Doing the College Search Differently

Not too long ago, our seniors offered several suggestions about what they would do differently if they could start the ninth grade all over again.  Several of their ideas - things like "start looking at colleges early" and "it's only as stressful as you make it" - applied more specifically to the college search process.  This high school senior in Pennsylvania adds to that list, offering her own advice about what she would do differently if she were to start the application process again.

Of particular interest to me is number four: "Stay away from College Confidential."  Like other college sites, CC can be a fun website to investigate, but you cannot take everything on it as the gospel.  Many people who contribute to those sites are frustrated, stressed, even angry sometimes.  They need a place to vent, a place to work out their own issues.  Sometimes they're looking for validation or sympathy, and what often happens is that the site does nothing more than add to everyone's stress level.

In the book Leaving Home by Connie Jones, the author writes about how it seems as if some people who have had a bad experience at a college (or elsewhere), almost want everyone to have the same bad experience.  That way their own experiences are legitimized, and they don't have to acknowledge that they may in fact be at least partly to blame.  I see that all the time.  A student goes to college but comes home almost every weekend, and then she complains that there is nothing to do on campus.  How would she know? She's never there on a Friday or Saturday night.  However when she shares her story with her friends or with us, it's always the college's fault for the lack of activities or community spirit.

Like buying a car or a house, when a student is searching for colleges, she needs to do thoughtful and thorough research. Reading College Confidential or similar websites is fine, but you have to remember that it is only one source.  Of course a campus visit is a must, but there are other resources as well.  Consult several different guidebooks, talk to as many current students or alums as you can (preferably younger alums because the school has most likely changed since your mother or your uncle went to school there).  Spend the night if you can, wander around campus on your own, make up your own list of questions to ask an admission counselor.  An information session will only give you the basics, and you may have criteria that no one else is considering. And talk to your college counselor! Chances are she has visited the campus, and she has a vast data bank of stories and statistics to share with you.

Once you have done all the research, then you can make a much more informed and reasoned decision, and you can create your own list of colleges that are just right for you.