Important features your new university should have
A lot of people really have no idea how to choose a university. Many will simple choose on that is local, or they may choose one that has a good football team. You can of course use any criteria that you want to choose a university but there are a few features that you should make sure that your school has.
Probably the most important thing that your university should have is a good reputation. There are some schools that have much better reputations than others and this will have a huge impact on how useful your degree is. In reality the reputation of the school has little real impact on the quality of the education that you receive, especially at the under graduate level. That being said it will be a factor when you go looking for a job with your new degree so it is something that you are going to want to make sure of.
Another thing that your university should have is high entry standards like in Princeton University. In a lot of ways this is related to the reputation of the school and is probably over rated. However being around other good students should help you to learn better so it can help you to get more out of your degree. Of course high entry standards can be a double edged sword, the standards may keep you from getting in. Therefore you are going to want to choose the school with the highest standards that will you are actually capable of getting into.
Another feature that you may want to look for when you are choosing a university is whether or not they offer online learning. This can come in handy even if you are planning to attend school on a full time basis. Many students find that they need to make up a course or that they just want to get their degree done faster. Being able to take one or two courses each semester online will allow you to get your work done faster. You may want to look into whether they offer online courses during the summer to allow yourself to get even further ahead.
Since the primary goal of most people who go to university is to find a job you should choose a school that will help you with this. The best thing is to find a school that offers a co-op program. This will allow you to gain work experience while you are at school. In many cases the company that you do your co-op with will offer you a job. The university should also offer things like assistance with finding a job. It is also a good idea to look at how successful graduates of the school were at finding work. Most universities will publish statistics that will tell you this.