How Colleges and Students Differ: Getting the Information You Need
Fill out the questionnaire that follows. Your answers will help you identify what to look for in colleges that will be a good fit for you.
Determining Your Priorities
This questionnaire will help you identify what is most important to you as you think about choosing colleges. Questions are divided into three categories: Physical Environment, Academic Environment, and Extracurricular and Social Environment. Answer each question as accurately as you can. For each one, note whether your preference is very important (V), somewhat important (S), or not important (N) to you.
| Importance | ||||
| Physical Environment | Your Preference | V | S | N |
| 1.How far from home would you like to live? Close by? Easy or longer drive? Accessible by plane? |
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| 2. Do you prefer a large city, small city or town, suburb, or country environment? |
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| 3.Does weather matter to you? Is there an area of the country where you do not want to live? |
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| 4.What size college do you prefer: small (< 2,500), medium (< 10,000), large (< 20,000), very large (> 20,000) |
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| 5.Do you want to live on or off campus after freshman year? |
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| Other: | ||||
| Other: | ||||
| Improtance | ||||
| Academic Environment | Your Preference | V | S | N |
| 1.Do you have a preference between a liberal arts college and research university? |
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| 2.Are there specific majors or courses that you want a college to offer? |
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| 3.Do you prefer small classes, large classes, or a mix? |
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| 4. Are you interested in a specific major? | ||||
| 5.Are there any special curricular features that you want (core curriculum, honors program, and so forth)? |
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| 6.What kind of intellectual environment do you prefer? Exceptionally rigorous, midrange, less intense? |
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| 7.Do you want a “name brand” or prestigious college? |
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| 8. Do you need special support services (for example, for learning disabilities, health issues)? |
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| Other: | ||||
| Other: | ||||
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From Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Needs to Know About Getting Into College. Copyright © 2009 by Sally P. Springer, Jon Reider, and Marion R. Franck. All Rights Reserved. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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