<p>Sorry, menloparkmom, I meant to say that and thanks for catching my goof. The public universities are subject to the state budget pressures that I mentioned, the private schools are not. And there are some excellent private schools in California.</p>
<p>Let’s start broadly and work our way in.</p>
<p>I don’t care much about your “stats,” and at this point, neither should you. The interesting stuff about this process–the stuff that will help you answer the question of choosing schools–pops up in those last three paragraphs. As you’re trying to decide where you want to apply this fall, don’t worry about your academic record. Don’t think about your test scores or the average scores of people who got into the places you’re applying. At this point, don’t even think about financial aid. You can think about all of this stuff later, as you narrow your list and sit down to fill out the applications. For now, do the work in figuring out where you should apply.</p>
<p>I encourage people in your position to ask themselves three broad questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Where would I be comfortable (or uncomfortable) living for the next four years?
If you don’t want to live in the south, don’t apply anywhere in the south. If you’ve got a major aversion to snow, cross the Minnesota schools of your list. If you bristle against the pace of the east coast, look out west. Absolutely need to be near a mountain? Schools in the midwest or Texas might not work for you. Being in a big city or in a small town is somewhat relevant, but it’s more important to think region. Answering this question does some nice narrowing.</p></li>
<li><p>What is the underlying academic and teaching philosophy that suits me best?
Don’t ask about specific program offerings. I promise that you’ll change your mind about what you want to study at least once, and when you do, you’ll want to be at the school that teaches you in the manner that you learn the best. Do you learn better in a small classroom setting or in a larger one? Are you excited about having hands on research opportunities? Do you want to work closely with faculty members or would you rather interact with teaching assistants who are younger and perhaps more experimental? If you’re assertive, independently motivated, and enthusiastic, you can probably succeed in any environment. If you need a little more hand-holding (not a bad thing), a smaller school will give you good advisors and less bureaucracy. Do you want to be in a place where lots is happening around you but there is less opportunity to be involved? Or would you rather be at a place where there are fewer opportunities to experience new things, but where more doors are open? You touched on diversity. That’s huge. What kinds of diversity are you looking for? Regional? Ethnic? Socioeconomic? Political? Religious? How do schools interact with diversity? Are people having tough conversation about interesting topics on those campuses? That kind of leads me to the third question…</p></li>
<li><p>Who are the people that I want to be around for the four years in which I am becoming the person I am going to be?
I think many students in your position make the mistake of trying to find the college where they fit. You’ll see a rapid change in who you are in your first year of college, and your four-years-from-now self will be quite different from your seventeen-year-old self. So who do you want to be around as you’re going through that process? Do you want people that are challenging or that are nurturing? Do you want people that are unquestionably academically motivated or people that lead a more balanced lifestyle? Would you rather interact with curious or ambitious students? Is there a place you can find both? Wherever you choose to go to school will be the place that you meet your best friends for the rest of your life. There will be wonderful people wherever you end up. But every college is going to create a different version of yourself. Decide what you value and seek out a campus that creates that value in the personality of its student population.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Candidly, I am a big proponent of liberal arts colleges. I went to one. I found the community to be invaluable in building the person that I am today. My best friends are all grads of my alma mater, and we are connected by a unified passion for complex ideas and a deep respect for education and intellectualism. Liberal arts colleges are small but tight. You feel a part of something that is deeper rather than superficial. I would not trade this experience for anything.</p>
<p>There are SO MANY great liberal arts colleges that you’ve heard of, and even more that you haven’t. Leaf through “Colleges That Change Lives” to read about the ones that you haven’t. Good ones that you probably have heard of: Carleton, Grinnell, Macalester, Oberlin, Swarthmore, Reed, Whitman, Colorado College, and the Claremont schools. Want to go to Stanford? An Ivy? Do it for grad school. You’ll be more connected with your professors, more sure of what you want to study, and better able to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. (It’s no surprise that liberal arts college graduates do better at getting into Ivy League grad schools than Ivy League undergrads.)</p>
<p>Still with me? I hope so. Some parting pieces of advice:
-Don’t apply to any school where you aren’t 100% sure you would want to go. This means don’t apply somewhere “just to see if I can get in.” In 10 years, you won’t care about having that notch on your belt.
-You should apply to a small group of colleges; 6 to 8 is an ideal number. You can arrive at this number by narrowing from above.
-Sticker price at a college should never be a deterrent to applying. Many of the most expensive colleges have the best financial aid. If you want to go somewhere but are unsure of the aid package, apply anyway and evaluate when you get it.
-There are no “dream schools.” You might only get into your sixth choice, but that place will still be the place that you’ll make the friends of a lifetime and have a wonderful and transformational experience. My college was my seventh choice. It should have been my first.</p>
<p>A final question, since I’m all about abstraction. I often challenge the students in your position to ask themselves a question: “Where would I go to school if I could never tell anyone where I went to school?” This gets you thinking about what you really value in education and why, and can be immensely helpful in guiding you to the right kinds of places.</p>
<p>Above all, this is exciting! College, woot!
You’re going to be great.</p>
<p>^Best post I’ve seen on CC thus far. Thank you for that suited! :)</p>
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<p>Not all of them do. Applying with no idea of likely costs could lead to disappointment in April (getting into only schools that are unaffordable even after financial aid). But now colleges have net price calculators on their web sites, so one can get some estimate before applying.</p>
<p>The application list should include at least one safety that is assured for admission, assured for affordability, is academically and otherwise a good fit, and is some place that you would like to attend. Otherwise, there is the risk of not getting in anywhere, or getting in only to unaffordable schools.</p>
<p>Wellsuited, that was a fantastic summary (if you include ucbalumnus’ addendum). Excellent advice. Your analytical skills are a good advertisement for choosing a liberal arts college!</p>
<p>My gosh, that post should be handed out to every college-bound kid in America, with ucbalum’s financial caveat.</p>