This week

Exploring colleges

• Feature —Exploring your school options
• Your Turn — A day in the life of a college student
• Stay on track — A checklist of "to-dos"
• Take notice — Important dates
• All about AIEmail — Subscribe, suggest, review

Feature

Exploring your school options

When selecting a college or university, consider these things:

• Does the school offer a quality education?
• What are the admission requirements, and can you meet them?
• How much does it cost to get an education at that particular college?
• Where is the school located?
• How big is the school?

How do you figure out the answers to these questions? A good place to start is the Internet. You can find out a lot about a college or university through its Web site. Some even offer virtual tours.

In addition to the Web, other valuable information is available from many other sources. Ask your high school counselor or librarian for college guidebooks. They're an easy way to gather information about numerous colleges and universities in one resource. A number of guidebooks are also available on CD-ROM and on the Web.

Attend college fairs. Talk to your high school counselor, or contact a local college admissions office to find out if any college fairs are scheduled for your area.

Talk to your family, friends, and relatives. Do you know anyone who went to a school you're considering? They can tell you about their experiences and give you valuable firsthand insight.

Contact the admissions offices of the schools on your list and ask for catalogs, applications, and any other information they have about attendance (costs, financial aid, housing, graduation rates, and placement rates are a good place to start).

Check into visiting the schools on your list. See if you can meet with an admissions counselor. Call the admissions office to find out about college tours and a convenient time to visit with a counselor or admissions officer.

When you visit, take some time to look around without a guide. See what the school is like beyond the tour. Talk to students on campus. Try to get a feel for the place. And find out if you can visit the dorms while you're there as well.

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Your turn

A day in the life of a college student

Going to college is fun and exciting, yet many students worry because it is such a big step in their lives. Have you ever wondered what a typical day looks like for a college student? AIE's "A day in the life of a college student" series provides honest answers from college students. Find out what they would do differently if they could go through high school again, how they decided on a major, what they do for fun, how they've met people, and more.

The following is an example of one of the interviews featured on AIE's "A day in the life..." page. To view the complete archive of interviews, visit http://www.aie.org/HighSchool/Choosing/dayinthelife.cfm.

Bryan — Computer Science Major, New York City

• What is a typical day for you on campus?
  There isn't really a typical day. That's the beauty of college life — it's always changing. I leave the house around 9:15 to go to the gym and work out for about two hours. I go to class from 1:50-2:40, and my next class is from 3:00-3:50 so I don't have much time in between to do anything but get to the other side of campus. Then I've got another class from 4:10-5:25. After that, I usually meet up with my best friend and we go have dinner. I go home and start studying for about three hours — more if I've got a test the next day. Studying consists of doing the assigned readings, reviewing past lectures, and quickly looking over upcoming lectures. I'd say for a typical day of class, I spend about three to four hours studying. I always try to fit some sort of extracurricular activity in the day.
• What do you do for fun? Do you stay at school and get involved with the recreational activities available on campus, or do you go home over the weekend?
  My friends and I usually get together on the weekends and play some football or basketball. I'm in the meteorology club and have some friends there too. At night, we usually go to some of the local bars or sometimes catch a movie. My girlfriend and I also go dancing and that's always a blast. I work out five days a week. It gives me time to think about things going on in my life.
• What's the biggest difference between life in high school and life in college?
  The biggest difference between high school and college is that your time management skills are far more crucial. If you have good time management skills, college is easier, but if not, it's almost impossible.
• What's the easiest way to meet people and make friends?
  There are plenty of people around, and meeting them isn't hard at all. The easiest way to meet someone is to get involved in something. Whether it's your classes or a club or something like that. You just have to put forth the effort. Try to form study groups — people always want to find a study partner.
• How did you decide on a major?
  Both of my parents work in the computer industry, and I've been raised with computers and technology; so it was sort of natural that I have an interest in it. However, I did change my major from biomedical engineering. I just didn't have as much interest in it anymore.
• What were the most helpful classes you took in high school to prepare you for college?
  Unfortunately, high school didn't prepare me for college. I didn't have to work nearly as hard then as I do now. I learned all of this in my first semester and believe me, it was a tough one. If I had to pick a class, I'd say it was AP English. It helped me with my writing so that when I have a paper due, I don't sweat it, I just write it. It gave me confidence.
• Is there enough help available if you have trouble with a class?
  There is an amazing amount of help available: Professors, weekly help sessions run by teaching assistants, other classmates, tutors (some for a price and some for free).
• How did you choose a college or university?
  I applied to two colleges and only one accepted me. I would have chosen Texas A&M University anyway, just because the campus and people are incredible. There is no place like it anywhere.
• Do you live on campus or off campus? What advantages or disadvantages are there to living on or off campus?
  I lived on campus for two years and now I live off campus. There are plenty of pros and cons to both. Off campus, you get more room to live in and don't have to worry about other people's messes. You can live the way you want and not by someone else's rules. However, it costs more, there is more responsibility with bills, and the bathroom isn't cleaned for you every day. On campus, there is plenty of stuff to do. You can easily meet new people, get a meal, and bathrooms are cleaned daily. On the other hand, you can't bring anyone back to the dorm, and it is more difficult to study in a dorm than an apartment.
• If you could go through high school again, what would you do differently?
  I would study more and develop my time management skills. Both are crucial to survival in college.
• Do you consider your college lifestyle to be balanced and healthy?
  I consider my lifestyle to be balanced. I plan every day in order to have plenty of school time and free time. If you just work all the time you'll fall apart really fast, but if you play all the time, your grades will fall really fast. It probably divides up to be about six to seven hours of school work and about four to five hours of free time a week.

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Stay on track

Checklist for this week

For freshmen and sophomores

Before the school year gets underway, you should start practicing good time management skills. If you don't already, start using a daily planner to organize your schedule and keep track of homework and other activities. Also, if you are involved in extracurricular activities, you should plan ahead so you can balance your time successfully between these activities and your school work. There are only 24 hours in a day, and your most precious commodity is time.

For juniors

• Academics are always your first responsibility in high school, but in-depth involvement in extracurricular activities provides another learning experience.
• Volunteer to lead a project: Serve as a committee or project chair. Develop your problem-solving, organizational, and leadership abilities.
• Know the sponsor: Interact more with the adult or faculty sponsor of the clubs or organizations you belong to. This person may prove to be a great advisor through high school.

For seniors

• Check to see that you have completed all the courses necessary for graduation. If not, take them if they are in your course schedule this year.
• Try to complete any correspondence courses.
• Work to pass all sections of required tests.
• Check to see you have taken the courses required for your graduation program.

For parents

In the next few weeks your teen will begin a new year with new courses and teachers. An important part of their success is your level of knowledge about their educational experience.

• Course schedules — As soon as your teen gets a copy of his or her class schedule, make several copies. You will want to note the name of the course, the room number, and the teacher's name. Keep a copy at your home and at your work.
• Locker information — Record the locker number and combination of your teen's locker. If your child becomes ill you may need to pick up textbooks. These numbers will be helpful.
• Course descriptions — In high school, most teachers will provide a student with a course description or syllabus. Ask your teen for these sheets and review them.

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Take notice

Important dates

Mark down these dates.

To get more information on the SAT or SAT Subject Tests, access useful tools, or register, visit the College Board's Web site (www.collegeboard.com) or call (866) 756-7346.

To get more information on the ACT, access useful tools, or register, visit the ACT Web site (www.act.org) or call (319) 337-1270.

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