# Why/how did you choose your college or university?



## angelfish (Feb 17, 2011)

Small, liberal arts, artsy, eco-friendly, public. Small classes and great professors. Lots of student involvement and opportunities for research. Not in my hometown but not too far away. Mostly I just felt right the second I stepped onto campus. Had a fantastic experience and am very happy with that decision.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

tanstaafl28 said:


> A woman (who broke up with me my freshman year). Typical.


I should like to point out that I was an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and 22 years old when I first matriculated to college. Pretty much every school I applied to offered me admission without even looking at my SAT scores or HS grades (all they cared about was that I was a veteran and I graduated from high school). I could have gone to main campus at WVU, PITT, Penn State, or St. Vincent College. I chose to go to California University of Pennsylvania, a little podunk school with about 10,000 students approximately 45 minutes SE of Pittsburgh. The town had two bars, two gas stations, and only one traffic light.


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## AriesLilith (Jan 6, 2013)

*Wen I picked my Bsc in Computer Cience degree -* because picking a degree is expected, because I didn't have any particular interest so I picked this coz I liked computers (did not know what was waiting for me), and because I did well on maths exams which was required to get into this course.

*When I picked my Masters in Informatics and Enterprise Systems -* because I'm very interested in expanding my knowledge in the IT, years after working as a programmer. Because the subjects seemed interesting and it's e-learning so it works with my job schedule.

Despite having picked CS just because so, I was actually good at programming and logic. It was after I started working that my interest in the field grew a lot.


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## abnormal (Jun 24, 2015)

• A general respect for knowledge that the faculty and (nearly all) the student body possess
• Professors are rather renowned (89 Nobel Prize winners )
• Little importance placed upon athletics
• Smaller in size (~6,000 undergrads)
• People are willing to stay up until 4 am talking about Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven with me (true)
• The architecture is beautiful (not a deciding factor, but it didn't hurt)
• The weather is nearly always dark and _cold_ (and I love it)
• Everybody I meet is interesting


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## joshman108 (Apr 14, 2014)

I went because my parents would have kicked me out otherwise and i was not financially prepared for that. Also I had absolutely nothing else I could think to do.

As for where - that pretty came down to the school that was closest to my house so I wouldn't have to waste money living on a campus somewhere else in the world.


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## O_o (Oct 22, 2011)

For Masters: I chose my program over others because one of the professors there is researching an area that I'm very interested in and they accept two of their master's students into their Ph.D program each year. Another perk was their clinic; MA students begin working with clients on their first week there, and that exposure to the field really appealed to me. Prestige and location also counted. 

As for Bachelors: My plan for law school in Europe had resulted in a massive existential crisis during my first few weeks there; moved back to the US and literally picked the closest school to me.


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## Asmodaeus (Feb 15, 2015)

Based on the availability and the quality of the programme(s) I was interested in.


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## Finny (Jul 17, 2015)

- Small and quiet about 4000 undergrads so approx 1000 per grade (crowded and loud places make me feel overwhelmed and anxious)
- Have heard good recommendations from students who are currently going there through friends 
- I have multiple interests and am kinda a jack of all trades type person and the school specializes in dealing with people with multiple interests to find the right major as well as still allows them to entertain other areas of studies through their curriculum.
- Has offered me a good financial deal / scholarship


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

It's cheap.


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## Wolf (Mar 20, 2016)

Cheap
Very close to where I live
The classes transfer to the other schools I'm looking at


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## SgtPepper (Nov 22, 2016)

It was far, but not too far, it had the programs I wanted, and I could afford it.


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## Queen of Cups (Feb 26, 2010)

It was a small private school. The program was excellent, and I got a full academic scholarship.


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## KillinIt (Jul 27, 2015)

It had its own woodland and lakes and was in the countryside and whilst it was a good uni (especially in terms of graduate employability) it wasn't like top of the leaderboards or massively hard to get in to. It was everything I wanted- laid back (none of this grammar school b*llshit where if you didn't get over 90% in everything you were a failure and oxbridge was the way to go) , people of a similar mindset to me who appreciate the peaceful, rural setting (I grew up in a city and never want to go back)and it was very pretty


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## Winter Queen (May 16, 2017)

I wasn't positive of my future major yet, but I had decided on computers or engineering as my general area of study. With that in mind I looked for the best schools for related majors, starting salaries of graduates, networking and such things. The location of the university I eventually choose was ideal because I could go home on the weekends. Being able to switch around belongings like books every couple of weeks and wash clothes at home was a nice bonus.


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## Fumetsu (Oct 7, 2015)

It was within walking distance roud:

hell, the only reaso nI started college was because I got on the wrong buss.


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## lolalalah (Aug 1, 2015)

I knew what I wanted to do and that I wanted to be far away from home. But it was my university that sort of chose me. Also, my parents went there, too.


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## Little Lady (May 12, 2017)

Touchy topic for me, I will admit.

I didn't do particularly well in my 2nd year of A-levels, and ended up being in Clearing on Results Day. Therefore I didn't get into my firm or insurance choice university I picked. Honestly speaking though, I'm glad I didn't end up getting into my firm choice and I would've asked to be released into Clearing if I had gotten into my insurance choice. 

