Milford chronicle., 1957-01-25
Start Early
In Selecting
Right College
AP Newsfeatures

Al
Do you have a son or daughter
in the senior year of high school
this year? If college is on the hor-
lion, now is none too soon to start
planning. Even during the jun
ior high school year much ground
work can be laid to help arrive at
that most important decision
what college?
There are literally thousands of
colleges in these United States.
Somewhere there is at least one
and maybe many more that are
just exactly right for your Mary
or your Bill. The first Job is to
find that college. The second of
course is to have that college ac-
cept Mary or Bill.
College is a lot more than just
a place where youth acquires aca-
demic education The four college
years are critical years in shaping
adult life. 1t is here the youth will
get started on the work he wants
to spend his life doing, il is here
he makes friends that last a life
time. During college years he may
well meet his future wife (or hus-
band).
Help your son or daughter Sc
lect a college with all these objec-
tives in view. Help him, but don't
make the decision for him. He
must think out his needs and de-
sires and try to match them
against the offerings of various i'm
stitutions.
Many high schools have compe-
tent college counselors who can
be of great assistance, but many
high schools have no one with the
time or the up-to-date knowledge
needed for this job. But whether
the high school helps or not the
parents certainly want to have a
part in this major decision in the
life Of their son or daughter.
A good place to start is with
copy of standard college guide
available at most book stores. This
guide lists ali the colleges in the
country, and gives a few pertinent
facts about each one, such as To-
cation, size, coeducation, costs, re-
ligious preference, if any, special
courses. size of library, etc.
With this guide to help you, you
will not miss any college you might
have forgotten about or might
never have heard of. What does
your son or daughter want, a big
school, a school near home, a CO.
educational one? What courses
does he want2 What can you af-
ford to pay for his education?
Make list of colleges that seem
to offer what you want and. send
for their catalogues. Most col
leges offer pretty well-rounded
liberal arts courses. If you want
some speciality your choice will
automatically be narrowed. Cor
nell for example has an outstand-
ing course in hotel manag
Wisconsin's School of the Dance is
known the country over; Oberlin
has a special course for music
majors; Antioch combines acad-
emic work and experience in the
working world. From the cata-
logue you can learn about the spe-
ciai interests of each college.
After you have read the cata-
logue try to visit as many of the
colleges that sound attractive as
you possibly can. Write to the
Dean of Admissions and make an
appointment. Deans are always
glad to talk to prospective stu
dents. You can get more of an
idea of a place in a visit than from
a printed page. Perhaps you can
go as a family group to visit some
college. Perhaps your son or
daughter can go alone during one
of the vacations.
Narrow your choice down to not
more than half a dozen and to
these your child can fill out ap-
plication blanks.