Characteristics to Find the Right College for You

With more than 4,000 post-secondary institutions (plus vocational-tech schools) in the United States, there is a plethora of choices for any student when it comes to the question of “Where should I go to college?” So much of this comes down to choice. This is a word that I use a lot when I work with students and families. Ultimately you DO have choice and with that choice there is power. But choice is not unlimited so how can you use it wisely?

Let’s consider you are wanting to buy a house. One of the things you may do is go to a site such as Zillow to see how many residences are available. You live in Denver, CO and initially the results come back as follows…

Zillow listings for “Denver, CO” as of January 11, 2023. Can you pick out the right house?

With more than 1,100 results how would you go about your search? Would you call a realtor and ask them to take you around the city so you can look at every single listing? That sounds pretty ridiculous doesn’t it? And, of course, any realtor you contact would start by asking you some key questions, such as:

• Do you have a particular neighborhood you want to be in?

• What size house? How many bathrooms? How many bedrooms?

• What is your budget?

• Are you looking for a single family house or would you be open to a townhome or condo?

• What other attributes are must-haves for you?

• What things do you prioritize in a residence now versus being okay with having it in the future?

• Do you want to have a large yard for the dog and kids to play or perhaps for entertaining guests?

In other words, there are a lot of things that you, the buyer, should be thinking about and prioritizing before you actually start looking at residences.

The college search is the same way. The most important thing for any college-curious student to do is start with self-reflection and try to answer the key questions about college. The answers to these questions will help you hone in on the characteristics and qualities of the kind of school that may work for you. Don’t rely on others to answer these questions for you and take time to thoroughly consider each one.

Every single student has choice when it comes to college. And with that choice you have power. Although it is not unlimited and there are things you cannot control, knowing you have choice can lead to making wise decisions in the long run. You have power - embrace it and use it accordingly.

Consideration #1 - Size

Colleges vary widely in size. 40% of colleges in the United States have 1,000 students or fewer. The largest schools have tens of thousands, either attending in-person or online. Size is relative to you and your experience. For example, a student from a city who attended a high school with 5,000 students may find a rural college with 3,000 students to be “small”. While a student from a village in Alaska or a pueblo in New Mexico and a high school with 200 students may find the same rural college to be “large”.

Avoid generalizations when it comes to the size of a school. Many smaller colleges provide amazing educational and social opportunities for their students and often promote their small class sizes, with the general idea that the smaller a class the more personal attention there could be from the instructor. But small class size does not always guarantee this as it ultimately comes down to the quality of the instructor and their ability to engage the students. Small class size doesn’t mean much if you aren’t inspired by the content of the class and ultimately choose to not engage in the learning. The location of a small college can also impact the way you view it as a small school in rural Nebraska may feel different than a small college in the middle of the Twin Cities.

Many large schools are getting better at making their institutions “feel” small. They do this in a myriad of ways, including creating learning communities that may be tied to your residence hall or specific programs such as honors colleges. You may find yourself in large lecture hall (think hundreds of students) but there may be a discussion section tied in with the lecture where you will meet with a small group of students to dive deeper into the course content. Or you may want to create your own small community through a study group in your residence hall.

So, consider the size of the institution and how that plays into your ideal educational situation.

Consideration #2 - Academic Environment

Are you a very serious learner who craves being around others who engage in a similar level of intellectual curiosity? Are you looking for others, both faculty and students, who will challenge you in your own academic success?

Are you someone who gets stressed in a challenging academic environment? Do you understand the need for academic success and also want to balance it with plenty of other opportunities for less structured growth? Do you want to have plenty of opportunities to engage in social and ex-curricular activities while earning respectable grades?

Are you disciplined and able to prioritize your academics with other activities you want to participate in? Do you become distraught with any grade less than an A? Are you wanting considerable freedom in choosing your own courses and program design? Are you seeking hands-on and experiential learning opportunities?

Some schools are more focused on academic rigor and so your desire to engage in difference ways academically can be helpful to know about as you continue your college journey.

There are many great schools who provide different ways of teaching and learning. One size does not fit all.

