There are many factors to consider when deciding which college or university to attend. One cannot rely on prestige or a school’s reputation alone, but costs, scholarships, and location are a few things to consider. Choosing a college or university is intensely stressful, overwhelming, and scary. 

When asking Victoria Castañeda, a senior at Somerset Canyons and Harvard applicant, about whether or not she believed that students should attend a college or university based on name and reputation alone, this is what she had to say: “No, because at the end of the day, no matter how high a reputation or name a college might carry and regardless of the prestigious successful alumni that graduated from there, it is ultimately up to the own individual student to make the best of their resources and education in order to work hard towards making their dream career/life into a reality. Therefore, students should not attend a college solely based on its reputation and name because, in the end, it’s not the degree or education that matters but what one does with their degree and education in order to have a successful career and fulfilling life.” 

This article will analyze these factors to help seniors decide on their dream college. 

When choosing a career path, the most prominent factor for a significant amount, if not all students, would be the costs. How much is the tuition? Or the dorms? What about the monthly car payment? College is a heavy financial burden on many individuals, and the loan debt can haunt many for many years afterward. With this understanding in mind, it would be a potential help to decide by logging onto the college or university’s website and calculating cost differences. Even if the cost differences are only off by a slight amount, a few thousand dollars perhaps, then there would be a better ability to use that saved money toward books or a meal plan. 

Another factor that goes hand-in-hand with the cost is scholarships. If a student maintained an impressive GPA throughout high school and earned a high score on their SAT or ACT, then the schools most likely sought to see if the student was eligible for a scholarship. Different scholarships are given depending on the school and the grants, which formulate the specific amount of money given. Even if a student is not given these grants directly from the school, there is the opportunity to apply for scholarships worth a thousand or more throughout the months by looking on the school’s page or finding another online source. If enough of these scholarships are earned, they can be stacked on top of one another and come to a significant amount of money that could pay for the semester’s tuition or more. 

The location of the college or university is also another significant factor among the students of Somerset. There are significant pros and cons to living long and short distances from home, which must be weighed and decided personally. Everyone has differing passions and desires and must be unique to one’s self, not anyone else’s opinion. Deciding where someone wants to go may be scary, whether to college, the workforce, or the military, but trust in yourself, and the right decision will be made