Deciding on the Right College

When I was younger, my family would go on vacations to see campuses around the states. I fell in love with almost every single one. Every time I saw a new one, it would glide to the top of my list. It was not until high school when I started to see campuses for more than just pretty buildings and cool destinations. During high school, I worked at a smoothie place where I saved up money along with babysitting. Starting to save money for college in advance will help pay off the first few payments, depending on how much you’ve earned. When the time came to pick a college, I decided to go to an in-state college. This choice saved me a lot of money since tuition costs less at an in-state school. For example, with random names, If Joe lived in California and Bob lived in Utah, who both applied to Chico State, the cost for Joe would be much less since he is staying within his state. The next factor and most important for the future is to look at is if the college offers the major you are interested in and courses you want to take. The best-case scenario would be getting accepted into the school with the best program for your desired profession, but that is not always the case. I would recommend applying to multiple colleges that interest you instead of only wanting and applying to one. With this strategy, you can have more options later on in the year when you get accepted to more colleges if you change your mind. Budgeting is an essential aspect to choosing where you are planning on going to college. Without being on top of knowing all of your finances, the chances of falling into debt can increase dramatically. Budgeting helps you decide where you can afford to go to college based on tuition and the costs of living there. College offers great experiences, that is why being financially prepared is helpful to chose a suitable college for you.