Just like the WHY of college there is a WHERE of college.
The where of college depends on a variety of factors including time, location, monetary cost, and major. Are you looking for a big campus, a small campus? Looking for a HBCU or a Christian college? Online, offline, or hybrid courses? There are more factors which I may include in a future post. However, lets just start with looking at college for a major or a potential major.
Depending on your interest your major plays a role in deciding where you will go for college. If you are looking to get into HVAC, you may end up going to a trades college or community college program. If you want to be a doctor, obviously a four-year school for pre-med, then onto medical school. Now can you go the route of a community college and then transfer to a trades school or four-year university? Absolutely. In fact, I started at a community college and transferred to a four year university. Community colleges have some great transfer programs where students can get started and then move on with their majors.
Monetary costs also play a role in where students choose to go for college. Students may start at a community college because it is cheaper to get your pre-requisites for your major out of the way and much cheaper. Again, you may be in a situation where you are working full-time and can only afford one or two classes at a time. I know plenty of people that went that route and while it took a long time to finish, they finished.
Monetary costs can also affect the where to attend. Obviously, any college brochure or website will have somewhere on their site comparing in-state tuition versus out of state tuition. Even with a four-year scholarship, there will be some costs. Online universities are the same way and classes may be shorter, you have more material to cover in a shorter amount of time.
A little known hidden college fact is most students do not consider the return of their investment when it comes to the costs of college. That is, will my degree pay for itself in the long run or the short run? Will I get any money back? Those are some of the things to consider.
Another WHERE to consider is big campus or little campus if you go the four year route. For example, lets say you enroll in a big state university. Typical 100 and 200 level courses may have up to 200 to 400 students in them alone. When I went to NC State, my Geology 101 class had over 200 students alone. I could not hear my brain think and was overwhelmed with all the noise and simulation that a big campus brings.
I transferred to UNC Pembroke a semester later because the big classes and universities were too overwhelming for me. I went from classes of 400 to 30 at most in general education courses. My Social Studies Education courses only had 10 people in them, and it made all the difference in the world.
The WHERE can also be applied to online courses. Online courses are done on your own time and have strict deadlines for posts and assignments. A lot of military personnel will take online courses while deployed or doctoral students will pursue online degrees. It takes discipline but with me working as a teacher, online was the way to go for my two masters and doctorate.
Just like the WHY of college, the WHERE of college is different for everyone. Your WHERE is based upon your needs and how your needs could be met when pursuing an education.
End Part 1
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