Keys to Achieving Happy Outcomes in College Planning
In the world of college access, May 1 represents both the beginning and the end of the admission process. Just as current high school seniors declare their college destinations for the coming fall, the next batch of rising seniors enters the queue of the college application process. And for the latter, reaching the “finish line” a year from now with happy outcomes will be largely dependent on three key factors: remaining student-centered, making good choices and managing expectations. I will devote this article and the two that follow to a discussion of these factors.
Staying Student-Centered in the College Search
We live in a world that is inherently destination oriented so it is only natural that young people and their parents have already begun to imagine the colleges they will attend. Actually, it’s more likely that many parents began thinking of college destinations before their children were able to walk! As a result, there is a tendency to move forward in the college-going process with the “answer” before the question has been fully examined.
In a student-centered approach to college planning, the question that should be posed to the student is actually quite simple: “Why do you want to go to college?”
The correct answer is not: “Isn’t that what you do after high school?” Or “My parents told me I have to go.” Or “I don’t know what else to do.” Regardless of your circumstance, going to college should never be the default answer! There is too much time and money at stake for you to follow a whim. That doesn’t mean you have to have the rest of your life mapped out before you can consider college, but it does mean that going to college needs to hold some sense of purpose for you.
Note to parents: while it may seem risky to allow or encourage a conversation around this point (“What if he says he doesn’t want to go?!”), it is essential that the question be asked in order to begin transferring ownership of the discovery process to the student. Your student needs to find his voice if the college application process is going to be fruitful let alone make sense—to him.
If you think college is indeed the answer to your post-high school plans, the next question to ponder is, “What are the three things you want to make sure you accomplish by the time you cross the stage at your college graduation?” As you think about the answers, you begin to identify your true priorities as you think about college—factors that will become important filters as you process information about colleges that come across your radar screen.
When my son answered this question, he said that he wanted to make sure he got a “good education.” This struck me as a pretty thoughtful response so I asked what a good education would look like to him. As he talked about how he liked to learn and the type of instruction that inspired him, he began to hear himself describe the qualities of an educational environment that would be important to him. When we had finished working through each of his priorities, he realized that he could be more intentional in evaluating his college options.
Focusing on this question of “What do you hope to accomplish?” will also help you get past a lot of the emotional stuff about wanting to live in warm weather climates or big cities—or on campuses with big-time athletic programs. While these characteristics of a college experience are not unimportant, they are the “gravy” or the value that is added when you have found a college that fits you and your priorities well.
So, stay student-centered as you begin to think about college planning in earnest. Stay focused on you and your priorities. Evaluate why you want to go to college and how you will measure the success of your experience. This is not college for your parents or for your teachers or for your friends. It’s all about you.
To learn more about finding the best college fit, check out the Best College Fit™ subscription opportunity where you can participate in live discussions of college planning issues from now right through May 1, 2011 when you will have made your final choice of a college.
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