Choosing a college is a process that seldom involves only the student. Family, best friends, and sometimes counselors are an essential part of this process. All parties involved perceive college as a unique opportunity that occurs once in a lifetime, and thus, they want to make sure that their choice is right. Definitely, in the end, the choice will be the students, but other participants also influence such decisions. In that regard, this article highlights the common “wrong” arguments for choosing a particular college that might be influenced by other people.
Financial Aspects
The financial aspect is usually an argument proposed by parents when considering a particular choice for college. In that regard, it is not just that such indicators as “the cheapest” or “the most expensive” are not indicative of whether the college is the best choice for a particular student or not. It is the idea that using the financial aspect eliminates other important factors, and at the same time tends to ignore such an important element as financial aid.
Friendship Aspect
The factor of friendship often prevails over parental influence. Such a rationale is justified by the perception that school friendship will last forever. Such perception is based on exceptions, rather than a rule. Changing the environment students make new friends, form new companies, and end up in a college, and even worse- with a major that they selected due to short-term influences. It should be noted that even if a student fell into the category of exceptions, i.e., those whose friendship survived during college, such friendship might be a distraction, specifically if the students’ academic performances are different.
Causal Factors
This category of arguments involves the most absurd reasons that the student might consider for that moment. Specific campus traditions, partying, a celebrity who studies or studied there, and the list can go on and on. The point is that no one is immune to have such “arguments”, and the role of the people surrounding the student is to guide his/her decision in the right direction, using the right arguments.