The College Search Starts with the Student....and Questions

Truth: most college searches, however they are started, begin with colleges in mind – usually because of influence or recommendations from families and friends. Students are overly influence by the decisions of others and trust everyone else must have it right. If I had a magic wand, the superpower of mind manipulation, or understanding of the Book of Vishanti (for you Dr. Strange fans), I’d wipe everyone student’s slate clear from the noise of others and we’d start the search with questions, rather than racing for the answers. Clark and Barnard start Chapter 1 with:

 

“We thought we had all the answers. It was the questions we had wrong.”

“11 O’clock Tick Tock” By U2

 

When a student starts with a microfocus on a particular college, they rob themselves of the reflection and growth opportunities that occur in this journey. They will focus an unhealthy amount of time trying to strategically figure-out how to “get-in” and make themselves fit the school. However, when we start a search with a student and questions, students will better understand self and will accumulate confidence in their path, rather than a feeling of inferiority to a school’s admission criteria. Students that understand their why, will better articulate their story to colleges in their applications, know they are talented enough to succeed at numerous universities, and more easily define fit to a college…all things that will improve the quality of their application.

 

The advice to students, rather than beginning the process with, “I want to go to (insert college name: Duke, Penn, Dickinson, American, Cal, Grinnell, Trinity, or Georgia),” instead ask yourself:

 

 

The college search starts with a student, not a college. Good luck!