Making a life-changing decision is an extremely frightening choice. Some of these choices include what college one attends, and the path taken to shape their future. There are a large number of schools, and the decision of which one to attend is difficult. There are many different options as to where to attend college; they all have comparing and contrasting qualities that help form decisions. There are many colleges across the country, and it is challenging to find the one that best fits the needs of individual students. In order to make the best decision, research and engagement is required to know which school is the best choice.
Knowing the different available options to pursue is vital to making the decision of what college to choose. This is because different colleges provide different types of career paths and options for every individual. This is important because choosing which school to attend shapes a student’s learning, which then leads to shaping their future career. In order to make the best decision, consider the different aspects that Ohio University, Cedarville University, and Clemson University each have to offer. The aspects include the options of majors and minors that are offered at each university, the full coverage of cost and tuition, and the numerous possibilities that studying abroad offers as they all contribute to the process of choosing the most sufficient university.
One school that has a wide range of aspects is Ohio University. Ohio University, also know as OU, is a university in southern Ohio that has numerous majors and minors to choose from. Ohio University offers nearly 250 major programs with some degrees being Baccalaureate and the others being Associates (sec.Curricula – Certificates, Major Programs, Minors). The variety of programs provide numerous options and different directions for student who attend OU. Choosing a career path is a difficult choice but after choosing, many opportunities are available. In addition to majors and minors, cost and tuition is also an important aspect to think about when choosing a college to attend. The annual in-state total price for OU includes tuition and fees, room, and board, and the total results to $25,158 (sec.The OHIO Guarantee™,chart).
However, to include tuition and fees, room, board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses, the cost would be $28,986 (chart). Ohio University offers different options depending on each student’s personal preference such as what to include in his or her total cost and tuition. Cost affects both the student and his or her family because the student’s family most likely supports their child while at school. If the student is handling the money by themselves, it creates more of a reason for them to heavily consider this aspect. Lastly, studying abroad is an important aspect to consider. Ohio University offers seven different programs with a few being, “American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS), Academic Programs International (API), and Cultural Experiences Abroad (CEA)” (sec. OHIO affiliate programs).
Each of these are different and unique to fit the needs of the students attending Ohio University. According to Tabitha Landrum, a current student attending Ohio University, “There are many programs that fulfill the needs of students when they want to travel and study abroad. There is a student who came from abroad, and he was interested in studying back in his homeland. He had researched different programs and he found many that many were sufficient.” Studying abroad expands the boundaries of learning. It allows students to experience differentiating values and ways of thinking that is not present at the university. When one has multiple perspectives, it creates a larger array of knowledge, expanding the possibilities for the student.
Although Ohio University provides many views, Cedarville University also proposes key concepts to consider. Cedarville is a university in midwest Ohio that offers many major and minor programs. According to Cedarville’s website, there are nearly 140 programs offered to the students (Find Your Program). Since there are various programs, there are innumerable opportunities for students who attend Cedarville to prosper. In addition to these programs, a certain amount of time is set aside from students’ classes for church relations (sec.Church Relation, par.1). Church relations engage students in church to strengthen relationships and academic goals (par.1). This is an enormous piece of Cedarville’s practices as it is solely what the school is built around.. Considerably the most important aspect is cost and tuition as it is key in the decision-making process.
The total estimated cost of the annual direct charges before financial aid is $23,220. However, Cedarville offers many ways to offset the tuition price. Cedarville provides six different academic and achievement scholarships with them being President’s Society Fellows Scholarship, President’s Excellence Scholarship, Chancellor’s Excellence Scholarship, Dean’s Excellence Scholarship, Faculty Excellence Scholarship, and Cedarville Achievement Scholarship (Academic and Achievement Scholarships, sec.1). Academic scholarships span from $7,500 to $20,000 yearly and can be used for all four years given that the students meet the essential GPA (Costs and Scholarships, par.3), which is at minimum 3.0(Academic and Achievement Scholarships, sec.1). After the scholarships and financial aid, the remaining balance is $14,410 (Cedarville University is committed to affordability!,chart) The financial factor is significant to college students because student loans typically result in debt later in life. In order to limit future debt, it is a wise decision to look ahead in order to prevent future debt, and also to analyse the benefits of each college. In addition to cost, another main factor is the studying abroad program. This is significant because it enables opportunities for students to explore diverse cultures and experiences. As stated on Cedarville Website, “Most trips are under $5,000 including tuition, program fee, and lodging. Airfare is usually not included, but group flights will be available with students paying for their flight cost individually” (Summer/Short Term Programs, par. 2). This explains the financial aspect, as well as the components of studying abroad, which are the tuition, fees, lodging, and flights.
