College Case

During the fall of 2000, it was time to decide which college would best suit the future I foresaw for myself. This was a very big decision for a 17 year old girl with a widower father and a younger brother that struggled in school. There were many steps in the decision process on which college was the right college.

The first step was to decide how close was too close and how far was too far from home. I had been away on vacation without my family but had never lived away and it was difficult to imagine any sort of long term distance. After a lot of thought and discussion, I felt that it was best to be within a few hours from home to stay close enough for emergencies and far enough to be on my own. I also decided that I would do better in a rural environment as opposed to a more urban city.

Second was to locate the schools that offered a Secondary Education major. While many schools offer a Secondary Education Major, the strength of the different Schools’ Secondary Education programs varied. I had visited many schools that were both close enough to home, rural and offered an Education program.

The third step was to factor in the tuition and cost of each school’s room and board as well as the financial aid and/or scholarships available. For instance, although I was awarded a scholarship from St. John’s University in NYC, it was not enough to sway me from a rural setting. FAFSA loans, however, did cover the tuition and room and board for a State University in a rural town not far from home or friends at other colleges.

Finally, I decided on the college that felt the most right when I visited it. Not only did I feel comfortable on the campus but the location was perfect and the financial aid was perfect.

Even though I had decided which school was the one for me, I applied to 3 or 4 colleges as backups as well. Fortunately, I got into all of them and was able to choose the school that felt right rather than the most prestigious.

The process in which I chose my first college was very