Rethink the College Search Process

College acceptance letters are all too often viewed as some sort of false finish line for college – rather than a starting point for growth and exploration.  The Class of 2024 is going to feel an even bigger crunch in some ways- in that the fall of tenth grade might be your first time on your high school campus. You might feel simultaneously as though you just started high school and it’s practically over.

If you view the notification of acceptance, waitlist or denial as an endpoint, then you are at risk of “boomeranging” – not making it through your first year of college (or sometimes even a quarter or semester).  So how do you approach the college search process and choose a school where you will not only survive the first year, but thrive for four (or more) years? Here are some thoughts to consider:

Early or Late?

You can do the research before applying or after acceptance – I highly recommend the former.  It will save you money on application fees to schools that aren’t a fit for you, and you will have an easier time completing applications for schools that you have chosen thoughtfully.  

The Cost of the Matter:

With younger teens the most important college research to be done is that of bringing core college vocabulary to life.  Older teens can and should be able to check their gut instincts a bit as they determine a fit for themselves.  

Parents and families as well have a vocabulary lesson of their own – EFC (Expected Family Contribution), affordability, net price calculator.  And navigating this part of the process can be especially stressful to many families.  So it is often pushed off until late in the process, when the exact opposite approach would be more helpful.  

Find – and use – net price calculators early in the search process (BEFORE applying!).  Have frank conversations about how much the family can fund – for each individual, if you are not an only child.  And understand that in general, the lower the acceptance rate for a given college or university, the less likely it will need to use merit aid (or what X calls “coupons”) to fill it’s freshman class.  So from the beginning, look beyond acceptance rates – it will serve you well.  

Start Big:

There are over 5000 college options in the United States.  Rather than starting with a single dream school and building a list from there, consider the task to be one of narrowing the list of 5000-plus.  In doing so, you will reinforce that there are always options, always more open doors than closed ones.  

Use free tools like Scoir, Big Future, and Corsava to sift through the options. Use books like the Fiske Guide to compare schools side by side.

Understanding Characteristics:

How to narrow that list? By understanding and developing preferences about college characteristics. Crack open a college guide or spend any amount of time on college websites and there can be an avalanche of vocab that is abstract to many teens: rural, urban, mid-sized, research university – as well as many other terms that may be familiar, and often enticing: Greek life, internships, study abroad.  In many parts of the country, a drive of a few hours may provide you with the opportunity to understand size and location characteristics, which may hold more or less significance to different individuals.  

Some students may be set on a particular location – such as Southern California – yet entertain both Pomona College (~1200 undergraduates) and UCLA (~40,000 undergraduates).  Others may be flexible on a location, but know they want a large school and will include UC Davis (semi-rural California), the University of Michigan (Midwestern college-town) and Columbia (urban New York) in their search. 

The Question of “Why”:

Arguably, the entire college search process can be distilled down to the single question of “Why {insert name of school}?”  If you can’t answer this question with clarity (and also relative ease), then you should really consider why it’s on your list at all.  

Because if your answer has anything to do with the suggestions (or alma mater) of a friend or family member, that’s not your Why, it’s someone else’s.  If your answer is vague, the school MIGHT be a fit – but so might many, many others.  And if you find yourself Googling the school before you even attempt to answer the question – then that is a huge red flag.  (And don’t even think about applying under a binding Early Decision program without a crystal clear answer to the Why question.)

So, how to reframe the college search process?

How to Reframe the College Search Process

1)  College acceptance is not a finish line.  Life does not end at 17 1/2 so it’s important to remember that college is a part of the journey, not the end point.

2)  There is more than one right answer.  There are thousands of colleges to choose from, not just the same 25 that “everyone” seems to talk about.

3)  There are no sure things.  No number of AP/IB/College classes, no GPA, no number of clubs/sports/volunteer activities can or will guarantee admissions to anyone at any school.  

4)  This is a two-way street.  Students should “interview” colleges to see if each is a fit for them- and reject any schools that don’t meet THEIR criteria.

5). Tell YOUR story.  The one thing that no else has to share with the world (and college admissions offices) is YOUR story.  Spend time reflecting on how you arrived at this point – and how you want to shape the chapter ahead.  You don’t need to have a vision of your life at 37, but you should consider how what happened in your life at 3 and 7 and 13 affect who you are at 17. 

Related Posts:

Dear Class of 2024: How to Get Into College

Dear Class of 2024: Where to Go to College

Where to go to college?

Learning what is a “yes” and what is a “no” is often more art than science, a gut feeling or a sixth sense that something is a fit.  It is also a luxury – there are many college students who either do not realize that they are choosing a path of “no” when they leave high school, or who realize that they are not choosing a “yes,” but follow that path anyway, either due to outside forces or a lack of other options.  

Understanding what is a “yes” and what is a “no” is arguably the most important future planning a high school student can undertake – including understanding where to go to college.  As a school counselor I am asked nearly constantly about “enough”: 

Do I have “enough” AP classes? 

Is my schedule rigorous “enough”? 

Am I doing “enough” activities?  

As these questions swirl, I push back, with my own questions:

Do you think you will enjoy the advanced classes you have chosen?

Will you have time to balance school with life with this class schedule?