Luckily, I already prepared for the worst and had decided on a Clearing choice university to get into whilst still studying the subject I wanted. It would just be at a "lower ranked" university. I called up on Results Day and they accepted me. I'm pretty content with the university I'm currently attending, all things considered.

Besides, I have a number of contingency plans for whenever backup options don't work out. I always find a way :wink:


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## Word Dispenser (May 18, 2012)

PalmKing214 said:


> I'm just curious to see what are some of the reasons people chose the university they go/went to.


The first I went to I went because I had to.

The second, I went to because it was what my dad wanted.

The third, I went to because I wanted to, but it was a foundations program (1 year). 

The fourth I'm going to because I want to. Game Art and Design (16 month consecutive program, with a job placement at the end.) and I chose it because:

1) I did research on the teachers and found out how well-versed in their fields they were-- I looked at their portfolios online, and decided whether or not I liked each one's style to learn from. Their work was amazing.

2) The student graduate work was amazing.

3) This was the same school I went to for what my dad wanted me to go into (Journalism), and it was familiar, and there are plenty of faculty I still know. I know the area very well, so I won't be confused or lost going in. (If I hadn't been there before, would probably take a trip prior a few times to get a feel for the area).

3) It's quick. It's 16-month consecutive, so I will be done, theoretically, in December 2018.

4) It costs less money than a lot of other places.

5) It's closer to the people I want to be around, since a lot of other schools are quite a bit farther away (Friends and family). 

6) The curriculum encompasses material I want to learn. There isn't any 'junk' thrown in superfluously. 

7) It specifically targets my personal goals for when I'm out of school, and where I want to be, and what I want to have learned.


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## titanII (Jan 11, 2017)

Highly rated program in my field of study. Cool ass city. Hot chicks.


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## DelphineSeyrig (May 19, 2017)

I go to a UK uni and I chose it because it has a very good overall reputation, a good reputation for my subject and the fact that it's quite isolated, but still in a good and central location.


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## red_evening_apple (Jun 15, 2020)

It was one of the few universities in my area that focused on environmental sciences and forestry. Also, it is considered as an excellence at European level in this field


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

Mostly affordability and location, both of which I sorta regret?? I really wished I could've shot for the stars and had the money to move far, but I don't believe in pulling out student loans (I did once, and it's amazing how schools will push you to pull out loans without going through the details that will majorly affect how much interest you have to pay- i.e., compounded daily, verses, monthly, quarterly, etc., and when you ASK to speak to a financial aid counselor at the university- they basically tell you no one's there to talk to you- so you either pay for class or you lose your spot). Yeah- I learned the hard way. Not that I had a choice when it's pretty urgent- and that's considering it was a two and a half-hour traffic drive _to_ and _from_, if I was lucky.


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## ai.tran.75 (Feb 26, 2014)

It was between going to school in the east coast or home - Have always dreamt of living in the east coast however after making a pro vs con list - 
I opt to stay home due to the fact that my mom misses me dearly ( I’m an only child to a single mother ) and the university that I was accepted to was more prestige and has a higher rating of students getting employed after graduation . I studied political science at Santa Clara University ( same school that Gavin Newsom went to ) . A part of me will always wonders what would happen if I were to go to school in NYC - however even if I were to be able to turn back time / I wouldve made the same decision. Met my partner my freshman year of college - had many fun adventures with my besties from high school , traveled a lot with my entp father and whenever my head hurts I was able to take a flight down to San Diego to see my esfp cousin - highly doubt I could afford that if I were to be living in New York . 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Doccium (May 29, 2016)

It was close by and offered the subject I was looking to apply for. Also, it doesn't cost a fortune.


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## Loony884 (Nov 3, 2020)

Lokation and my prsonal skills


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## Electra (Oct 24, 2014)

When I went to college I was able to choose between some places but then I finished that so I'm now studying online but I don't study at home all the time. I choose this course because it was cheap. The goal is to improve my grade and originally to get out to actually see people IRL (I'm an introvert and need to practice socializing etc.) but then corona came like a bomb that hit right during my last college exam in march. Oh well. Back to my livingroom it is...


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## Eugenia Shepherd (Nov 10, 2017)

I didn't have a whole lot of elbow room when I enrolled. 
I wanted to pay tuition out-of-pocket myself, and take classes without a drivers' license or car. Plus, I didn't even have "official" educational records
due to being homeschooled throughout high school.
Thankfully, that particular technical college offered the degreefield I was interested in, online, and fit all of my other needs.
I'm glad I took advantage of the opportunity when I did. It gave me some time to grow up, and seriously consider where I wanted to go next.
At this point, I have more options.  I'm aiming to get into a decent state university, within driving distance, next year.


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## LadyBlueShoes (Nov 6, 2020)

It might be more Fi than Fe of me to say it, but I think different educational paths can be good for different people. I wouldn't recommend my university to everybody. Your finances, your location, your educational interests, your skill set, your expectations, your hobbies, etc. all should be considerations.
For me many of those things aligned with my choice. I knew what degree I wanted to pursue, which made all the difference, and I didn't care about attending a party school. Had I not known what career path I was interested I would have went elsewhere. Part of the school's experience is networking, which would have been useless if I decided on a completely different field half way through the degree.


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## Katie Koopa (Jun 25, 2014)

The community college I went to after high school was close by, and that community college had a transfer program to the university that was also near by once I got done with my first two years.


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