We've read the stories and seen the statistics. Acquiring a higher education is not only becoming more expensive, but also more competitive. As a result, the college search process has become so complex it can make our heads spin. On top of the complexity, competitiveness and cost are reports that only 54 percent of students entering four-year colleges in 1997 had their degrees six years later. According to some sources, one in six students drops out without completing a degree.

These stark realities only add to the pressure placed on high school students and their families to choose the right school. While you yourself may be a few years (or decades) removed from the college search process, you likely have a child, grandchild, friend, neighbor, niece or nephew who is – or soon will be – planning for college. Here are some important questions those prospective students, and their families, should ask themselves.

 

What are my goals and what type of college will best meet them?

SURVEY SAYS! Top college-choice characteristics, according to prospective students:

• Strong program in what I want to study • Graduates of the college get good jobs • Faculty are good teachers and mentors • The college will make me a well-rounded individual •Graduates are accepted into good graduate programs Source: TeensTALK™ 2005 national study of college-bound high-school students conducted by higher-education consulting firm Stamats Inc.

The possibilities are endless and no two students will answer this question the same way. But the first step in finding the right college is a family discussion about what considerations are important to them. Certainly, financial factors will be part of this discussion. However, as Robert Herr '90, director of admissions at Seton Hall University, points out, “very few students pay the total cost of attendance at a college.” Because of this, experts warn against making a decision based solely on cost. (See accompanying story on college costs.)

“While it is a good idea to have an affordable ‘back up' school,” says Chris Markle '84, director of admissions at Susquehanna University, “this place should be one the student can imagine attending. No matter what the cost, it isn't a bargain if the student does not want to attend that college.”

Therefore, cost considerations should be discussed in more general terms at this stage of the process. According to Jeff Morrison, of College Solutions, an independent college search consulting firm near Portland, Maine, the more important question is what kind of school a student will be happy attending. For some, it may be a technical school or associate degree program, but for most, college is at least a four-year commitment.

Unfortunately, Morrison says many of the families focused on four-year higher education approach the search process from the prospective of a tradesman. “We all want our kids to go to four-year schools, but we have an associate degree mentality. College is not designed to prepare you for your first job. That is what trade schools or associate degrees do. College is designed to prepare you for life,” Morrison says, noting that almost 90 percent of all students change their major.

Instead of steering a teenager towards a particular professional track, Morrison recommends a broad-based undergraduate education. “How can we ask 15- and 16-year olds to decide what they want to do with their lives? It's no wonder one in six students drop out of school,” he says.

That's not to say that a student's major of interest is not an important consideration. Schools with the major that appeals to a student will invariably move to the top of their search list. But according to Morrison, “we're making a monumental mistake by asking kids what they want to do with the rest of their lives.” He says a more important question for parents to ask themselves is: “Where would my son or daughter be happiest and are their criteria reasonable?”

“We need to listen to what our kids say, but we also need to question some things and separate reality from perception,” Morrison says. For instance, many kids say they want to go to a large school near a city, based solely on social considerations. “They confuse setting with activity level,” he says.

And while social opportunities are an important consideration, Morrison points out that most students have richer learning experiences in small class environments and often don't have the resources to spend on the attractions found in urban areas. “You can't pick out Club Med,” Morrison says.

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