Planning for College

There are so many books that have been written about the process of planning, applying, and making sure that you make a good decision about which school you should apply to. This is the shortened version of all of them. If you take just five minutes, (the time it takes to sneak out of class and get a drink of water) to read this, you will have a picture of what needs to happen.

1. Where are you at today in the college process? Do you know anything about the schools in your state or surrounding states? Have you asked your counselor, teacher, or your parents for information? Did you know that it is OK to not know what you want to do for a career, and that there will be careers in your life time that do not exist today? Please stop everything you are doing, and ask yourself what is the step to take to start planning. Use College Summit, use your school resources, and use your parents to ask questions—but ask!!!

2. From this day forward, do not use the words “I can’t”. Those two words have stopped more people from reaching their potential than any others. No matter what wall is put before you, know that you can. There will be grade issues, money problems, and tests that you just didn’t do as well on and may have to take again. Unfortunately, there will be people that don’t believe in your potential, and their negative comments are their beliefs—NOT YOURS. The world is full of great people who discovered that with a positive attitude, a great work ethic, and some people who believed in them, they could do anything they wanted. You too can be one of those people.

3. Being admitted to different schools has many variables. Large public schools tend to look at grades and test scores. Smaller schools and private schools have the ability to look at other attributes you might bring. The plan should be to look at three tiers of choices. The top level is the school or schools that you absolutely believe is you. The second tier is several schools that really match who you are academically, socially, and financially. You should have 2 or 3 of these on the list. The final level is the school that you know you will be admitted to, based on grades and test scores. No student should be sitting around in April of their senior year, not having a college acceptance in their hand.

4. There is much to be said about trying to find the right niche’ or fit for you. Just as you want a pair of blue jeans to feel good, the same goes for school. There are many qualities of college to consider that can help you find the right fit. The five major areas to look at would be:

Size: How large (50,000 students) or how small (500 students) do you want to hang around with. Do you want to be a small fish in a big pond, or the opposite? How many friends can you have or want to have?
Location: Is weather a factor to you and do you want rain, snow, or heat. In the US, you can have some of that, none of it, or all of it, just by where you go to school. Do you need to have a shopping mall, a movie theater, or a burger joint to be happy? And just how far away from home is too close or too far? These are all important questions to ask when it comes to location.
Cost: Many times the price of admission is an issue. Look at the financial aid package very carefully. Do not make a decision about school based on the up front price, but the price after you receive a financial aid report from the school. Make sure you look for scholarships. If you do not apply, you will not get. So apply for as many scholarships as you can.
Profile of the School: Do you want to be in a school that accepted most of their students in the same grade point range? Do you have cultural desires and beliefs that will give you the atmosphere and diversity you are looking for? Is the schools acceptance rate for incoming freshman OK with you? There are guidelines that each school uses to make sure that they remain focused on their vision. The profile gives you statistical guidelines that will help with predicting your opportunities there.
Educational Major: As you are looking for schools, some of you already know what it is you want to study. Other students will go into college with the major of “Undecided”. Either is perfectly fine. Most students change their major several times before they graduate. If you know what it is you want, make sure that your selected schools offer a good program and if you don’t know what you want, the suggested course work is liberal arts and exploring the options at the school.

5. There are many stories out there about being accepted or denied, even though the student did or didn’t fit the school profile. There are also many stories out there about poor high school students (less than brilliant GPA’s) that go on to college and become straight A students. Do not buy into what is printed in the paper or the magazine, buy into your dreams, and your ability to work hard now that you have another opportunity to show the world what you are capable of. Statistics can be manipulated to show anything, and they do not measure a person’s heart and desire. Go prove the statistics wrong!!!!

The goal of “Getting into College” is to find the right fit. Remember the pair of blue jeans. There are plenty of people who can help you try on the different schools. Use them often. The most important piece of information to remember is that you can always change your mind and transfer. Fortunately you have the flexibility of choice. Never get discouraged, but instead keep on trucking until everything falls into place.