Looking at colleges is a strange experience. You walk around, look at the campus and listen to some dude jabber on about why this college is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
The issue is that most people have no idea what they are looking for. It’s similar to a monk entering a strip club with a hundred dollar bill. He’s baffled.
There are different types of students going into the process. There is the overachiever who has doctor parents and will be shunned if he doesn’t solve cancer and be the worst thing since non-sliced bread. There’s the former slacker trying to put his (it will never be a girl) act together by taking a bunch of APs and doing, gulp, homework. There’s the current slacker who will go to Montgomery College for two years and figure it all out.
There are the kids who have known the college they want to go to since they were five. There are the kids who are completely clueless.
This is a guide to help kids figure out what they really want, from the perspective of a guy who recently began the college selection process. I know I may not seem like the most viable souce of information, but this is what I’ve gathered from family and friends who went and it is good idea that anyone can follow.
1.) Don’t be set on any colleges. Too often kids think they want to “take on the big city” Entourage-style, but instead figure out that living in the city translates to sinking loneliness and discovering how low the depths of despair can go. Other kids want to go to a specific location, like a school in Florida, then realize that they have to live with Floridians for four freaking years. There are the aspiring future Brooklyn inhabitants who want to grow intellectually by going to some dingy, small liberal arts school but instead just hang out with their fellow hipster clones. So don’t have any one type of college in mind.
2.) Don’t stress about it too much. This may get me burned at the stake in college-crazy Bethesda, but it is not something to stress about it too much because it is counter productive. Worrying about it will not make you a more effective student, it just makes you and everyone around you enjoy life less. If you have good grades, you’ll go to a good college. There are so many colleges in this country and in other countries that there will be at least one college that suits your specific needs as a student.
3.) Write a list out of what you think you might want. This is not necessarily a contradiction of the first rule, it just means that you should write out some subjects you are interested in, or how many students go to the school. If you are interested in science and the school does not have a good science department, then maybe you should look elsewhere. Or perhaps you are an introvert who best interacts in smaller environments, than maybe you shouldn’t go to Ohio State. Just try and think about what you want from your college experience.
4.) Talk to someone who actually, you know, went to college. Try and talk to as many people as possibly so you can get a wide variety of opinions on what college is about. Talking to your parents might be helpful, but considering how different the culture is now, that may not be all that helpful.
5.) Visit the college. Also make sure that students are actually on the campus, going to class. It’s the best representation of how the school would actually function if you went there.
6.) Don’t just go to a college that your parents have hyped up since kindergarten. It’s your education, and you should pick whatever school tickles your fancy, unless you feel you must go to that party school, but in that case you are just an idiot.
7.) Don’t start wearing college shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shorts, underwear or whatever. It’s unoriginal and boring and annoying. We get that you visited some college and it was cool, but you buy the shirt then wear it as a sleep shirt or something.
8.) Be aware of the Early Decision. Look at Peter Langer’s article on this pressing issue for more details.
9.) Make sure the food is edible. You are going to have to eat there for the next four years of your life, and you want to make sure you are not eating mystery meat.
10.) Keep the weather of the area in mind. If you despise the cold, then maybe going to a college in upstate Minnesota is not your best bet. But, if you like the heat TOO much, than maybe you should stay away from the warm-weather schools. So, you know, you actually get some work done.
So, you’re ready to start applying to colleges. If you keep all these factors in mind, you should have a great college experience. Unless you are going to Duke. Then I hate you.
