Conversations about colleges often remind of this conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland:
Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don’t much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
The Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.
What are you looking for in a college?
The sooner you can articulate what exactly you want, the more likely you are to have it.
Most college search engines are based on some very basic and easily quantifiable criteria:
- Size of school
- Geographical Location
- Choice of majors
- Average SAT scores
Of course these are important, but I think equally important are the more subjective and intangible elements that will bring you joy. What could those be? Some examples may illustrate–and these come from real life:
- I want a place where I can have dinner with my professor.
- I want to create my own major–I know lots of places say you can do that, but I want one that actually makes it easy.
- I want a beautiful campus.
- I want a big, private dorm.
- I want internships.
- I want a place I can speak Spanish with native Spanish speakers.
- I want to do research as an undergraduate.
- I want coop.
- I want study abroad.
- I want young professors.
- I want some female professors (a female planning on studying engineering).
- I want a place where students are not so hung up on grades.
Now, some of these are fairly easily found through search engines, but others are not. Many exist on a continuum–For example: Virtually every place offers Study abroad options, but they can really vary on how involved, how flexible and where they exist. The clearer you are with your criteria, the more likely you will find it. Furthermore the clearer you are on the importance of the criteria, the more time you can focus on finding that. Some search engines do let you give a rating of importance so this can help.
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