Are you involved in an activity that is meaningful and fulfilling to you?

The process of applying to college is all-too-often seen as a finish line, rather than a starting line.  Indeed, there is almost no real benefit to being accepted to colleges – regardless of the name.  The benefits of college come as you seek to get something out of your college experience.  

The Best Laid Plans

I did not set out to be a high school counselor.  I really didn’t even think I was going to be a teacher.  But applying to Teach for America was an appealing option to my 21-year-old, history-major-self, so I did.  And while I struggled with the “schmooze” of corporate interviews and often bungled the case studies at different consulting companies, I immediately felt at home teaching my three minute “lesson” to a room full of other college students (and a few other adults seeking a second – or third – career).  

And after being placed as a secondary social studies teacher in San Jose, California, I went to grad school, teaching all day, and going to school several evenings a week for years.  First for my teaching credential, and then, I thought, to get a Masters in Teaching.  But the first week of classes in my Masters in History Education program, I had a change of heart – and a change of “major” – and instead enrolled in a School Counselor cohort program in partnership with my school district.  

That cohort experience cemented by commitment to the field of counseling, but also made it difficult to look away from the egregious administrative decisions being made in the district at the time.  Though I dug in with the school community – serving on committees and councils, assuming a leadership role before the ink was dry on my counseling credential – my work was not valued by my supervisors.  

So I became a teacher. Again.

Which helped me see how much I thrived as a counselor.  

I’m not a bad teacher, but I’m a better counselor.  

You have to understand the “no” to realize what is a “yes.”

In (affiliate link) The Price You Pay for College, Ron Leiber puts forth three reasons that explain why most individuals attend college:  the curriculum or learning experience, the community or connections you build, and the certificate, degree or other outward signs of completion.  

Don’t over-focus on the piece of paper

While many families may focus on the third aspect, it is the other two areas where teens can more easily gauge what is a “yes” and what is a “no.”  The vast majority of first-time freshmen are seeking a Bachelor’s degree in some form.  Sure a few may know for certain that a B.Arch. or a B.F.A. is in the future.  Others may apply for dual degree programs which springboard into Masters degrees, or MD programs.  But there are few who head to college campuses who plan to hang out for a few years and then move on, regardless of whether or not they have any sort of certification.  

Additionally, it’s important to remember that a minority of adults work in fields directly related to their college major. There is more to college than the degree.

The forces that keep a student in college typically have much more to do with curriculum and community than they do with certificates and degrees.  So when considering where to go to college, consider the curriculum and the community as key parts of the decision.

Curriculum

Let’s start with the curriculum.  Most colleges and universities, even those of small-to-moderate size, have course catalogs that dwarf those of even the largest high schools in the country.  It is the rare college freshman who has had concrete experience with the vast majority of curricular areas they are likely to encounter in college.  What this means is that high school students who intend to attend college should explore many possible learning opportunities- both formal and informal – in order to help them arrive at a range of options that could be in the “yes” category.  

Exposure is key.  If entire courses are not available in anthropology or engineering, then use museums to explore these areas.  If film or landscape design is not a school-based option, then look for camps, contests, or locals working in the field.  Experiences don’t have to – and arguably shouldn’t – cost a lot to help students gain exposure to a possible major and career pathway.

I frequently reflect on the experiences of a student I worked with many years ago.  He built his college list in the spring of his junior year, as many students do, and as an self-proclaimed animal-lover, he focused entirely on pre-veterinary programs.  That summer he volunteered at an animal hospital for the first time.  Though he emerged from the summer with his strong love of animals intact, his interest in being a vet was extinguished.  Just a few weeks spent with sick, injured, and dying animals taught more than any career inventory or college website could have.  Needless to say, his college list was revised entirely that fall.

Community & Connection

The college community can be difficult to quantify.  I put great stock in the “gut feeling” on this – which means my heart goes out to the many, many students in the Class of 2020 and 2021 who have not had significant opportunities to understand campus communities by spending time there.  Though it is likely that future classes will regain this ability, the treasure trove of virtual tours will not disappear – and there is much to be gleaned from your gut feeling in viewing those as well.  

Additionally, try to connect with current students, and ask alumni if they would attend their alma mater again.  This second idea has become a pandemic conversation-starter for us as I support my own high school freshman in understanding the characteristics of various colleges and universities.  (The other question we ask, based on curriculum and learning is, “What did you learn in college that you use on a regular basis today?” These two questions have been our lockdown version of the informal college tours that have not been possible in the past year.)

So what did you want to get out of your college experience? And what did you actually walk away with?  Not everything can be planned, but much can be explored when you move beyond the names, and focus on the characteristics.  Most high school students also identify some sort of geographic or location-based preferences as well.  So whether you have a teen who prefers urban living with four seasons, or outdoor-focused, small-town living with year-round warmth, if you layer these preferences alongside their “yes” and “no” votes in terms of curriculum and community, the college list will begin to build itself. 

Where to go to college? In so many ways the answer is to find a place where you find more in YOUR “yes” column than in your “no” column – and chances are that place will provide you both a curriculum and community that will serve you well.

Related Posts:

Dear Class of 2024: How to Get Into College

Dear Class of 2024: 10 Tips for New High School Students