Where Should I Go To College? (50+ Questions To Help You Decide)

Jul 17

This post is all about helping you decide “where should I go to college?”

Stating the obvious here, but deciding where to attend college is hard.

I went through the college application and decision process myself just a few years ago and it’s honestly a lot of pressure to put on 17 and 18 year olds.

There are so many factors to consider and sometimes, it’s hard to know what to base your decision off of in the first place. That’s where this post comes in.

In this post, I’m sharing over 50 questions to ask yourself when choosing where to go to college.

These are the factors I considered to help me make my college decision as well as other ones I think are important to think about.

Some of these will be no brainers, and some might be ones not everyone will remember!

I hope this list doesn’t seem too overwhelming, because my goal here is to do the opposite.

If it does, try to focus on the questions and decision making factors that are personally the most important to you.

For example, if you don’t care whether your college has a good party scene or not, you can disregard that question and focus on ones that matter most to you.

You’ll also find similar questions grouped together to break this list down a bit and help make it easier to decide.

These are also great questions to ask when you’re on a campus tour!

I hope this list helps make the decision process a little bit easier and more straightforward, and wish you the best of luck with choosing where to go to college.

Here are over 50 questions to help you answer the question “where should I go to college?”

Campus & Student Life:

What is the student life like?

What are the student amenities like (library, gym, dining, etc.)?

Are there a lot of activities to do on campus?

Do I like the campus itself?

Do I like how the campus looks?

Does the school have a traditional campus or are the buildings scattered across a city, and which do I prefer?

Does the college have a lot of school pride?

What’s the sports culture like?

If I plan on being a student athlete, how good is the program and how time intensive is it?

Does it have a party scene or not, and which do I prefer?

Do I already know people at the college or will I be starting from scratch if I go there?

Am I required to have a meal plan?

Are there a decent variety of food options?

Living Situation:

How is the dorm quality?

Am I required to live on campus?

Do the dorms have A.C. or heat?

What’s the laundry situation like?

What is the housing application process like?

What are the other housing options on and off campus?

Are there housing options if I don’t want roommates?

Learning Experience:

Does the program I’m interested in have a good reputation?

What are the learning facilities like for my intended major?

Does the college have a wide variety of majors/minors in case I want to switch?

What is the job placement rate for my intended major?

How strong is the college’s networking program?

What about the co-op/internship program?

Does the college host career fairs and networking events?

What are the resources like for students with disabilities?

Are there study abroad opportunities?

What do current students have to say about it?

What do alumni have to say about it, and did they end up working in their intended field?

Location:

Do I want to be far from or near a big city?

Do I like the location of the campus?

What is there to do nearby?

Is there not enough to do nearby/will I be bored on weekends?

How far do I want to be from home?

Am I okay with flying back and forth from college?

Weather:

What’s the weather/climate like where the college is located (ex: rainy, hot, bad winters, mild temperatures, etc.)?

Do I not want to deal with cold winters and lots of snow?

Transportation:

Is there a campus transportation system?

How do most students get to class?

Is there public transportation in the nearby town or city?

Are first year students allowed to have a car on campus?

Safety:

Is the campus safe?

What safety measures does the school take to keep campus safe (campus police, blue light system, emergency app, etc.)?

How safe is the surrounding city or town?

Finances:

How much is tuition?

Are there scholarship opportunities?

Are there student employment opportunities?

Are there work study opportunities?

How much is housing?

How much is meal plan, if required?

Do I plan to work while in college?

General Advice On How To Choose Your College:

If you’re trying to find out more information about a college, the best way to get an honest, accurate answer is to ask current students and alumni.

If you don’t know any, go to that school’s Reddit and post a question there.

I’ve found that current students are happy to answer those questions and provide some additional insight you may not have found otherwise!

The other most important thing you can do is actually visit the school in person.

See the campus, facilities, dining halls, classrooms, dorms, etc. for yourself and write down what you don’t like and don’t like on a notepad or on your phone.

If you can, visit during a normal school day to get a good sense of what campus is like while classes are in session.

Another super important reason to visit in person is to get a general sense of what the student body is like.

If you can’t visit in person, try exploring the campus using Google Maps.

Just note how recent the images on Google Maps are, as sometimes they can be very timely, or sometimes outdated.

Outro & Closing Thoughts

That wraps up my list of deciding factors when choosing “where should I go to college?”

I hope this post helped you in some way and good luck in college!

Thanks for reading my post “Where Should I Go To College? (50+ Questions To Help You Decide).”

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