Consideration #3 - Academic Program Offerings

Academic program offerings basically means what kind of classes and majors are offered. This is NOT the same as your potential career. For example, you may major in art and find yourself going to law school. Did you know you can major in history and go to medical school?

A major by itself does not dictate your ultimate career path. Schools know this and so most schools will require you to explore with general educational requirements and elective courses in your major. For example, even though I majored in mechanical engineering, I took courses in jazz dance (loved it!), geography, economics, and communications. Exploration and intellectual curiosity is a critical component to education and a life-long skill.

Do not feel as though you need to know what your major or career will be when you get to college. The majority of students change their major at least once. But having a sense of the types of programs you want can be helpful (and it can save you money in the long run). For example, let’s say you want to major in business. Should you consider Harvard? Well, one way to possibly answer that is to know that Harvard does not offer an undergraduate business program. You may find that a different institution that does offer undergraduate business, and is AACSB accredited, could be a better choice.

Consideration #4 - Affordability (Cost and Financial Aid Availability)

Costs vary widely. Talk about an understatement. Just like an airplane, two students sitting next to each other in the same class are probably paying a different price for their education.

Don’t make too many assumptions about cost but this is definitely something that should be discussed between student and family (if student is not sole contributor and is an independent) earlier than later. Although most students have some form of financial aid, keep in mind that financial aid means several different things, including:

• Grants

• Scholarships (need-based and merit-based)

• Loans

  • Federal Direct Loans (need-based and non-need-based for the student)

  • Parent PLUS loans

  • Private loans

• Federal work-study

Complete the FAFSA (opens every October 1 for the following academic year) or start with the Aid Estimator and get a sense of what your Student Aid Index (SAI) will be. Note that the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is turning into the SAI with the launch of the updated FAFSA in fall 2023.

Over the years some people have stated that college loans are “good debt”. Although federal Direct loans are generally at lower interest rates than private loans and have other flexibility, they are still loans and they can not be discharged through bankruptcy. So, suffice it to say that every penny you take out in loans will be paid back - with interest.

Going back to the house example. If you look at your financial situation and determine that your maximum budget is $500,000 for a house, then should you really be looking at houses that are $750,000? Or would you be putting yourself in a situation where you are yearning for something that just really isn’t feasible, or isn’t a wise choice for your future success?

Consideration #5 - Other Considerations

What other characteristics are important for you and how should you prioritize them?

• Religion and its influence on the institution and the education you will receive

• Make-up of the student body AND faculty and staff. How much will certain factors tie into your idea of the ideal college?

  • Ethnic and racial diversity

  • LGBTQ+ students

  • Greek life (sororities and fraternities)

  • Co-education or single sex

• Commuter or residential school

• Active student body around issues you care about

• Role of athletics on campus

• Location, location, location

• Anything else you can come up with?

Ready to get started? Pull out some paper and a pencil and start answering the following prompts:

• Do you want a close family-like environment or would you prefer a place where you can blend in with a crowd?

• Do you want small, intimate classes or large lecture-style classes?

• Do you want to be taught by professors or are you okay with graduate students?

• Do you want a very academic/scholarly focus or do you want a balance between academics and the social side of college?

• Do you want to explore and take many kinds of classes or do you want to prepare yourself for a specific job/career after college?

• Is cost a major factor in my decision or it’s a relatively minor consideration?

• Is religious life an important factor or is religious life not a factor in my choice?

• Is it important that I attend a school with students who share my identity and heritage or is it unimportant that students share these attributes with me?

• Is Greek life important to me or is Greek life of little consideration for me?

• Do I want a campus where students are active and advocate strongly for their beliefs or do I want a campus where students are more moderate in their activism?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’re on a great path to college discovery! Using the earlier house-hunting analogy you’ll find yourself going from this…

to this…

Now that’s something that you can work with.

I offer three different programs focused on your College-Bound Success. Discovery for high school students and families starting their journey. Launch for rising first-year college students where I’ll work with you to set you up for a successful transition to college. And Custom which is perfect for the student or family needing targeted help in any area of the journey.

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