Choosing a College That's Right for You:
Andrew Freeman, Director of Admissions
Helping your son or daughter choose a college is exciting! Sharing in
their hopes and dreams, visualizing their future and planning for their
success is one of the great joys of parenting.
Choosing the right college can also be a difficult decision. With all
the different colleges vying for your tuition dollars, how do you go about
choosing one in which your son or daughter will be happy, secure, and
successful? There are many schools where your student is likely to succeed
academically. Equally important is choosing a college environment where
he or she will "fit in."
Every year around Thanksgiving, many college students realize the college
they chose in September is not the “right fit.”
This realization can be traumatic because for many students, making the
decision to attend college – and choose the right college –
is the most difficult and significant decision they have faced. Students
who discover that their college is not what they expected suffer financially
and emotionally as they have invested significantly in making the right
choice.
Most high school students spend significant time exploring strategies
to finance their college choice and prioritizing the factors that will
have the greatest impact on their choice. Students – and their parents
– must evaluate many college characteristics before deciding where
they will attend, including academic quality, programs offered, placement,
financial aid and scholarship opportunities, campus facilities and atmosphere.
What is often not realized is how preconceived notions about college
can affect decision-making.
Many students choose or eliminate a college based on preconceived notions
or emotional factors rather than a logical assessment of what each college
has to offer. Preconceived notions can be both true and false, but in
either case, they ultimately affect the quality of our decisions.
Preconceived notions are compounded by students receiving a flurry of
college information from a variety of sources. High schools coordinate
informative college information nights; magazines and other publications
list and rank “Top Colleges;" parents and counselors provide
guidance; colleges designate considerable budgets to market their message;
and peers influence students’ decisions.
I have three recommendations for college-bound students and their parents:
First, be absolutely clear about which college characteristics
are important to you and specifically define them.
Ambiguity in defining what you want leads to unmet expectations and
dissatisfaction.
For example, when discussing the size of a school, determine if you
are concerned about the feel of the campus, size of the classes, or
the number of outside classroom opportunities. Instead of saying, “The
institution should be prestigious,” define exactly what you mean
by prestige.
The Rochester area is fortunate to have 13 uniquely different and outstanding
institutions. Although the rationale for each being prestigious is different,
all 13 can claim prestige, citing impressive accomplishments. If by
“prestigious,” you mean “Ivy League,” then your
choice will obviously be different than if you mean “highly acclaimed
in its category.” MCC is prestigious, based on the national recognition
that it receives each year for being a progressive and innovative community
college.
Secondly, carefully review the quality of information you have
gathered.
Separate what you know from what you guess to be true. Whom do you
consider to be experts – peers? magazine editors? counselors?
parents? college representatives? What qualifies them to be experts?
How much information could be considered perception vs. factual? How
much information can be cross-referenced by another source?
Ask yourself: How do your peers collect their information? How well
does your counselor know the college or academic discipline you are
interested in? Have they framed their advice as opinion, or can they
provide data to support their guidance? What is the correlation between
where you attend and how successful you will be in reaching your goals?
Would the success of community college graduates (Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal,
Clint Eastwood, Calvin Klein, Jim Lehrer, Jeff Sluman, Supreme Court
Justice Arthur Goldberg, and Walt Disney) have been greater had they
chosen another path?
For them, the community college was the right choice. If your parent(s)
attended college, does their passion for a school like their alma mater
overshadow what is the best fit for you? Is the information conveyed
in a recruitment publication truly representative of that institution?
How long has that college representative worked at that college, or
are they a loyal alum occasionally staffing a recruitment table? How
current or thorough is their information?
Last, once you have selected a college, be passionate and confident
of your choice.
Do not rethink your decision. There are likely a half dozen colleges
that will meet 99% of your needs and there is no college or university
that can possibly meet 100% of your expectations. Your success will
be the result of listening to your conscience, believing your dreams
have value, and honoring your vision with hard work and commitment.
When you are faced with your first challenge – and there will
be many – remind yourself of Henry Ford’s saying, “Whatever
you think you can, or you think you can’t … you’re
right.” Do not sabotage your own success.
Choosing a college should be a wonderful, rewarding experience. Enjoy
this exciting time in your life, and good luck!
|
