Christmas Break Checklist

Central Baptist College would like to offer a Christmas gift to all prospective-college students! A gift of knowledge. A guide of simple college search tips or “A Christmas Break Checklist”. So that, by spending a little bit of time over the Christmas & New Year’s break you can move forward in your college selection process exponentially.

Who is this gift for?

Ideally, high school juniors, seniors and 2-year/Associate degree level college students who are ready to research and select a college or university. However, we highly recommend that sophomores in high school also start the process. This is one of the biggest decisions in your lifetime next to who they will marry, so take your time but you need to start early. Also, don’t try and do too much all at once. Avoid frustration and information overload by following these few simple steps below.

Why do we want to give you this gift?

We understand that the college search process can be difficult, there are a lot of places to start, a lot of things to consider, and we want to help.

Our gift to you

“Christmas Break Checklist” – Top 5 college search ideas for your Christmas break

1. Ask God to guide you to the right school for you!

It sounds cliché but if you are a Christian then this is your best place to start!

1. Determine what you are looking for in a college or university experience.

Things like academic reputation, location, campus life, personal attention, campus facilities, in-state or out-of-state, cost, etc. Determining this will help you know where to start looking and speed up the process. It’s hard to look at a lot of college material without a baseline of things that mean a lot to you to begin with.

1. Determine why you answered the previous question the way you did.

Does it fit your personality type? Is it because of your friend’s choice? Does it help you reach your career or ministry goal(s)? This is a big decision, so you need to really get to the “Why” of what you want in a college experience. If you are not behind it then you will not be “all-in” with your choice.

Tip: These first 3 suggestions take some quiet time and soul searching. A lot of people don’t want to take the time to go through this exercise. Then, the process becomes confusing and frustrating and a good decision can’t be made or becomes much more difficult.

So, the Christmas break is a perfect time to slow down and focus on these things, even if you are working during your break. This process is not meant to be a 1-hour solution. Break these steps into 30 min. or 1-hour increments and come back to them often until you feel very comfortable with what you are looking for. Then move to steps 4 & 5.

1. Research

Well, light research. Google! You can take the things that are important to you in a college experience, that you have already determined from steps 1-3, and plug them in your google search bar and off you go. Multiple options in seconds! Look for reviews. Or you can look at certain college web matching sites like Niche.com or Christian Connector. You can find CBC on both sites.

Also, family members and friends that have attended college are great resources. Ask them about their experience and why they chose the college that they did. Good or bad you can learn from their experiences.

1. Calendar your college visit days

I don’t mean you have to plan out all your visits over your Christmas break. If you have already narrowed down your choices and you are ready to do this, then great. If you are not ready to do this, then just taking time with your family to schedule the times of the year to set aside for college visits will be extremely helpful. Then, you can plug in the schools one at a time when you are ready, throughout the year.

Next Steps

Breathe…and don’t stress yourself out about the process. Just be consistent and do a little each week or month depending on how close you are to a decision date. Enjoy dreaming and planning where you want to be and what you want to be doing in the next 3-5 years of your college life. Once you determine what you want in a college experience and why you want it, then finding a great fit will come naturally.

If we can help in any way, please reach out to our Personal Admissions Officers. We will be happy to help you through the process.

You can reach us at (501) 329-6873 & admissons@cbc.edu. We will be closed December 24-28 & January 1st. So, in the meantime, get to know us @ cbc.edu/WhyCBC.

From everyone at Central Baptist College, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!