Evaluating the College Offer Letter
If all has gone according to plan thus far, there is a good chance that you will receive more than one acceptance letter from the colleges that you have applied to. Ideally, you will have filled out and mailed all of your applications within days of each other, and will have filed the information regarding the estimated time of notification for each of the colleges you applied to. This means that you have some idea about how long each college will take to let you know whether or not you have been accepted as a student. Your two “safety schools” will most likely send the acceptance letter, and possibly even one or two of your “dream schools” will do the same.
At this point, the decisions fall to you based on the information that is detailed in the letters. Your ability to pay for the education offered by each college will play a big role in which one you choose, so be sure that you recap the total tuition and fees for each school against the scholarships, grants, and loan moneys that you have compiled thus far. Is the bigger, better university worth all of the stress, extra work, and starvation that you may have to endure in order to attend? Or is the smaller, adequate school a better choice in that you will be afforded a less frantic and exhausting college career?
The college or university that you decide on is a very important choice, and a personal one. Your parents may be of great help throughout the decision process, but it is important that you wait until you have received notification from each school that you applied to before making the final decision. Some of the scholarships that you have qualified for may only pertain to a particular college, and this is a great consideration when it comes to your ability to pay for and continue your education.
Also, be sure that you have read each response in its entirety, and that any deadlines for acceptance are adhered to on your end. This might put some added pressure on you, and it might hurt a little to accept a college that you can afford over the one that you have always dreamed of attending. In the end, though, if you are unable to give your undivided attention to your studies at the more elaborate university of your choice because you are forced to hold down a lot of work hours, the level of training that you receive might end up being less than that received at a smaller college.
Once you have decided which house of higher learning will work best for you and your particular situation, you are free to accept that offer and begin the admissions process. Some find that they are offered more choices if they begin their basic college degree at the public level, and then work toward earning their desired major at a more elaborate university. This can cut down on the overall costs of higher education and prepare the student for the increased work load and costs ahead.
