Juniors and Seniors Make College Decisions

When choosing a college, there is a lot to take into consideration: the type of school, the tuition, the location, the majors offered, the campus life, the special programs, and the athletic department.

Ali Ruckstadter, a senior as Arrowhead, says, “What’s helped me the most in making my decision is cost and school respectability.”

Students may do online research and take a tour to see if a college is right for them.

Soon, seniors will get responses from the colleges they applied to and have to decide which school they want to commit to. Juniors, in one short year, will have to go through the same process.

Ruckstadter says, “I was lucky to find a school that’s well respected in the field I want to go to, but still has a very high acceptance rate. So, my emotions about college and applying haven’t been as extreme as I’ve heard from other people.”

Ruckstadter says she applied and was accepted to UW-Platteville.

On figuring out where to apply, Erin Benson, a 2016 Arrowhead graduate, says, “I found all of my colleges through research and also portfolio day at MIAD, which is a day where schools from across the country send reps to look at portfolios and give you feedback and information about their school.”

Ruckstadter says, “I used some of the school’s resources to find my best fit school.”

On September 26th, Arrowhead hosted The Wisconsin Education Fair. On the Arrowhead website there is a section under college information about the fair that says, “The program will provide an opportunity to obtain information from approximately 110 different post-secondary institutions. Representatives from Wisconsin and out-of-state colleges and universities, UW Centers, vocational schools, trade schools and the military will be present to talk about the many educational opportunities available. In addition, a financial aid counselor will be making periodic presentations.”

Also, every day there are representatives from different colleges at tables in the North Campus commons. The school change frequently so students get the opportunity everyday to get information on different colleges. On the Arrowhead website a schedule can be found or what schools are coming when.

Arrowhead has also introduced a new website to help students plan their future. This site is called Career Cruising. On this site, students can take a quiz that has questions on aspects of college. Students answer questions dealing with school type, location, tuition, majors offered, campus life, special programs, and sports. Once these questions are answered, the website will make lists of schools that compare well with the answers. Students can then use the website to do further research on schools in those lists.

Anna Bromberger, an Arrowhead junior says, “Arrowhead is definitely doing what they can to help students. Although they can’t make the decision for us the resources they have given us makes the decision easier.”