1. Exploring the Right Postsecondary Fit Factors to Consider 8 th Grade Advisory Activity

2. Video: Liberal Arts Colleges Listen for: – What are strong points of liberal arts colleges? – What classes outside your major might you have to take more of? (Click on picture to play video)

3. Liberal Arts Colleges Highlights Committed to providing a broad education Examples: Carleton and Macalester Take more arts, humanities, and sciences outside their major Tend to be small: 1,500 to 8,000 students Often in rural areas, small towns or suburbs Some strong points – Excellent teaching, close to faculty, close-knit community Possible weak points – May be remote location, limited range of classes, expensive

4. Video: Research Universities Take notes – What is a focus of research universities? – What are strong points of research universities? Click on picture to play video

5. Research Universities Highlights A focus is on original research Example: University of Minnesota Some strong points – Excellent academics, entrée to top graduate programs, exposure to research, outstanding facilities, many majors Possible weak points – Highly competitive admissions, some classes are taught by teaching assistants and can have many students

6. Factors to Consider and College Majors There are many factors to consider when choosing a postsecondary institution including – Number of years it takes to graduate, size of school, cost, location, admittance standards, extracurricular activities, average salary after graduation, variety/choices of classes and majors, who teaches the classes, size of classes, research studies opportunities, where students live Read the “Factors to Consider” sheet Read the “Majors by College Type” sheet – Important: This is a just sampling of college majors Many of the same college majors are offered at different types of colleges Complete the “My College Factors” sheet