College Investigation: Finding the Perfect One

There is alot of pressure on teenagers these days to find the “perfect” college. Alot of students (and parents and teachers) have their eyes set on the Ivy’s but status isn’t something that should determine where you spend the next four years. Here are my six areas of criteria that you should look at when pursuing a college.

1. Dorms/ housing. This is a very important part of the college experience. You want to  live somewhere clean and safe. Freshmen housing is usually guaranteed and freshmen usually live in dorms. My first year of college was spent in a Living Learning Community (LLC) dedicated to the performing arts. The first and second floors were women with a communal  bathroom and the third floor were men with their own bathroom. This meant that when my long distance boyfriend visited he had a bathroom he could use. My freshmen roommate moved out after only a few weeks (she was NOT an artsy person) so I had my own room which I really appreciated. Sophomore year me and three friends shared a quad (two girls in each room with a bathroom attached). Housing was not guaranteed junior or senior year but junior year I got an apartment which meant my own room plus a kitchen, living room and bathroom. I do wish I had stayed to enjoy it but I did throw an epic 21st birthday party.

   
   

2. Classes/ academics. College is primarily about learning. It’s about learning about yourself but also from your professors about whatever subject you chose to study. I had some great professors. I liked the ones that gave us the most assignments, that expected us to know the material, that expected alot of us. Before my bipolar disorder and medication started influencing my grades I usually went the extra mile in class.. I gave a TedTalk on OCD in one public speaking class. Another professor gave us two quizzes per class and graded on a curve. I got a 5.0. I loved my textbooks. I love taking notes on Post It Notes to help myself absorb my material. The only professor I struggled with was my Geometry Teacher. I was so intimidated by him that once, instead of showing up late, I just skipped class altogether. Speak to the professors in the major you have chosen (or if you haven’t chosen a major yet speak to a professor in the class you are interested in). See how passionate about the subject they teach. Do they sound like a motivating force? Will they expect alot of you? Do they give office hours and extra credit? Remember the whole point of college is to learn.

   
   

3. Extracurriculars. A few weeks into the new semester my school held a big club fair on the Green. I will admit it freely: I’m a joiner (this was also a problem at the volunteer fair). I love putting my name and email down on clipboards. I joined the newspaper, the Aquinas (I had several front page articles, including covering the 2016 Presidential debates).I joined a few  political clubs/ current events clubs. I joined the education club because initially I was an education major (I eventually switched to a counseling major). I did apply to be one of the Royals that plans the fun events (comedy nights, trips to New York City and Dorney Park) but I didn’t make it which did bum me out. I had plans to do other things but I left in my junior year. Oh and I did every intramural under the sun which prevented me from doing theater which I had done alot in high school.

   
   

4. Environment. As I said it’s important that your college is safe. You could have a lovely school and have it plopped down right in the middle of a shitty neighborhood. I loved the neighborhood of Scranton. It was more than just a little rundown but I fell int love with it anyway. It used to  be a coal mining town and now that the coal was gone the town (which was the location of the hit TV show The Office) had kind of fallen by the wayside with sidewalks and buildings crumbling. The mall was practically derelict. But I found it charming. Junior year I started frequenting the local hookah bar until three in the morning. It was one of my favorite things to do when I was manic. There was also a beautiful park at the top of the hill that Scranton is built on. I’ve visited that park several times and I’m always enchanted. On the nights I was having a tough time, I would walk along the railroad tracks. I didn’t know that that actually was a crime.

   
   

5. Food. Scranton has one of the best college food in the nation. Freshmen got free meals included in their room and board as well as a “late night” option so that meant four meals a day if you took advantage of breakfast (which I did. I will die swearing my allegiance to breakfast). Sometimes my friends joined me, sometimes I ate alone. We always ate by the cereal but I usually ate eggs during the weekend and pancakes or waffles on weekends (if I wasn’t too hungover). At lunch and dinner the options were endless- there was always pizza, always pasta, always a salad bar, always an Asian station. There were even sushi nights. I was so spoiled.

   
   

6. Social life. Do you want a party school or do you want a dry campus? Scranton was not a party school but t he fact remains that I was able to party like it was. I originally frequented “the hills” with older guys (frat bro types even though Scranton did not have Greek life) for the first weeks of freshmen year but then I met some upperclassmen through Gaming Club and they threw amazing parties. Less large than the ones in the Hills so I knew everybody and made some great friendships. I continued to go to these parties even after I stopped drinking and still felt welcomed.

Of course there is a million other things to consider. How far away from home are you willing to go? How much money are you willing to spend? Is there a possibility of a scholarship? Remember even if you choose wrong you are not doomed forever. A college choice is not irreversible. Look at me. I did chose the right school and I barely made it past my sophomore year.