Helping a child make one of the biggest choices in their lives, the choice of a college, is an extremely responsible and hard task.
But that’s what parents do. So, if your kid is standing on the threshold of his new chapter in life right now, read on to find some handy tips and steps for selecting a college that will be a safe space for them.
Choosing a Safe College: Top 5 Factors to Look At
1. Academic Load
When speaking about creating a safe space in college, most people think about physical safety. But, here is a thing. Apart from ensuring that your kids won’t get harmed physically, it is even more important to ensure that they won’t suffer mentally. So, one of the first factors to consider before choosing a suitable school is the academic load.
There is no secret that the academic load in modern colleges is intense. However, what many don’t realize is that being too pressed by this load actually leads to a whole array of issues. Students who are loaded with homework, papers, exams, and other challenges, often face burnout and suffer mentally. Thus, a school that lets its students go through so many challenges is definitely not a completely safe space.
One way to solve the problem is to explain to students that it’s okay to ask for help. For young people, it is important to know that they can always search “edit my paper” online, and get professional help that will ease the tension and let them succeed. But, apart from this, it is also vital to ensure that the selected school offers a manageable load that fits the unique abilities of your kid.
2. Staff
The next huge factor that stands for the security of college space is the quality of staff that works there. Professors, counselors, and every other member of the faculty and staff have to be qualified.
In addition to that, you want to ensure that every staff member is undergoing a thorough background check before getting hired. And, of course, you want to be sure that everyone working at a selected facility possesses a range of positive character traits such as compassion, kindness, responsibility, and so on.
How to check if it’s so? The first thing you can do is to check the college’s website and the information it contains on faculty and staff members. But, an even better way is to meet some of the staff members in person. So, be sure not to miss the chance to visit the schools you are considering.
3. Visitor Management System
While there might be plenty of hazards (both mental and physical) inside the college’s walls, even more of those are hidden outside. Therefore, the next criterion to keep an eye on is the visitor management system used in the college of your choice.
Every school that is a truly safe space should have a solid security system. There should be fair control over everyone who is visiting the campus. Some of the most common procedures that might be there include video monitoring, signing in a visitor log, visitor passes, etc.
All these things can make the campus a much more secure place. So, don’t hesitate to study what visitor management system is there.
5. Student Population
Since bullying is one of the biggest security issues existing in modern schools, one more thing parents want to study before selecting a specific college is its student population.
What exactly should you check? The first thing to check is the rate of on-campus crimes. Before letting your child spend the next several years of their life in a particular place, you want to know how many crimes occur there. The crimes can include rape, robber, burglary, negligent manslaughter, etc.
What else to look for? One more factor to keep at the core when studying the student population is diversity. In the perfect scenario, you should go for schools that embrace individuality and difference. Therefore, there have to be kids of all backgrounds, genders, ages, cultures, and other groups.
6. Overall Atmosphere
Finally, one more thing you should pay attention to is the overall atmosphere of the place. It has to be inclusive, friendly, comfortable, and secure.
How can you check this? The only way to see the atmosphere is to visit it. So, once again, don’t miss the chance to take a tour. Walk around the campus, visit the dorm, see the canteen and classrooms, and visit other locations located on campus.
After you take a tour, take your time to reflect on all the positive and negative aspects and try to predict how your child will feel studying at a place like that.
How to Make the Right Choice
Now that you know about the key factors to consider, here is a quick step-by-step guide on how to make up your mind:
- Identify your kid’s needs. What do they want to study, and what are they looking for in a college? What extracurricular activities are they interested in? What special needs might they have? Answering these and similar questions will help you guide your choice. So, in order to get started, be sure to have an honest and open talk with your kid without any prejudice or pressure. Let them tell you what they want in life.
- Make a list of options. Knowing your kid’s key needs and the most important things to consider while making this choice, the next thing to do is to make a list of colleges. Be sure to consider different options at this stage.
- Do your research. When the list is ready, research every option that’s on it. Visit schools’ websites and take tours to see what each of the options has to offer.
- Narrow it down. After studying everything about each option that you have on the list, one more thing you need to do is to cut out the options that aren’t a good fit. Be objective and honest when narrowing down your list.
- Let your child make the choice. Finally, the last step you have to take is to choose. And here is one of the most vital tips we have for parents – don’t impose your opinion on a child. Your job is to help them see the options and realize the most important factors. But, the choice itself should be on them. So, don’t put too much pressure.
The Bottom Line
Helping youngsters pick the right place to spend the next three to four years of their lives is certainly a tough challenge. What is even tougher is to ensure that the selected school will be a safe and comfortable place for them. But, that’s the job of a parent. So, whether you like it or not, you have to be up for this challenge.
Luckily, you have a clear plan of action now. After reading this article, you should have a better idea of what factors to consider when selecting a safe college and also have a step-by-step plan on how to do this.
Use the tips from this article to help your kid make the best choice. Good luck!
