People use the word “college” to refer to many different types of schools. Colleges come in all shapes and sizes—and college is less a general phenomenon than a personal experience based on your individual choices. Take a look at the three different types of colleges here to gain a solid understanding of the options you’ll have when you start researching schools.

Four-Year Colleges and Beyond
Four-year colleges are the types of schools that most people think of when they say the word “college.” Harvard is a four-year college. So are the University of North Carolina, Spelman, and San Jose State. Four-year colleges offer a comprehensive education. In other words, you not only choose something to major in (such as business or physics or film or journalism) but you also receive a well-rounded education in other subjects.

Students earn a bachelor’s degree at four-year colleges. A bachelor’s degree is the standard “undergraduate degree.” If you’re an undergraduate, it means you are under, or below, the level of graduation. Simply put, you haven’t graduated from college yet!

Once you have made the decision that you would like to undertake a graduate course, you need to make two key decisions, which are:

• Choosing the course that you would like to study and
• The university that you would like to attend

These decisions should not be taken lightly as they will affect your future.

Deciding on a Course

Due to the large number of courses available to students there are a number of issues that need to be reviewed when deciding which course to study. These are discussed below.

Course Content

When looking at University

prospectuses to decide on which course you would like to study, you need to be careful that the actual specific detail of the course is considered. You need to read beyond the course title and course summary as the module options and content can vary significantly. It is important to be aware that although many universities offer courses with similar names, the specific content can vary. The course may focus more on one area rather than another.This is particularly important as many University courses include modules which can be selected by you depending upon what you want to learn.

As the junior year of high school ends, the student should begin thinking about what types of colleges would be most appropriate for their goals. In determining which colleges to apply to, the student will be making a decision that will affect the rest of their life. Choosing a group of colleges of which to apply is a very difficult task. The student must determine what they want from a school and what they can afford. There are some general questions that the student should ask themselves when exploring different colleges. First, the student should ask themselves if they will be comfortable there. And secondly, the student should determine if they will be challenged there. Other than these questions, there are generally three different environments to consider when searching for the right college.

The first is the physical environment. This may not be the most important of the three, but it must be considered. For example, is the college new or old? Which would the student prefer? Schools like Harvard and Yale are modern and high tech, but still have a lot of older architecture and buildings. Another physical environment questions is: how big is the college? Conversely, how small is the college? Different students will have different opinions regarding these questions, which is why it is so important to consider them. Students must choose a school that they would feel comfortable attending for four years. Of course, there is the option to transfer, but it is a messy process that does not always turn out like the student would like.

For a student, choosing the right major or program to pursue in college can be a stressful process. The student must realize that this decision will dictate what they will do with the rest of their life. A major will lead to a career in a certain field that the students must really enjoy as the student will be in that field for many years. Generally, most students will have some idea what they want to pursue as a major. Through their childhood and throughout high school, the interests of the student have been growing and maturing. Whether it is history, medicine, law, finance or something else, the student will know their interests, which is the first step in selecting the right major or program. Also, the careers of parents and loved ones will also have a profound affect on the selection of a major as the student will be comfortable with the topic.

My name is Debbie Ross. The information I have about my journey in finding a college can help both parents and students alike. Going back a few years, I was at the turning point of my life. Graduation from high school was just around the corner and I had no clue which college I was going to attend. My parents had their list of colleges that I could attend, and most of my friends were already being accepted to their college or university. With deadlines for applications approaching, I knew that I had to begin finding a college. Choosing the right college is such an important decision, and so I came up with a game plan to find a college. Here are the steps I took in choosing a college.

1. Choosing my future career

The first step I took was to determine what I liked and what I did not like. I quickly ruled out being a doctor, a lawyer or a dentist. In addition, I knew there were career choices that were out of my league, such as being an architect or engineer. My high school grades proved this! Therefore after a lengthy thought process, I narrowed down my choices to Communications, Journalism, Business Management and Information Technology.