As the deadlines to apply to colleges end, seniors must await their admissions and then make a commitment to a college. Many high school students grow up striving to get good, hard-earned grades in order to be granted admission to their favorite colleges. Except, when one is asked why they desire to go to the college of their choice, many students grow speechless. Or, they open their mouths to utter the words “environment”, “energy”, or “party school”. 

Nowadays, many young adults lack the awareness of what each college can provide in terms of education. They look at only what they can see, through images and videos being thrown at them through social media, all that is easy access. When it comes to doing research about the programs and education of the colleges, seniors come to lack that knowledge.

How can students change this mindset that hinders them from making an impactful choice based on their success in their future careers instead of their success in having a raving social life that only lasts for a part of their college years? It is often these students that create a large percentage of their school’s dropout rate, since they are unprepared for the other factors that are what college is really about. 

The idea is not to refrain from choosing schools based on the environment, since it is important to pick a school that one would be comfortable spending a good majority of time in. But it is also very important to make a choice based on the academic aspect that is essentially what students pay to go to college for. Any college transfer and successful adult would advise young adults to make their choices wisely in order to not waste any time or money.