All About College
Why should I go to college?
College is an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself. It's an opportunity to meet people who, in your future, may be very helpful to you in your career as well as in your life pursuits in general. It's also one of the more obvious reasons that people tend to associate with going to college - that it does help with employment prospects. Statistically, people with college degrees, with a bachelor's degree work more, meaning that they are less unemployed throughout their lifetime, and they tend to make more money throughout their life. This isn't everyone, this isn't every possible degree, but statistically we find that people with a bachelor's degree or more do make more money over their lifetime and are less likely to be unemployed.
What is an 'Associate Degree'?
An Associate's Degree is a two year degree offered primarily by community colleges. It's a series of courses that totals approximately 60 units or credits that is designed to assist students to transfer onto a four year degree.
What is a 'Bachelor's Degree'?
A bachelor's degree, also known as a BA or a BS, is a four year degree offered by a college or university that is considered a comprehensive course of study including electives, general or core education requirements, as well as a focus, known as a major. A bachelor's degree is a degree that teaches us how to think critically. It doesn't matter as much what the topic really is, as much as that we learn how to think critically and learn how to find information that will help us to solve problems in the future, after we've graduated from college.
What are the different types of colleges?
There are a variety of colleges that are available for students. There are large research institutions that offer doctoral degrees, master's degrees, and the traditional four year bachelor's degree. There are state universities and colleges that usually offer master's degrees and bachelor's degrees. There are also community colleges. These are two year colleges and they offer associative art degrees and various credentials. There are also private schools that offer technical skills, such as nursing programs, cosmetology schools and also specific technical schools.
What is a 'community college'?
A community college is a college that is often funded by a local municipal school board or government that operates in a two year model and produces graduates for A.A. degrees, as well as various credentials and other special interest courses, based upon local interests and students' needs and interests.
What is a 'technical college'?
A technical college is a school that focuses on some aspect of vocational or technical preparation. It can include things like air conditioner repair, auto repair or other special interests primarily focused on preparing people to either improve their work related skills or to acquire new skills.
What is a 'junior college'?
A junior college is another word or another way of saying a community college. Often the preferred term in most states and areas is the community college. It's a two year college where students are of a variety of ages, educational goals and interests. Some may wish to transfer to a four year college to get a degree, or a bachelor's degree for instance. Others may just be there to take courses of particular interests or to improve their career prospects.
What kinds of jobs are available to college graduates?
The jobs that are available to graduates with a four-year degree---bachelor's degree---are usually focused on management, focused on other specialized areas that require additional credentials or certifications in a variety of areas, including engineering, medicine, accounting, education. The bachelor's degree is really a gateway to opportunity in terms of career advancement and being able to have access to other jobs, as well as other industries and careers later in life.
What is a 'college fair'?
College fairs are offered in a variety of locations. Many times, students are familiar with them at high schools. We also have them in colleges to showcase a variety of educational institutions that are available to students as they take the next step in their educational journey.
What questions should I ask at a college fair?
It's important to approach a college fair with a set of questions that you would like to know about that particular institution. I would say that the most important things to know are: what sorts of majors are available? What is the ratio of students to faculty at the institution, as well as in the particular classes? What are the offerings as far as extracurricular activities, sports teams, clubs and organizations? And I would also ask where do graduates of the school go? When they graduate, what kinds of jobs do they pursue? How successful are they in those fields? And then I would ask when and how could I make an in-person visit to the school, and any other information they might be able to provide both in the packet that they provide on site, as well as any website information. And speaking of websites, it's a good idea to review the websites if you know the schools that are coming beforehand, so that when you approach them you can also ask very specific questions related to your own research that you found out about the school online.
Does size matter when it comes to college campuses?
It is important if you are concerned about a faculty to student ratio, as well as the opportunities that are available to you. It depends also upon what you're pursuing academically. If, for instance, it's important to you to have a well-rounded experience, many times students will choose a liberal arts education, and a school that has an appropriate size in terms of a student to teacher ratio, as well as the variety of opportunities that are available. Smaller schools can feel like a small community, and many times the students appreciate that. Often the tuition is a little higher for a school like that, and that is a consideration. But many people choose to attend a larger school. Often they like that option because of the variety of resources that are available, particularly if someone is involved in science or engineering, it's very important to have a high-quality lab with the latest equipment, to have a faculty that are experts in their area. Although smaller and mid-sized schools offer those amenities, sometimes it's not always the case, and so it really does depend upon what the student seeks in their college experience, their total college experience - the social as well as the academic. Nothing beats actually going to the campus and getting the feel of the environment as well.
Is it worth going to a less prestigious school if that means saving money?
Prestige is a subjective issue. Prestige is in the eye of the beholder, and so it does mean that someone can say that one school is more prestigious because perhaps it has more famous researchers or more published authors. If you are not interested in those researchers or those authors, prestige is in the eye of the beholder. It definitely matters about what kind of environment you want that is going to best facilitate your learning. It means that if you want to go to a larger school, that also may be less expensive. A public school for instance, if it has an academic program and the resources and amenities that you appreciate, that would be the best choice for you.
How reliable are college rankings?
College rankings are a controversial issue in the world of higher education right now, and it appeals to us as a nation of consumers of products - and higher education is a product - that we feel that we want to get the best service and the best quality for our tuition money. We seek out ways to measure quality. One of the more common ones is the US News and World Report Magazine's annual rankings of colleges and universities, and it looks at colleges and universities in a variety of different categories, and it assesses them against each other. This is a good system, but it is not fool-proof. Many people in the higher education world say to US news editors, "Where are you getting your criteria? Exactly how are you determining quality?", and that's where it is controversial. When we talk about prestige, and when we talk about what is a prestigious college, the bottom line really matters to you as a student where you want to go and what you want to do with your education. It's your education and it doesn't really matter as much about who says this school is prestigious, when what your focus should be on is "What do I want to do with my education and where do I want to go in life with that?"
What is the 'gap year'?
The gap year is a common phenomenon that many students are considering. It used to be something that people shyed away from because they were on a quick path to graduating college as quickly as they could to get a job. But more and more, students who have the means to be able to do this are opting for gap years and even students who have some financial concerns and are very concerned about taking time off and where or how they could work, can find options that are available to do service in other countries, in their own communities, to work on projects or political campaigns, or to in other words experience the world before they go back to school. I think that it enriches the student experience. I think when students come back to school after taking a year off, or even taking that gap year before they go to school, really helps them to look at this theoretical or abstract learning that they're getting in the classroom and apply it to real life.
