How to choose the Right College after 12th?

Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions that students make in their life. In Supergrads' super career league series, we emphasise the importance of choosing the right college. So, if you're wondering what your college alternatives are, this article will help you make an intuitive and informed decision about your college choice. Go through the article thoroughly to know the steps required to choose the right college for your career.

Reasons for choosing a good college?

Choosing a college is one of the most significant decisions you will make in your life. And it's true. Where you attend college will have a long-term influence on your personal and professional life. But the fact is that many students choose a college primarily on emotions or a very limited set of criteria—sometimes simply an instinct. While this will not only prevent you from succeeding academically but professionally also, therefore, such a significant decision should certainly be scrutinized more closely. Following are some critical reasons for selecting the right college.

• The right college would assist you in making your career whereas a wrong college may even break your career.
• The subjects taught in college are useful in professional life therefore choosing the right college that gives importance to their academics as well as extra-curricular is fruitful for a good career.
• Another important aspect is the alumnus tag, the pride of being an Indian, IIM graduate etc. can help you provide an initial lift required for your career.
• Some colleges are really influential and well renowned, getting into one of them can help you in your job interviews, higher education opportunities like MIT, Stanford, etc.

What are the important aspects of a good college?

Choosing the perfect college is as much a matter of learning about yourself as it is of learning about potential colleges. You may not know what job you want to pursue after graduation, but you surely know what your hobbies are and what you're excellent at. Thinking about this will help you determine your interest in a certain field. Some of the most crucial considerations to bear in mind while selecting a college are listed below.

Diversity

Diverse college campuses provide students with more worldviews to contemplate and participate with. 

• College students can benefit from their peers who have diverse viewpoints formed by a range of experiences. Interaction between people with diverse worldviews has the potential to influence minds or shape beliefs. 
• Their learning is raised because they can appreciate, comprehend, and hear from someone from a different background, which may or may not change their thinking, but it affects how they place themselves in their own views and beliefs.

Student Committees and Societies

There are several organizations and Societies that assist students in gaining virtual experience for future demanding tasks.

• Participating in a student society not only teaches you these skills, but it also helps you enhance your current ones. You will build emotional intelligence as you create new relationships and professional connections, and you will discover the best method to interact with both people and large groups. 
• A College Committee, on the other hand, serves as a key link between the student body and the professors. The primary goal of this committee is to serve as a conduit of communication between students and teachers about academic activities and the enforcement of university laws. Participating on a college committee will undoubtedly benefit your overall growth.

Speaker sessions

A good college hosts various seminars, speaker sessions, ted x sessions, panel discussions etc. 

• A seminar is a group meeting led by an expert on a certain topic or discipline, such as business, job searching, or a university field such as literature. Seminars often last a few hours and include cooperative discussion, numerous presenters, and the opportunity to share viewpoints and concerns concerning the topic. 
• Attending a seminar has numerous benefits, including improving communication skills, gaining expert knowledge, networking with others and renewing motivation and confidence. These sessions help students learn things in a case study type of format.

Student monitoring system 

A college that monitors students' performance periodically and has an atmosphere of learning based on constructive feedback, helps students perform better in their curriculum as well as in their lives. Discipline and freedom should move hand in hand, there should be a freedom to make choices and discipline to maintain integrity.

What are the traits of an Excellent College?

If you are targeting a college that can help you stand out, or simply an exceptional college. Below are some traits that can help you identify an excellent college.

• Student exchange programmes

Some excellent colleges like IIM choose eligible students to spend one academic term at renowned business institutes throughout the world. This will certainly help undergrads obtain international exposure and perspective. Studying in a foreign nation is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that every student should have at least once during his or her academic career.

• Interaction events

When you socialize regularly in college, you tend to develop deep and lasting relationships. Even if some of the connections are shorter term, they can support you in different ways. An excellent college hosts various interaction events like symposiums, Webinars etc, to engage students with industry experts.

• Syllabus for holistic personality development 

These colleges follow a curriculum consisting of many different courses such as philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, mathematics, statistics, French, drama, etc. Basically, you would be taught things important for overall holistic and personality development. They also use techniques like psychometric testing to enhance the student learning experience.

• Placement Cell

These colleges have very strong placement cells, with student members to handle placement scenarios for different branches. They have been working for a long time to make academics and operations better than others.

• Infrastructure and technology 

Latest teaching aids, rich opportunities for training, a solid backbone of IT, state-of-the-art sports complexes and hostels, as well as modern infrastructure.

Student council and alumni - very strong

Rejection criterion for a college

• Prevent colleges that do radio marketing, newspaper marketing etc. Basically, you should avoid taking admission to colleges that do pay advertisements. 
• Look at the NIRF ranking of the college and also the reason for a good or a bad ranking
• Research about the Ecosystem of the colleges, are they providing the ecosystem required for holistic growth of students or not.
• Placement figures tell a lot about the college, as companies prefer colleges only after doing a descriptive analysis of the college.
• A Weak student vibe on social platforms also tells about the disciplinary actions and academics of the college
• Another important aspect is Co-curricular activities, some colleges do have strong academics but still lag in extracurricular activities and social events that are essential for the overall growth of an individual.

Important Tips for Selecting a College

• Do your own research through internet sources like Shiksha, collegedekho, toprankers, youtube, etc, and also look for colleges that do pay advertisements.
• Get in touch with student alumni to know about their personal experiences and the environment of the college.
• Search about the college on review platforms like Quora
• College events' popularity tells a lot about the importance given by colleges for extracurricular activities.
• Do a SWOT analysis of colleges by gathering strengths and weaknesses from different sources.
• Apart from placement trends also look for higher education opportunities and how many many students have been admitted to top universities from Linkedin.
• Return on investment is also an important factor, with a good ROI students can cover their whole fees within the first six months of the job.