Expert Advice

Choosing A College: Where Do I Start?

By Terry Cowdrey

On the anxiety scale, it's probably somewhere between buying a house and deciding to get married. Even for the best students who are in a "buyer's market," the process of choosing which college they'll go to is stressful.

            The process is especially daunting for first-time parents and students, who often ask for advice about the best way to go about it. I've worked in college admissions for more than 15 years, and while each family has to find its own best way of working through it, this is what I'd recommend.

            Start early.

            I believe that the college choice process shouldn't take over a student's high school experience, but there is value in starting at a point that will give you the greatest control and allow you to proceed at a comfortable pace. The fall of a student's junior year in high school is a good time to begin, to see how the whole thing works. It's like taking the PSAT exam – it gives you a good taste of what the "real thing" will be like.

            Spend time on self-evaluation.

            Some of the most important decisions that students have to make have more to do with them than the schools they choose from. It's very important to understand what characteristics you need from a school in order to feel good and do well there. Things you'll need to consider include:

            * Do you love meeting people who are very different from you, or do you thrive best in a "comfort zone"?

            * Do you need to be in a class of no more than 30 people to feel that you're connecting with a teacher, or would it be okay if you were in a class with 300 people?

            * Do you achieve more if you're in a challenging situation or if you're at the top of the heap?

Keep in mind that you're going to live at a college for four years – or maybe more. What do you love to do? Whether it's hiking, going to the theater, working on a newspaper, or playing soccer, you need to decide where you'll be able to do whatever it is you love. And remember, if you love to play soccer, going to a school with the best soccer team in the country might also mean that you don't get to play there.

Invest your resources wisely.

            I always tell students to start by doing things that won't cost them anything. As you move along in making your decision, you'll be investing more and more of your resources – money, time, energy and emotion. So start out by getting an overview that doesn't require commitment. Examples?

            * Peruse college guidebooks available in your guidance office or at the local public library

            * Surf college and college-choice web sites

            * Go to college fairs and pick up information

            * Attend visits from college representatives at your high school

            The purpose of these activities, in my view, is to get a feeling for the things that you and your family will have to think about as you decide which college will be best for you.

            Talk to your parents. And parents, talk to your kids.

            All too often, it seems, I talk with parents who tell me that they never actually wanted their son or daughter to go to the school that's now his or her top choice – Mom and Dad just wanted to see if the student would be accepted. That's not the best way to proceed.

            If parents have very strong feelings about, for instance, distance from home, religious foundations or the amount they can spend, they should tell children that as early in the process as possible. There's no point in students exploring choices parents will never agree to.

            I must add, though, that parents and students should keep an open mind, particularly in the early part of the process. Remember that the "sticker price" may not be the same as your actual cost, for example, and think about your child's ambitions as well as your own for them.

            Don't think about the harvest, think about the weeds.

            Students at the beginning of their search often get panicky about picking the "right" school. But I tell them to think instead about which ones aren't right.

            If you fill out the questionnaire portion of the PSAT, as most students do, you'll get on mailing lists for schools, who will keep sending you information throughout the process. You should stay open to the information in those brochures, but once you decide a school isn't going to be on your "short list," let them know – weed out the ones that don't interest you and you'll be better able to focus on those ones that do.
            Make the most of visits.

            Looking at college videos, which are available from some colleges for free, is a great no-cost way of helping you decide whether or not to visit a school. Once you decide to make some visits, make the time spent work for you.

            * Visits when school is in session are the most helpful, but even visits during the summer can be informative – check out the town or city where the school is located.

            * Respect the system that schools have in place for visits. Schools offer options, such as individual rather than group tours, interviews and overnight stays, at different points in the process, and sometimes, not at all. Don't be afraid to request options, but  understand if they aren't available.

            * Remember that if a visit convinces you that you don't like a particular school, the visit wasn't a failure, it was a success, because it helped you develop your list.

            Consider the source.

            Gathering information about colleges is a lot like doing research for papers. There are primary sources and secondary sources of material.

            Guidebooks and college-choice web sites are good secondary sources. Information from colleges is also good and reliable, but remember that it's also promotional. Advice from school counselors is also good, and they may know about schools that fit your criteria, but that you've never heard of. Alumni have great first-hand information, but may not be current on what happening on campus right now. Current students can be helpful, too, especially about living conditions and the academic and social climate.

            Choosing a college isn't easy. Sometimes just acknowledging that is a big step toward making your decision.

Terry Cowdrey is dean of admissions and financial aid at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.