AkronSi said:
As an employee of a state university, I think I can shed some light on why colleges are more selective than they have been in the past. One of the major reasons at my school is student retention. The school I work for has historically accepted anyone with a heartbeat (literally). They have always had an issue with people dropping out after the first year, or going almost the full way only to transfer to another school to finish their degree. By raising standards, schools bet that less students will drop out and that more students will finish their degrees because the student body is higher quality (better school reputation).
Bingo. My university's main problem is the number of 1st year students that fail out after the first year or (lately) find the constant tuition increases make going to college at home cheaper.
To the OP- what field of work do you hope to go into? I'm not trying to put down universities, but relevant work experience seems to have a higher influence on getting a job in the competitive market. For areas that involve science and research or business, you'll benefit from a reputable university, but if you plan on a graduate level degree or a job in the humanities or social sciences, any 4-year school and a good GPA will be good. This is what I have found, but it could be different depending on what area of the country you live in.
Once you get accepted into some of the schools you wanted, see if you can go check them out for a few days. The college experience varies widely between each person, but there is definitely a noticeable level of drinking and partying wherever you go. "Recreational drug use" is also pretty common.
When I was a freshman, I noticed that the following groups were pretty prominent:
1. Greeks. The sorority and fraternity people that were always busy with date parties, fundraising events, promoting their groups for new recruits. Definitely a good way to meet a LOT of people in a place that may be new to you, but overwhelming if you aren't used to doing a lot of stuff and a good way to get into a bad situation if you join the wrong fraternity.
2. Gamers. Xbox Live was a BIG deal since you had the campus network and Ethernet jacks everywhere you went. Some people were pretty hardcore and stayed up all night playing only to miss class the next day. Since there's a lot of people who do this, it's another way to meet friends and build strong relationships. Also applies to WoW and CS.
3. Academics. Pretty self-explanatory. There are usually on-campus groups for people who are devoted to studying. These groups form to do lots of community projects together.
4. Athletes. Depending on your school's NCAA reputation, this group may be more/less prominent. It's difficult to describe because some athletes manage to fit into the Academics group while outperforming others in their sport, and some become so devoted to their sport that class is merely a nuisance in their schedule.
5. Commuters. You see them in class, and that's really it. A lot of them seem to work part time jobs so they don't have a lot of time to lounge around the union talking about how global warming is or is not a conspiracy. I was in the commuter group after my first year when I was stuck in the dorms on campus. I like to think this group has the best benefit because working part time gives you a chance to figure out what working at a job is like and you end up better prepared when 4 (or is it 5 now?) years passes by quicker than you realize.
There are other groups, but I can't seem to think of any more that are as large as these. Unfortunately, I never noticed a 'auto detailers' group because if you're studying as much as you should be, you won't have the time to spend 4-5 hours giving your car a wash and wax.
I may have divulged some information that people don't pick up until they've been in college for a while, but I'll give you the benefit of knowing how it COULD BE beforehand.
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