At the beginning of senior year in high school, a three-word phrase was constantly drilled into my mind: the right fit. My teachers, counselors, and parents constantly stressed on how important it was to search for “the right fit” when it came to applying for colleges and universities. However, doing so was very tedious; long, stressful nights were dedicated to researching and weighing all my college options. That is, until I started to realize how many resources there were to help me narrow down my choices. These tools and resources aided me in eventually choosing the right college path for me.
The first tool I used was a website called Niche.com, a ranking and reviewing site for K-12 schools, colleges, and even neighborhoods. For the reviews …show more content…
This device calculates the price that I would have to pay after financial aid was considered. Finances were one of the biggest, if not the most important, determinants of my college search and I needed to know that I could actually afford to stay at an institution. I promised myself that I would not rely on student loans for my first year of college, so I wanted assurance that my financial aid package mostly consisted of scholarships and grants. Luckily, most of the colleges I was considering had a Net Price Calculator on their website, and I was able to cancel out which schools gave lousy financial aid and which schools helped the most with reducing the initial sticker …show more content…
I had started my college search at the beginning of August of senior year and after 4 months of researching, I narrowed it down to three options: Illinois Institute of Technology, Lewis University, and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. I applied and was accepted to all three schools. Later on in the year, I attended campus tours to get a more personal feel for each institution; however, campus tours did not really influence my pick of my college of choice since my primary focus was to attend the school that was the most affordable and would help me succeed academically. I reviewed all of my choices by weighing the Pros and Cons of each school using information gathered by each of the tools previously mentioned. Eventually, I made my choice: I wanted to attend Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. I chose Lewis University since it had a stellar biochemistry program, the lowest net price, high-quality facilities, and a social scene that encouraged a studious and diverse student culture.
Unfortunately, due to external financial circumstances, I currently am not attending Lewis University. Instead, I will transfer to Lewis University as a junior coming from my local community college, Joliet Junior College. Although it is unfortunate that I wasn’t able matriculate to Lewis University, I was able to do even more research about the school using the tools mentioned. I am now completely
The first tool I used was a website called Niche.com, a ranking and reviewing site for K-12 schools, colleges, and even neighborhoods. For the reviews …show more content…
This device calculates the price that I would have to pay after financial aid was considered. Finances were one of the biggest, if not the most important, determinants of my college search and I needed to know that I could actually afford to stay at an institution. I promised myself that I would not rely on student loans for my first year of college, so I wanted assurance that my financial aid package mostly consisted of scholarships and grants. Luckily, most of the colleges I was considering had a Net Price Calculator on their website, and I was able to cancel out which schools gave lousy financial aid and which schools helped the most with reducing the initial sticker …show more content…
I had started my college search at the beginning of August of senior year and after 4 months of researching, I narrowed it down to three options: Illinois Institute of Technology, Lewis University, and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. I applied and was accepted to all three schools. Later on in the year, I attended campus tours to get a more personal feel for each institution; however, campus tours did not really influence my pick of my college of choice since my primary focus was to attend the school that was the most affordable and would help me succeed academically. I reviewed all of my choices by weighing the Pros and Cons of each school using information gathered by each of the tools previously mentioned. Eventually, I made my choice: I wanted to attend Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. I chose Lewis University since it had a stellar biochemistry program, the lowest net price, high-quality facilities, and a social scene that encouraged a studious and diverse student culture.
Unfortunately, due to external financial circumstances, I currently am not attending Lewis University. Instead, I will transfer to Lewis University as a junior coming from my local community college, Joliet Junior College. Although it is unfortunate that I wasn’t able matriculate to Lewis University, I was able to do even more research about the school using the tools mentioned. I am now completely