| College College
Selection |
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Selecting a college is a new experience for many of our families.
Sometimes the task is simple: The student knows he or she wants to live
at home and
go to a local college. On the other hand, others struggle to try to figure
out which college they want to attend. We hope this page will help in
that process. The initial goal of your search should be to narrow your
selections down to six or less by the beginning of your senior year.
Additionally, you can find an excellent step-by-step
interactive program for college selection at XAP
, the College
Board, and GCIS also have
college finders. Contact us for user
names and passwords for GCIS. |
College selection questions:
- Do you need to select a two or four-year
college or a technical college?
- Two and four-year colleges
operate in a similar fashion to high schools.
The basic degree is an associates or baccalaureate degree, which typically
take two or four years to earn respectively. Students take required
courses in English, math, science, social studies, and many times
foreign language. In most programs, the the student will concentrate
on these required general studies courses for the first two years.
For the last two years, most of the courses will be in the student's
major (see below.) Examples of two year or four-year colleges are
Gainesville College, The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and
Truett-McConnell College.
- Technical colleges
concentrate on training students in specific skills. Typically, students
will be required to take a basic English class, a basic math class,
and perhaps another general education class. The remainder of the
student's coursework concentrates on training the student. The typical
program lasts from one and a half to two years. Students may earn
a certificate, diploma, or an applied associates degree. Examples
of technical colleges are Athens Tech, Lanier Tech, and DeVry Institute
of Technology. Typically, technical colleges do not have dormitories.
The remainder of this page is devoted to students who wish to attend
two or four-year colleges.
- How do your high school GPA and test scores
affect college choice? Colleges
differ in the level of academic rigor required for admission. Some are extremely
competitive and others have an open admissions policy, taking virtually anyone
who applies.
- Do you want to attend a two-year college (junior
college) first, or begin in a four-year college? From an academic standpoint,
there is very little
to no
difference between two and four year colleges. In both settings, during
the first two years of college students take the required courses in
the general
studies of English, math, science, social studies, and many times foreign
language. Two-year colleges tend to be smaller than four-year colleges,
which can be a help in a student transitioning from high school to college.
- Do you want to live at home or away from home?
Students who wish to live at home will have their choices
narrowed to just a few schools immediately. The choices for Jackson County
students are Gainesville College (Athens and Gainesville), the University
of Georgia (Athens), Brenau College (Gainesville), and Emmanuel College (Royston).
For students who may wish to commute a little further, North Georgia College
& State University (Dahlonega) is available.
- What type of geographical setting do you wish
to live in? If you will not
be living at home, the following factors come into play in college selection:
- How far from home are you willing to go?
- Do you want to live in a rural area, mid sized town, or large metropolitan
area?
- What size college do you wish to attend? Colleges vary in size from a few
hundred students to tens of thousands of students. Typically, in smaller
colleges you will receive more individual attention than at bigger schools.
However, bigger schools will over a broader range of experiences for the
college student.
- What sort of housing arrangements do you want? Do
you want to live in dormitory or in an apartment? Some schools require
that freshmen live in dormitories.
Typically, if you live
in a dorm,
you
will
share a room
with at least one other student. Quality of dorms can vary in within colleges
themselves.
- How much can you afford to pay? You
might wonder why this is at the bottom of the list? We suggest that you work
through the questions above before considering cost. Financial
aid can often make cost be much less than it initially appears. Many private
colleges are well endowed, which means they have a good deal of scholarship
money and additional financial aid available.
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