This is not to boast just my experience (
)
I came to the US in the 90's, having won the Nemwil national 5k, Medaled in Carifta twice, holding the 1500m on lock for a while, high finishes in the Sunshine Marathon, Amoco 10k, Marabella Mile, OECS half marathon. I scored 1480 on the SAT's and was offered a scholarship academic/athletic scholarship by Coppin State University. They were Division 1 under an olympic Jamaican coach, and they competed in the Meac. (Cleopatra Borrel and Ian Roberts came out of that program)
Here is my 2 cts.
1) I did not do enough research, always do your research, there are many blogs, maps, yelp, this and that you can look at to give you a general idea of where your college ranks, college life and how strong their degrees rank.
2) I looked at their booklet and saw it was a black college, so I wanted to keep it real and embrace my blackness, big mistake, college was in "da hood" many Homicide: Life on the Streets were filmed there for a reason. This was the latter end of the Crack years, STD's etc.
3) The building had many "intended and upcoming features" but these structures did not actually exist. Fine print.... we trained a Frederick Douglass High (since we had an intended track) near Mondawmin Mall and you did not want to be there after dark.
4) Look at what is the homecoming sport that is celebrated, usually this is the sport program that makes the most money and the sport that the university will pump all their money into. (this is if you want your kid to play sports)
5) Make sure that you have everything in writing eg full tuition is different from cost per/semester. A college offers you a full tuition vs cost per semester, means that if you have been offered a dollar amount per semester, that dollar amount will remain the same for the 4 years., it does not include inflation. That comes out from your pocket. Always find out what the fees are also, books and housing. Some colleges only offer housing for the semesters, so make sure when the dorms close, they have place to stay. If they get homesick, doh be flying dem back and forth. Always alert them to where the nearest embassy is...
6) Get to know the student organizations, the international student associations are always a great help, in settling in and making friends.
7) Above all maintain a good GPA.
many universities will promise you a lot, but in de end make sure you know and understand what they are offering you.
9) Warm temperatures also means a lesser diverse wardrobe... and is cheeper in some sense.
10) if they want to play sports make sure the facilities are up to date, like de gym and thing..
11) Internships are very important... that trip to trini or rome does be nice... but a resume with out any experience eh worth nutten.
2 years later on an internship, (I was getting nuff licks by dem africans, In tnt I was a big fish in a small pool, in the US, I was a minnow) I was offered a transfer to Johns Hopkins University (full tuition) the experience was like night and day. Hop was very academic, but I enjoyed playing soccer and football (kicker) at Div 3, no scholarship money for those sports but well funded. Having a Hopkins degree and a decent GPA allowed me to get jobs that I would not have gotten if I stayed at Coppin. I served in the military then attended Georgetown University and that was also a great experience. Hop and the Hoyas allowed me to rub shoulders with many influential people, people like "Jim Kimsey" who became my mentor. My financial advisor is a kid who I attended college with, My lawyer is a guy who is a Hoyas graduate. I met my wife who is a Hop graduate... also...
I will advocate going to a ranked college, be it in academic disciplines or in general.
This is just my experience...
