College Fit vs. Match

So as we get into discussing college fit I want to make sure that we're understanding some terminology first and foremost. When I use the phrase college fit this is about analyzing what the students goals are in terms of the college being good for them. There's also what's considered college match, which is what the college does to decide if this student is going to be successful within that, so while we're talking today we're going to talk more specifically about things from the student's perspective in terms of what that fit is going to look like around their journey.

Initial Questions

So what are some things that a student should consider as they're deciding whether or not a college or a university is a good fit for them? What are their plans for going to college? What are they looking to gain from this? What are they looking to do in terms of a career or after college? What are some of the things that they want to learn not just academically but professionally, mentally, spiritually? What are some of the types of things that they want to experience? What do they want to participate in, or what activities do they want to be a part of? What's the environment like around them, and what are the people that they're going to be exposed to?

Private vs. Public

So one of the first things that's good to analyze is how is public versus private schools or institutions going to be different? Of course, there's going to be the tuition. One of the biggest pieces of advice I can offer families is do not disregard a college or university from the initial brainstorming list of colleges, to apply to based upon its retail sticker cost, and what I mean by that is you can't say oh this college is fifty thousand dollars and this one's fifteen, we should only be looking here, because the aid or the amount of scholarships, grants, other funding opportunities that the student does not have to pay back are dramatically different between a public university and a private university. That private institution tends to have deeper pockets in terms of more aid that's available to students.

You're also going to have a difference in diversity, and when we're talking about a public university or college, because it just tends to be a bigger institution it tends to be a little bit more demographically diverse than what your private institution is going to be. You have bigger sports programs coming in at your public universities, which also means a bigger variety of programs that the student can participate in with their extracurriculars, more opportunities in terms of area of study as well. Private institutions will also typically have a religious affiliation that they put into play as well. Sometimes that means that there might not be classes going on when chapel is in session or other things of that nature.

Liberal Arts vs. Research University

It's also important to take a look at the difference between a liberal arts institution versus a research institution. So what are the differences there? Well a liberal arts college tends to really put a bigger emphasis on the undergraduate studies and work on being extremely well-rounded in its approach. It wants to work on critical thinking, challenging beliefs, making sure that you're understanding your role within society as a whole. A research university tends to put a bigger emphasis in terms of some of the grad support. It tends to be very academic and professional in nature, tends to have a big brand name game behind, it's pulled that way. Again not saying that one is better than the other, but it's important to think about where's the focus at within this university, and what am I going to be exposed to as choosing to be a member of this campus.

School Size

Next it's really important to take a look at size. You have some smaller colleges and universities that are under 5,000 students. Depending upon the high school that the student is coming from this could be smaller or about the same size as their high school. You have your medium fit which is 5,000 – 15,000, and then you have your large institutions that are over fifteen thousand. So what does this mean for a student? Well it's going to affect the student to faculty ratio. Maybe they're going to be taking an English 101 class and a lecture hall that seats 400. When they're looking at some of those larger campuses. It's going to come into play in terms of the level of individualized attention that they might have, those classroom sizes. What academic opportunities they have to get to know a professor versus getting to know a teacher's aide. It's also going to impact their pool of meeting new people and exposure of what they have around them in the setting.

School Location

You also have location. Are we looking at an urban school, are we looking at a suburban school, are we looking at a rural school? How far is this from home? And one of the ways I always tell students to think about that is say it's a long weekend, not necessarily spring break or winter break or anything along those lines, but maybe it's a three or four day weekend. Do you want to have the opportunity to travel home during that or are you going to be okay with those visits home being a little bit fewer and further between? What's the geography like around you? Do you want to see a beach, do you want to see some mountains? That's going to help narrow down what's going to be a good fit. What about this seasonal climate? What are you wearing while you're here? What's your wardrobe going to look like? Are you going to experience multiple seasons, or is the climate going to be a little bit more stable and consistent? What types of people, again coming back to that size, are going to be in this, and is this an environment that I'm going to be comfortable with? For me for example, I know that I don't do as well in the cold, and I need to have some of that sunshine around me to help my mood and my focus. That's going to help me pinpoint which schools are going to be a better fit for me personally.

