like most people, you flip to your prospective school when you see the college ranking editions of U.S. News, The Princeton Review and other publications. We all want to see how our choices measure up. But what do those numbers mean? How big of a role should a college's ranking play when selecting a school? Wealth of Information Want ...

One of the best resources for students thinking about college is the college website (or portal). Here you’ll find the most distinctive and best features of each college – or at least what the college would like you to think are its best features. But no matter. With some skillful surfing, you’ll be able to examine the underbelly of that ...

The massive, concrete block building looms frigidly over a flat expanse of green lawn. It’s a far cry from the red-tiled roofs and ivy-covered walls of University of Colorado Boulder. There are no breathtaking views of the nearby Flat Irons here. Instead, wedged between commuter traffic on Santa Fe Avenue and quaint, old-town Littleton, rests my new scholastic home – Arapahoe ...

As I was translating Latin this week, I came across one of my favorite Latin words: cupio. Cupio literally translates to, “I want” or “I desire.” While a myriad of derivatives come from this Latin word, my favorite is Cupid, the infamous deity of love. Most people recognize this deity around Valentine’s Day as the annoying diaper-clad baby who shoots love ...

When I was little, my parents would never allow me to make decisions. At restaurants, I had to eat the vegetable medley instead of those delectable french fries. When we went shopping, we had to buy life’s necessities instead of going to the toy store. At the movie theater, I couldn’t see those PG-13 movies which looked so cool. Eventually, I ...

One of the most important steps in applying to college is figuring out which ones you're going to apply to (go figure). I haven't made up an official list of colleges I'm applying to yet, but I do know what I'm interested in. My views have gone through a long evolution, and if you look at the past three years, I've ...

In a move to court foreign students, US News and World Report has just released its first-ever issue of the World’s Best Colleges and Universities. [widget:1577] These new rankings, released November 20th and based on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, are a befuddling play off of their annual America’s Best Colleges rankings, a 25-year-old who’s-who of the country’s top ...