The information given is vital it provides a firm foundation and gives students all the information needed to make a decision. These options are essential to know because it enables a variety of options to increase students’ array of learning, such as visiting a foreign country to gain different knowledge about their specific career path. Cedarville is offering to attend Spain and Ireland next year and offers different courses to take in order to be prepared (Additional trips TBD, more information to come). Some of these courses include spanish language and culture courses as well as spanish internships (Courses).
Cedarville University illustrates great points to consider, but Clemson University, also called CU, does too. Clemson is a university in the northern region of South Carolina that covers many aspects of opportunities that are available for students who attend the school. Clemson offers over 15 categories of medical programs to engage in with a few being biological sciences, healthcare genetics, industrial engineering, and much more (sec.Academic programs). This demonstrates the different options students can choose from, and provides background knowledge on each to ensure one makes the best decision. Cost is also an important factor because cost impacts not only the students, but also their family. The full-time tuition of residents annually is $27,598, which includes tuition and fees, room and board, and books and supplies (sec.Estimated 2018-19 cost).
However, if a student is a non-resident, the total becomes $49,352 (sec.Estimated 2018-19 cost) Cost and tuition is significant because students are required to pay these expenses; it is their responsibility to evaluate their choices of opportunities to reduce the cost.. Scholarships are a great way avoid these expenses. High ACT scores can create opportunities for scholarships. There are three main groups of scholarships: Academic Recruiting, Diversity, and Restricted (sec. Clemson University Scholarships and Grants, par.4). The Academic Recruiting group, only offered to freshman, consists of five different scholarships (sec.Freshman Recruiting Scholarships) as the Diversity group offers seven different scholarships (sec.Clemson University Diversity Scholarships). Furthermore, the Restricted category provides two scholarships (sec.Clemson University Restricted Scholarships and Grants). These scholarships are a key point in the financial aspect because it lowers the cost of attending the university.
Finally, the last aspect that is significant to choosing the correct college is abroad studies. It is important because it supplies students with opportunities to explore different options and different ways to enhance their learning process. Clemson provides support for their students as they choose to pursue their career worldwide. As their website says, “Clemson Abroad provides operational support to student engagement programs outside of the U.S.A. that contribute to Clemson University’s missions, goals, and emphasis areas” (sec.Welcome to Clemson Abroad, par.1). This comes to prove that the staff supports their students through this process by providing them with programs that contribute to their success by pushing students to their limits to pull out their distinct qualities in order to make them superior students.
There are many aspects to consider when examining colleges. These aspects include what majors and minors are available, the cost of attending the school, and the additional opportunities to travel the world and enhance the studies of the students through studying abroad options. Three colleges that best fit these needs are Ohio University, Cedarville University, and Clemson University. They all have these important aspects, however, they offer them in different ways. Some have more reasonable prices than others while some have well-built studying abroad programs. Whichever school you pick, it is based upon your opinion. After considering all aspects, Ohio University would best suit me because it offers a strong neuroscience and psychology program, which is important because these are the fields in which I want to pursue.
Ohio University also provides reasonable financial options, and an extensive abroad study program. This is vital to me because these options give me numerous reasons to choose OU. In order to make the best decision, you must research each individual school to weigh out the positives and negatives. Sit down with your parents, discuss the options, research the schools you want to attend, and then make your best decision. In order to choose the best school, it is crucial that students take time to research the options; from there, they must choose what school best fits his or her needs.
