5 minute read
Let’s think back to our middle school days, when birthday parties were major social functions. The possibilities for having a fantastic birthday celebration were plentiful. A party could have lots of people or just a few. Kids could be running around outside or enveloped in blankets on the couch. Everyone may have gone home with a goody bag or a proudly skinned knee. Just as there are infinite ways to find joy, there are infinite ways to have a birthday party.
But not every type of party environment will bring joy to every person. For many of us, if presented with the choice between a 60-person waterpark party, a 6-person movie or video game marathon, or a 12-person cooking experience, we would lean toward one of the options more than the others (or decide on a different fourth option). And that’s awesome! We all have unique and beautiful personalities that lead us toward unique and beautiful interests and hobbies.
It’s no secret that when we are in an environment that makes us feel safe to show our personalities and supports our interests, we are the most happy and healthy versions of ourselves. And that is precisely the way to find the greatest success in college – finding the college campus that lets a student be the fullest version of their authentic self.
Even starting to make a list of colleges to consider can be extremely overwhelming because there are so many factors to consider, including financial considerations, location, and housing options. Still, students have to start somewhere, and we recommend window shopping as a way to ease in.
Although many of us enjoy the convenience of shopping online, window shopping, or casually browsing through items instead of carefully considering each of the item’s details, is still a great way to begin understanding our preferences. Just as someone might window shop outside a local boutique to find out if the items of the shop interest them, students can window shop for colleges to start to identify their preferences, without digging too far into the details.
In this earliest stage of creating a college list, students should just focus on solidifying their preferences for their college experience rather than choosing colleges themselves. One way to do this is to make a sort of worksheet to think through these preferences. The student can circle the choice that most appeals to them and fill in a college that has that attribute. (The college rankings on U.S. News and World Reports can help students find colleges with their preferences.) Here are a few examples to kickstart the brainstorming and ease into college research:
| I would be most comfortable in a college environment that… | |||
| 1 | Has a few thousand students / Has several thousand students / Has tens of thousands students | Similar to | X College or University |
2 | Would provide many small classes / would provide some small classes / would provide few small classes | Similar to | X College or University |
3 | Is in a large city / Is in a medium-sized town / Is in a less bustling area | Similar to | X College or University |
4 | Enjoys a work-and-play balance / Is generally academic-focused / Is generally social-focused | Similar to | X College or University |
5 | Has lots of activities on campus / Has some activities on campus / Students usually leave campus for activities | Similar to | X College or University |
6 | Enjoys a work and play balance / Is generally academic-focused / Is generally social-focused | Similar to | X College or University |
7 | Has a student body with diverse experiences and interests / Has a student body with some diversity in their experience and interests / Has a student body with similarity in experiences and interests | Similar to | X College or University |
8 | On a normal day, students dress up for class / Occasionally, students dress up for class / Students regularly dress casually | Similar to | X College or University |
The colleges that are filled in on the right side of this list are a good place to start when creating a college list. From there, the student can branch out to other considerations like distance or cost, while making sure to keep in mind their original preferences.
For example, a student may answer the question in row 1 that they would prefer to attend a school with several thousand students, which is generally considered a medium-sized college. Their example college may be the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, which has an undergraduate student body of about 15,000 students. Later, the student may decide that they are looking for a school a little closer to their home in Pennsylvania, and they may consider Towson University in Maryland, which has an undergraduate student body of about 18,000 students. This way, the student is exploring the best options for them while keeping in mind their core preferences.
And last, but actually most important – just as only we could plan our most perfect birthday party with our specific preferences, only we know the precise environment that would make us feel happiest and safest, which allows us to reach our highest potential. Friends and family should ask before offering feedback and advice to students on their college list. Too many opinions and too much information can be really overwhelming for students and cause them to doubt their choices. Encourage students to trust themselves and let them know that many students transfer schools if they find a better fit.
Creating a college list is the first hurdle of the college application process. To help with one of the last hurdles, the college application essay, we are debuting a new course this summer, The Answer Class Personal Essay Writing Workshop. This course will cover all aspects of the prewriting, writing, and editing process of the personal essay, a critical component of the Common Application that is required by most colleges and universities.
That doesn’t mean that application prep wait! Students can complete one part of the application process now – preparing to take the SAT or ACT. April and May affordable prep classes are ready for you!