How to go about choosing..

[Anonymous 6]

For any of you who have read my previous posts. I moved down to Texas with my Boyfriend, and things aren't exactly working out for the best. I haven't always had the best choice of schools, because wherever I decide to go, I need to pay out of pocket. My family makes really good money, so I don't get much financial aid. I went to a community college for 2 years and graduated with my Associates in Business. The school itself was not very good, but I did learn a lot from there.

I decided before I moved with him that my main goal would be to go back to school, full time. Not working full time to pay the tuition like I did before, so that I can go and have the "college experience" while I'm still young enough to do so.

Since things are going south with my personal life, my father recently informed me that I could choose any school in the country to go to, and he would pay to send me there, Full-time, meal plan, the whole 9 yards.

I have done some research on areas that I would want to live in after I graduate. But anywhere in the country?? How do you chose that.. I want some place where the economy tends to do fairly well with Business related fields, low crime, with a good school. So far I have chosen Texas A&M University, University of Arkansas, and University of California. Does anyone else have ideas on more of what I should be looking at?? I'm a business major, and I'm currently trying to figure out rather I would do Economics, or Marketing. I know that Marketing has a promising future in certain areas of the U.S, but its very competitive, same with economics. Does anyone have majors/areas/schools that really worked out for them? I'm looking for something that is reasonably priced, with a good return rate.

[Snny]

Business degrees are very competitive in general. Unfortunately there are no guarantees that you will have a career before or right after graduating college. With that said, I strongly recommend looking into internship programs that the school offers first. You want as much experience as you can get by the time you finish school so that your opportunities are greater than the fresh graduates with hardly any job skills or experience.

 

There were other factors I sought while applying to schools. I applied for a school that had a high graduation rate, smaller class sizes, affordable student housing/accommodations, and additional support centers so that I could get help on any classes I struggled with. I also looked at the school's internship program and the percentage of students who ended up with careers after college.

 

Once you find schools you are interested in, attend open houses. Bring your parents along for the ride so you all can get a feel of what the college is like.

 

Loe crime rate is a bonus... but every college has its own problems. I was lucky I didn't run into problems, but I did not walk around campus alone at night.

[lostnscared]

Meh, you better try to go to an IVY if your going the business route. Just being honest with you. I graduated with a marketing major a few years ago, and the competition is pretty tough in the field NOW even more so then when I graduated. There aren't as many jobs, and the pay is so low for recent grads that you're essentially only a few steps above minimum wage. Business is a very saturated field right now(along with several other fields), and you're going to competing a lot for jobs if you go to a regular public or private college. Of the people I know that had no problem finding careers after graduating and that got paid substantial salaries when they graduated are those who went to top twenty schools/Ivy League schools. Anything else and you'll be only a little better than what you are right with just your associates. I'm making a career transition and one of the reasons is what I just said above--the only way I could ever dream of making VERY good money in my field(marketing) is if I went to get my MBA at a top Business school.

But I agree with Snny if you're going to major in the field anyway and can't go to an Ivy school, than your next best bet is looking at schools that offer very good networking, great internships and are in locations that haven't been severely impacted by the economy. I personally would not go to California because of that (LOL). But Texas, from what I know, is doing better than other states when it comes to jobs.