Five Factors to Consider When You Are Choosing Your Dream College

Transitioning from high school to college is one of the significant academic transitions in the life of an individual. Therefore, this transition has to be perfect and done in the right way. This means that you need to choose a college that does meet not only your academic needs but also other social aspects that play a significant role in your life. Here are some of the factors you should consider when selecting a college.

1. Graduation Rate

Every time you are selecting a college, you should be highly interested in the number of students who graduate as compared to those who were admitted. You should consider a college that has more than a 95% graduation rate. Otherwise, what is the point of being accepted in the college if you are not going to graduate? Avoid colleges with less than 90% graduation rate because you are likely to be on the wrong side of statistics.

2. Freshmen Retention RateThis is another important metric that you should consider when you are selecting a college. You should check on the number of first-year students who return for the sophomore year. If there is a high level of satisfaction in the first year, there is a high chance that students will return for their second year. You can also check with any  college admission consulting experts to get other reasons why freshmen retention rate is essential when you are choosing a college.

3. Student-Faculty RatioThere is always the temptation of selecting a college with a large population. You want to be part of the larger group. There is no doubt that colleges with large population have something good about them, but you will never get to speak with your professor. You will never get attention from your tutors, which is very important in college education. Choose a college where the number of students is not very high so that you can easily access professors when you need.

4. On-Campus LivingAcademics are essential while choosing colleges, but social life is also crucial. You are already entering into early adulthood, which means that some social aspects will be critical in your life. On-Campus living allows you to have an active student life. You will be interacting with other students during the day and night. However, this is only possible in larger institutions with adequate facilities.

5. College Location

Location of the college is one of the most critical factors that you need to consider when you are choosing a college. If you like to be around your home, there is no doubt that a college several miles away from your home is the best. You can also consider whether you will like it in big cities or small towns. For weather, southern states are the best with a degree of sun throughout the year.

Choosing college is one of the most important aspects, especially when you are managing the transition from high school. However, it is always a robust experience, which can be tiresome and time-consuming. You should focus on education aspects because they are vital, and other issues should follow.