Selecting a University part 2

 In my previous  "selecting ta school"post I  advocated selecting a universityby trying to identify   the place  you feel most at home and the one that is most conducive to your intellectual growth.

 This can be time time consuming and a lot of effort - b\ut I urge  you to  go through the process.


 Here is a more straightforward  and easier way


 Select the 5 characteristics that matter to you

 Some choices are

 1. Proximity too home
2.  Academic reputation of university
 3.Reputation of the department  you are interested in.  Many universities  have individual programs that are ranked much higher than the university as a whole.  This is especially true at  STEM focussed  universities. For example the Computer science program at Carnegie Mellon is always ranked in the top 3 along with Stanford and  MIT  but CMU  rarely makes  into the top 20 in the national rankings.

4.  Climate. Dont underestimate how hard it can be to adjust to a  sub zero winter if you are from a warmer  part of the world.
5. Setting. Is it an urban school or Rural.  Are there good restaurants, theaters, bookstores nearby? These    things matter -  College life happens outside the classroom.

 Now score each f your options on a 1-5 scale for the factors  you  used. Select the school with the most points.