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Why/how did you choose your college or university?

8K views 68 replies 62 participants last post by  Katie Koopa 
#1 ·
I'm just curious to see what are some of the reasons people chose the university they go/went to.
 
#2 ·
I went to the University of London. I picked it for 3 reasons, all of approximately equal weight.

1. I wanted to study law, and I felt that proximity to the Royal Courts of Justice, plus the opportunity to meet with legal professionals and the proximity to the best solicitors firms and barristers chambers in the land would allow me greater opportunity to gain work experience whilst at uni. It did, and the gambit paid off. Today I am doing what I love.

2. I did not want to go to the university where the bulk of my school-colleagues were going. I was a young minority who attained a scholarship to one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Most of my cohort were heading to one of the Oxbridge colleges, Durham or St Andrews. I was adamant that I had had enough of their company, and so I picked the University of London where very few of my cohort were looking to go.

3. Once I was at the University of London, I opted for Queen Mary, University of London as my college. The places where my school cohort were going are all hotbeds of right-wing student politics. The rank and file of the Tory party are recruited at Oxbridge, Durham and St Andrews. They are famous for being the promoters of today's neoliberal ideology. The University of London however, despite having just as good an academic pedigree is a hotbed of left wing student politics. The LSE birthed the Fabian Society, Queen Mary was a hub of social-democratic politics and Kings College London is the college of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Effectively, the UoL has better politics than most other universities of its age and pedigree.
 
#4 ·
I attended UCLA then USC (University of Southern California, not South Carolina):

Major factors:
- Prestige (Reputational weight of the academic program and college degree in the job market and/or for graduate school, access to renowned professors to study under and acquire letters of recommendation, etc.)
- Network (Powerful global alumni networks, robust career offices, exit opportunities, etc.)

Minor factors:
- Cost. Cost-benefit analysis was conducted to see how much I would make versus how much I would spend.

Not a factor:
- Location. I would go anywhere for the right university, I don't care about the college town or demographics. If Harvard were in Siberia I'd pack my polar bear coat and move.
- "Vibe" or "Fit". Don't care about the "fit." Prioritized what would place me in the best position to succeed. Confident that I would find people to relate to and befriend regardless.
 
#5 ·
It's a 20 minute drive from where I live. Also significantly cheaper than a private school. State school, so they were required to accept me through funding agreements, and it was my first choice. Didn't go to any other campus tours, but I do regret not going to a couple of other schools. Both are private and cost three to five times more than my current school. Going through college paying in full with no loans or debts feels good.
 
#6 ·
I chose my university for its three P's: proximity, prestige, and program. I didn't have to relocate (very far) in order to attend, it is consistently ranked in the top forty best universities in the world and top two best universities in Canada, and it offers an excellent program in my area of specialization.

I may relocate for grad school after next year but that remains to be seen. I would really rather not if I don't have to. Program and proximity are my two primary concerns, followed by prestige as a distant third. My education will not necessarily be of superior quality at a school which is ranked globally higher, especially because my field is rather niche, and I have no interest in paying for the name that gets printed on my diploma.
 
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#7 ·
I'm currently attending Johns Hopkins University (for undergrad, not the med school lol)

I really liked the neuroscience program here; it's one of the most popular majors on campus and I liked that I could specialize with a cognitive focus. I wanted to do research early as an undergrad and this is a great place for that. The campus is pretty, I wanted to be in a major city, and it's close enough to home that I could drive to move in. Oh, and the prestige/selectivity factor of course had some impact; though I was more concerned with being surrounded by intelligent and inspiring peers than I was worried about how my university would look on a resume.
 
#8 ·
I didn't really choose it, not that I'm implying someone else did, but years prior to applying I realized I could not afford to go anywhere else. My university is entirely free for me and I'm essentially paid to study. This was not a factor in my choice at the time but my bachelor's degree on it's own is pretty useless in terms of jobs, so I'm glad I'm not going into debt because of it. My choice(s) for graduate school are different, it depends on the availability of the program, the curriculum, certain aspects of the program, the university itself, location and cost (not for all of them, it depends).
 
#10 ·
That's a good question! I always knew I wanted a prestigious, small, liberal arts school. After I was rejected from my dream school (still a little salty) and all the Ivies I applied to (not salty at all), I needed to really evaluate my expectations. It was between UVA and the school I go to now (no way I'm telling y'all on here lmao). UVA gave me financial aid in the form of loans, while my current school gave me money in the form of grants, so the decision was kind of made.

I wouldn't have fit in at UVA, anyway. It's a lovely school, but I wanted a small liberal arts college, right? Which UVA is not. And I'm very happy at my school now. Sure, it wasn't my dream, or whatever. But I can't imagine myself anywhere else. I've taken classes in such a wide variety of subjects, met incredible people, and have wonderful opportunities. I'm spending the summer studying at Cambridge, in the UK. My school is also very well renowned for its political science program, which I am a part of.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
Because community colleges are seriously underrated and worth it depending on your major. The one I'm going to is pretty nice, actually.
I am able to pay out pf pocket for each semester and still live at home, making it a good option since I'm not accumulating any debt. I've chosen culinary arts, specifically a pastry/baking certification. It should be nice along with my art degree, I want to be a cake chef and maybe someday design wedding cakes :)
But I'm comfortable starting at the bottom and aquiring the experience first.
 
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#12 ·
culinary school sounds cool!...how much time do you spend in the kitchen vs in the classroom?...do tests include baking challenges, like tv?...what is that like? ;)

and do you think anyone can learn to bake or is there a special talent?...I imagine anyone can learn to be competent but some people have a special talent...do you agree and how would you describe that talent?
 
