Maria Pavy – As a senior, I know the biggest pressure that I have had lately is applying for colleges and narrowing down to what colleges I am interested in attending. I am sure many seniors have had the same issues.
I have already submitted applications and heard back from three schools: Taylor University, Anderson University and Ball State University. I have not heard back from Indiana Wesleyan yet, and I am considering applying to other universities as well.
After this step, now it is the time for me to narrow down scholarships and my vision of what I want in a school. There are four primary influences in my decision, and these include my faith, the atmosphere of the school, the finances and the majors that are provided.
Currently, Taylor University is the top school decision for me. After visiting the campus, I fell in love with the atmosphere and the people that go there. Everyone that attends signs a statement of faith, so a lot of Christ’s teachings are ingrained into the culture and the education. I am wanting to study journalism in college, and Taylor has a great journalism program. The only downfall is the price and the kind of job I would have coming out of college to pay for the debt that I will surely have. The price can be another determinant when finding the perfect college, and it is an important part to take into consideration.
Math teacher Sarah Snodgrass attended Anderson University, and she had a similar experience when visiting the campus for the first time.
“My biggest criteria when choosing a college was I wanted to go out of state, and I wanted to go where I didn’t know anyone else. So as I was looking, I was applying to University of Wisconsin, and I went to a school in Iowa to look, and I just really wanted to be out of the state,” Snodgrass said. “But when I went to AU, I felt like it clicked and I had a good experience as far as my visit went my senior year and I knew that was the place for me.”
I could see many benefits from going to other Christian universities, such as Indiana Wesleyan and Anderson, but the journalism programs there are not as well spoken of as Taylor’s, and the atmosphere did not feel the same for me. However, I am still looking at those because they are better priced. Ball State is an option because of the great journalism programs and the price, but it is not the small campus and Christian atmosphere that made me love Taylor.
When it comes down to it, going on college visits and looking at scholarships will help when finding the perfect college I want to go to. Evening out the atmosphere, price and the majors offered are all important parts of finding the perfect college.
Luckily, seniors still have the rest of this semester and next semester to figure it out. Meanwhile, I will be searching for scholarships through programs like Cappex, Scholarships.com, the guidance links and the specific college scholarships. There is plenty of time to figure out what will be the best choice in between now and fall of next year.
Her experience at the university was great too, according to Snodgrass.
