Hello everyone,

Plymouth State University, like many universities across the country, holds orientation sessions for all incoming students during the month of June.  These sessions are designed to welcome new students to the PSU community and to show them how PSU does things.  At a recent orientation session, I had an interesting encounter with an incoming student.  This student told me that she was listed as undecided in her major even though she had indicated that she was interested in majoring in “hospitality.”  When I pointed out that PSU does not have a major in “hospitality,” she said her second choice was “hotel management”.  PSU also has no program in “hotel management” and so, on hearing this information, she mentioned a major that we do offer.  So we picked out some classes based on her third choice of a major.  I heard her later complaining to one of her friends that PSU doesn’t even offer her major.  This experience got me thinking about how students choose a college to attend.

There is some good advice on the web about choosing a college or university.  The advice typically focuses on doing as much research as possible about the college as well as not making decisions about where to go based on where other people are choosing to go. 

Based on my anecdote from the recent orientation session, the first thing you should investigate as you’re looking at schools is whether the college or university offers the major in which you are interested.  Not all colleges offer the same courses of study.   If you know for sure you want to major in “hospitality”, for example, make sure the schools you apply to offer something related to that field. Even if you don’t know what you want to major in, you should still pay attention to the possibilities at the schools to which you apply.  If none of the majors offered by the school sound the least bit interesting to you, that school is probably not the place for you.

I’m curious about the kinds of things that made those of you who are already in college choose the school that you attend.  Let us know!

Cathie

Note: The Center for College Planning meets with rising high school seniors to help them find colleges to consider based on their personal achievements and criteria they want in a school (such as major, location, size, environment, etc.).  To schedule an appointment with a College Counselor call 888.7.GRADUATE ext 119.