#14 ·
I have always been fascinated by science in general, particularly human physiology and chemistry. However, I have always found math difficult. I decided to get a degree in nursing and work my way through medicine, but I got a government funded scholarship and the degree that is permissible under the scholarship is limited. I took the course which I and my bestfriend and other close friends agreed to take and that was chemical engineering. (I knew back then that engineering has a lot of hard math and I took that as a challenge) However feeling betrayed, my bestfriend took the course in another university; and during my 1st year as a chemical engineering student I found my friends both unwilling and less able to coach me with my difficulty in math. They survived chemistry but I relatively excel in it (even though of persistent lateness in classes, homeworks and less time to read). I realized I can't depend on them for a long time, I have to sustain myself. I really admired my chemistry laboratory teacher back then, she was amazing and teaches chemistry in a very intersting way, halfway through my 2nd semester I asked her about real job of a chemist in the industry and I was enlightened. (I had misconceptions about being a chemist back then)

I transferred to a degree in chemistry amidst belittling from my former chemical engineering colleagues that chemists are just assistant to chemical engineers and possibility of losing my scholarship due to irregular course units. Math wasn't that emphasized (or I just gave it so little interest, hence my low grades in advanced physics and 3 physical chemistry courses), I relatively exceled in biochemistry and organic chemistry. I positioned my thesis to biochemistry, a field I found that is the perfect marriage of medicine and chemistry. I later worked in the industry for almost 4years in fields much closer to other fields of chemistry, but my interest remained the same. I just quit my job and found myself again in the path I have always wanted to be.

I realized focusing on your strengths plays a significant role in your career but you have to have passion to get all the way through it.
Good luck!
 
#22 · (Edited)
I should like to point out that I was an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and 22 years old when I first matriculated to college. Pretty much every school I applied to offered me admission without even looking at my SAT scores or HS grades (all they cared about was that I was a veteran and I graduated from high school). I could have gone to main campus at WVU, PITT, Penn State, or St. Vincent College. I chose to go to California University of Pennsylvania, a little podunk school with about 10,000 students approximately 45 minutes SE of Pittsburgh. The town had two bars, two gas stations, and only one traffic light.
 
#19 ·
Undergrad:

I didn't want to move away from home, and it's the university in my city. It's also where my mom went to school. I didn't really think about it much, I just applied, got in, and went. The fact that it wasn't competitive to get into helped, because I'm not a competitive person. It just needed to be more respectable than the community college.

Grad:

They accepted me lol. That's basically why. I had planned to plan to apply to about 5 places. The first was by far the most prestigious, and I had always dreamed of going there as a kid. I used it as a practice application, since I had no feeling that I'd actually get accepted. I had just submitted my second wave of applications and was preparing my third ones when I got the acceptance email.

It was by far my preferred of all five, and the fact that I was accepted somewhere made me retract my other applications and stop working on the unsubmitted ones. I was just relieved to get in somewhere, and was happy it was my top pick.
 
#21 ·
Small, liberal arts, artsy, eco-friendly, public. Small classes and great professors. Lots of student involvement and opportunities for research. Not in my hometown but not too far away. Mostly I just felt right the second I stepped onto campus. Had a fantastic experience and am very happy with that decision.
 
#23 ·
Wen I picked my Bsc in Computer Cience degree - because picking a degree is expected, because I didn't have any particular interest so I picked this coz I liked computers (did not know what was waiting for me), and because I did well on maths exams which was required to get into this course.

When I picked my Masters in Informatics and Enterprise Systems - because I'm very interested in expanding my knowledge in the IT, years after working as a programmer. Because the subjects seemed interesting and it's e-learning so it works with my job schedule.

Despite having picked CS just because so, I was actually good at programming and logic. It was after I started working that my interest in the field grew a lot.
 
#24 ·
• A general respect for knowledge that the faculty and (nearly all) the student body possess
• Professors are rather renowned (89 Nobel Prize winners :cool:)
• Little importance placed upon athletics
• Smaller in size (~6,000 undergrads)
• People are willing to stay up until 4 am talking about Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven with me (true)
• The architecture is beautiful (not a deciding factor, but it didn't hurt)
• The weather is nearly always dark and cold (and I love it)
• Everybody I meet is interesting
 
#25 ·
I went because my parents would have kicked me out otherwise and i was not financially prepared for that. Also I had absolutely nothing else I could think to do.

As for where - that pretty came down to the school that was closest to my house so I wouldn't have to waste money living on a campus somewhere else in the world.
 
#26 ·
For Masters: I chose my program over others because one of the professors there is researching an area that I'm very interested in and they accept two of their master's students into their Ph.D program each year. Another perk was their clinic; MA students begin working with clients on their first week there, and that exposure to the field really appealed to me. Prestige and location also counted.

As for Bachelors: My plan for law school in Europe had resulted in a massive existential crisis during my first few weeks there; moved back to the US and literally picked the closest school to me.
 
#27 ·
Based on the availability and the quality of the programme(s) I was interested in.
 
#28 ·
- Small and quiet about 4000 undergrads so approx 1000 per grade (crowded and loud places make me feel overwhelmed and anxious)
- Have heard good recommendations from students who are currently going there through friends
- I have multiple interests and am kinda a jack of all trades type person and the school specializes in dealing with people with multiple interests to find the right major as well as still allows them to entertain other areas of studies through their curriculum.
- Has offered me a good financial deal / scholarship
 
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