How to Find the Perfect College

Families often start our relationship by telling me what they cannot afford.  No private schools.  No degrees that don't guarantee a good job.  Nothing out of helicopter hover range.

This is exactly the WRONG way to start your college search.

I like to start the college search by envisioning how the student would like to live life.  Not just life in college, but life forever.

Calm down.  This does not mean that you or your student has the answer when we start.  We start with a conversation about what we know about the student.  Likes, dislikes, interests, pastimes, and so forth.  Over time, we get serious about finding stuff the student actually cares about.  Not what the student could do or would be willing to do, but what the student actually cares about.

We discard all the noise about what it would be great for the student to care about.  Only what the student cares about matters.  And that the student does not care about some stuff is also important... those point to potential blind spots to be aware of as they go forward in life.  

Every student needs to learn to discern what is important in his or her own opinion.  Because becoming great at anything will require hard work, and they need to know that the work is worth the effort.


Here's the really cool part: colleges get excited about kids who actually know themselves pretty well.  The exercise of knowing who you are today is critical to life.  The process of engaging on a journey and actually learning will adjust who you are on a future today, but for now, you only need to be able to understand your today today.  Because the college is about engaging and teaching your student today.  And about being able to do that for four years of todays.

Colleges know themselves pretty well.  You can see it on their mission page;  on their list of Majors and Minors; on their descriptions of departments, activities, and relationships.  They are trying to attract the students that they are equipped to develop, and we use their work to guide our college search.
  
Together, we discern who your student is, who they might like to become, and find the schools that are well equipped to move your student along that path.  This creates a sense of confidence is what your student wants out of life and out of college.  In turn, your student is able to understand which colleges are right for your student.

My students find that this work really pays off.   Because colleges use your application for admission to also determine who to scholarship, applying to schools that are well-equipped to develop your student often results in generous scholarship offers.  Schools that seemed too expensive become affordable, and we get to choose the best program for the next four years.

May your college selection journey be mindful and rewarding.