Academic Life

You also have academic life. What are some things that are a must fit there? Well obviously having the majors or the minors, taking a look at that four-year degree or what you're looking to do afterwards. Do you want to participate in study abroad or other research-based opportunities? Now keep in mind that program or area of interest does fluctuate for students on average from the time the student completes their junior year in high school to the time they graduate with their college degree. Most students change their major five times in terms of what they like so while it's important that it has what the student wants to study, it's also important to make sure that it has more than just what the student is most interested in right now as well too to give some backup options. Take a look at some of the core requirements and the flexibility that comes into play. Does the college or university run on quarters or does it run on semesters, and what does that do to the rest of your life balance around that? Those are all important things to keep in mind.

Student Life

So now you're on campus and you get to participate in that student life. So we have the academic side but remember that this is about your opportunity to grow as a person and that student life is important. What types of student-run organizations are there, are there clubs, is Greek life something that's important to you, what does the athletic facilities look like, is it a large place where there's certain upgraded gym or recreation opportunities that are only available for the athletes that are competing, or are there things that are open to intramurals as well? What's the housing system look like, what's your room going to be, is it a single dorm, is it a suite, is it on campus, it is it off campus, is it apartment style, how many people are going to be in there with you? And then you also have the other areas of interest. What's important to you with regards to the art scene, or maybe you want to make sure that you can get into the chemistry lab as an undergrad student, in terms of your opportunities to explore your passions or your interests there. What else can you do on campus without it being your major that you may want to participate in?

Personal Life

You also have the personal life, so again, student life, personal life, when we're talking about personal life this is what makes up your character from the inside. Again we need to take into account that family matters. Are you able to build your own community away from home. As you're looking into this that could be some identity based services, some disability based services, what's the mental health services, what are the multicultural student centers, what do they have in terms of first gen or students that need some additional support? What are the religious organizations, what does the on-campus health center look like? Then you also have the resources that are there to help support you along the way in terms of the tutoring, the academic planning. What does the diversity look like, what's your support system away from home, whether that's again your peers that you're looking at, your professors, your other mentors, your TAs, but also in general the campus support systems as a whole.

Cost of Attendance

All right Mom and Dad, now we move into some of that cost of attendance, right? It's important that the college or the university be a good financial fit as well. So we know that there's merit-based aid that comes into play, so the more students GPA and transcript and the more their SAT® or ACT® scores excel beyond what the college is looking for, the more merit-based aid is available for that student. Need-based aid again comes from the FAFSA requirements, and completion there is the student going to participate in work study, are there other programs that the college uses to make things more affordable for the students that attend? Does the student have emergency funds? What's going on around the cost of housing, meals, transportation, personal items while they're there. So again while the cost of attendance, don't eliminate any colleges or universities based upon that initial price tag, but come back once you're gathering those cost of attendance letters, and the aid that's being offered from these colleges and universities in order to be able to compare things side by side as you're going through that.

Finding Your School

So now what? What matters most? One of the things that I love to have students do to help them pinpoint what matters most because there's so much that we can take into account in this particular area, is I have them sit quietly, close their eyes, and describe what they're seeing around them when they're walking across campus. What do they hear, what do they see, what other students are around them, what participation is going on? Do they hear the roar of the football stadium, or do they hear the choir down the hall? What are they wearing? What do they see close by and of in the distance? You know there's very different settings between buildings and campus layouts depending upon where they're looking at going. What they're wearing and those other things around them can help pinpoint what a student envisions the environment being like, because again in order to make best use of their time there the student has to be happy.

So think carefully about all of these different things we discussed in terms of what's going to help make a college fit, and remember that Enhanced Prep is here to help with that discussion in any way we can. Please visit us at enhanceprep.com. Phone number is 323-433-9775, or reach out to our fantastic advising service team at advisor enhanceprep.com. Have a great day.