Choosing a College That’s Right for YOU
By: Kaylin Lechner

     Deciding where you want to go to college can be extremely stressful.  One key fact: it’s best to start the whole process early.  Most professionals suggest that students start touring in their junior year, while some say even earlier is better.  When deciding where to go, there are some questions that every student needs to answer to help find the right college for them.

1. What do you want to do after college? Students don’t need to answer this question with detail; however, they do need to have a general idea of what they would like to do.  This helps them figure out what type of college, where they’d like to go to college, and how long. 
2. Why do you want to go to college?  When asking this question, students need to decide what they want to do with their lives and how college can get them there.
3. Can you afford to go to college? When a student decides that they might not be able to afford college, then they would need to look into scholarships and grants.  This will have to be decided on early, that way when senior year rolls around they are prepared and meet all the requirements.
4. What do you want to major in?  Not every college has the program they might be looking for.  When a student decides what to major in they narrow down their choices. 
5. Where do you want to live? This is something that students need to answer so that they can look and see what colleges can offer them in a specific area.  Also, colleges can be more expensive in some area than they are in others.

     There are several websites that can help students find scholarships, grants and almost any information that they might need when choosing a college.  Also, MJHS has a whole team of guidance counselors who are here to help students with getting reading for college. All students need to make sure that they do their research so that they are successful in choose the right college for them.