With college acceptance letters swarming the inboxes of college applicants, this is an exciting, and nerve wracking time for high school seniors, and anyone within a 10 mile radius of them. I’ve been unfortunate enough to be dragged included on this roller-coaster ride with my students from Skillify. My inbox, too, has been flooded with an interesting variety of college acceptance emails.
I occasionally get emails from students who are brave enough to share their rejections with me:
“Darlene, I didn’t get into so-and-so school. What should I say when my parents ask me about it?”
I get lots of emails from students in the middle of the night who just can’t wait to tell me about their most recent acceptance:
“I got an acceptance from SO-AND-SO SCHOOL. I’M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, goodnight.”
And now I’ve been getting lots of emails about decision making:
“So-and-so school is my top choice, but this other school has so-and-so program. I have no idea what to choose. Can you help?”
I unfortunately don’t have this magic machine with a top secret formula that plugs in your likes, dislikes, and personality with your college acceptances, and then shoots out your perfect match. Now that I think about it, that’d be a cool thing to have. If there are any aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors reading this… get started on this idea ;)
Anyway - there are lots of resources you can GOOGLE on “how to figure out which college is best for you.” Those articles will usually tell you to consider location, class size, and major. Don’t get me wrong, those are all valuable factors to think about when choosing a college. BUT, I believe there are other, if not more valuable, factors to consider as well.
It’s rare you’ll find a perfect fit, but here are 4 factors you should ALSO consider when choosing a college.
1. Culture
College culture plays a large factor in how you’ll feel on campus. What kind of people do you want to be around? What kind of values do you want your college to have?
“I wanted to be around people that knew how to work hard but also knew how to have fun. I did not want to belong anywhere that was rumored to be “cut-throat” or competitive. I thrive in a collaborative environment, where everyone looks out for each other and genuinely wants to help, and also an environment that promotes the growth mindset: “be your best self every day” instead of “be better than everyone else.”’- Shireen Jaffer, Founder of Skillify
Tips on how to research college culture:
- Do an on-campus visit (ideally during an actual school day so you can get an accurate view of a day on campus)
- Talk to current and recent students (use LinkedIn! Or connect with alumni from your high school that may now be at the colleges you are researching)
2. Long term cost
Many people don’t know that your financial aid package only reflects the help you’ll get during your first year of college. Will your financial aid still be stable for your other 3 years?
“I didn’t want to pay off my college debt for 25+ years after graduating, so I wanted to go to a college that was academically respected, but also affordable.” - Ruby Willmann, Program Outreach at Skillify
What to ask yourself when considering long term costs:
- Does the school offer institutional grants and scholarships?
- Are there many work-study opportunities on campus?
- Is the financial aid office easy to communicate with?
- How much debt am I willing to take on after college?
3. Career services/internship opportunities
Obviously having a supportive career services isn’t going to make-or-break you, but it will sure make the process of finding a job a heck of a lot easier. College career services can open your eyes to all sorts of jobs you didn’t even know existed in the first place. They’ll help you with the job search, resume, cover letters, interviews, etc. But that’s not all! Career services isn’t only for college seniors on the job hunt. They also provide resources for any college student looking for internships or volunteer opportunities.
How to research a college’s career services
- Visit their career services website
- Does the website look organized to you?
- What kind of resources and support do they offer?
- Do they provide internship and volunteer opportunities?
- Does the school offer direct placement into internships?
- Talk to a current or recent student about their career services center
4. Alumni network
It might seem weird thinking about a college’s alumni network at this point, but it’s never too early to start networking. Despite what you may think, the alumni network isn’t just a tool for students looking for a job. A strong alumni network is a community that helps foster the growth of each other, along with current students looking for advice. By talking to alumni, I learned more about my career interests, explored different kinds of careers, exposed myself to more volunteer and internship opportunities, and made friends!
Signs of a strong alumni network
- There are groups/ forums on social media that easily allow alumni to connect with each other and communicate (ex: LinkedIn for Facebook groups)
- There are Alumni groups scattered across the country (most likely in every big city/ region of a state)
- Sheer size of the alumni network
- Alumni generosity
In the end, choose the college that YOU BELIEVE is the right fit for you. Maybe you’ll love it right away, or maybe you’ll grow to love it with time. Or maybe you’ll frickin hate it so much you want to leave. THAT’S OKAY. Choosing which college you’re going to isn’t a life or death situation. You have options. If you end up realizing that your college choice isn’t the right one, don’t freak out. Lots of growth happens in college, even in the first couple of months, and you might realize that your priorities in high school have changed. One word. TRANSFER. For some reason, we equate transfer to failure. Well guess what, it’s not. (I’ll save this rant for another time.)
My Skillify colleague, Jennifer, transferred from St. Mary’s to USC, and she ended up okay… I think (haha jk, love you Jen). Let the record show that I think Jennifer is amazing and very successful.
In all seriousness, choosing what college you’re going to is a huge milestone, but it doesn’t have to be a stressful, life-or-death situation everyone seems to make it into. If you need help, get in touch - darlene@skillifynow.com