What Is A Good Fit College?
Published March 24, 2023
I’ll admit that I chuckle when my clients refer to me as magical.
Most of what I do is anything but.
Particularly when it comes to my college planning work, my insights are honed by decades of experience working in college admissions, but the information I utilize is published facts.
Today I'm going to share a bit about how I evaluate whether a particular college is a good fit for a client. The data that I'll reference here is publically available, so if you can't afford to work with me or someone like me, you can do this research yourself.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you’re the parent of a high school junior who wishes to attend college following graduation, you should be doing this work NOW, because early application deadlines are in 7 months. So students have between now and then to research and find schools; to visit schools; to brainstorm, write, and edit their personal statements; to ask for letters of recommendation; to complete their applications and all supplemental essays; etc. (For competitive college admissions there’s a significant advantage to applying early. More details about that in another post.)
The first thing I do is spend time interviewing both my client and their parents individually. From the student I need to learn everything about what they’re seeking in their college experience, as well as what their academic and other application credentials are. From parents I need to know their plan for paying for college as well as any other concerns or preferences they have. (And yes, it’s okay if parents say, “I have nothing saved for college and I don’t want my child to graduate with a lot of debt.)
Then my research commences.
Some of the factors I consider:
ACADEMIC
- Does the school have at least 2 programs of study (aka majors) that align with a student’s interests? (3 or more are even better, since 50-75% of undergrad students change their major at least once)
-Are those programs well staffed and resourced? (how many faculty members, what are their levels, is there an option for a master’s or doctorate from these programs at this school, are there research/internship and/or cooperative education opportunities for undergrads, how often are classes offered, etc.)
- Will this client be appropriately challenged by these programs at this school? (what do graduates of this program do after, what are graduate/professional school admit rates like, how do graduates fare on licensing exams, etc.)
- Is the size of the school (and the size of the program) a good match for this client’s personality, self-advocacy skills, confidence, academic and social needs, etc.?
- Are there any unique aspects of the major(s) this client is interested in? (requirements, restrictions, direct admit options, combined master’s programs, etc.)
- How robust is the school’s college career services office? (how many career counselors do they employ, what is their background, what types of recruitment events does the college host, etc.)
SOCIAL
- Does the school and its location have the extracurricular opportunities that are of interest to this client? (clubs, honorary societies, Greek life, volunteering, athletics, fine arts, working out, social justice, nature appreciation, ski slopes, coffee shops, small live music venues, etc.)
- Does the student body share this client’s values, politics, religious beliefs, social justice perspectives, habits, and choices for socialization?
- Does the student body have the diversity and representation that this client finds important?
- Is school spirit important to this client and in what regard? How does the NCAA athletic division of this school and its sports culture match this client’s preferences?
- How important is the first year experience to the school - what have they done to invest in helping new students become happy, active, integrated members of their student body?
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
- Does the school have the programs and structures to successfully support this client’s physical, emotional, and educational disabilities or special needs?
- What does the school have in place to insure their students’ physical safety, and is it enough to assuage both client and parent concerns?
- What types of mental health services does the school offer and how accessible are these services for students?
- What does the school’s student health insurance cost and is it able to be added as a supplement to a parent’s health insurance policy?
LOGISTICAL
- How close to home is the school?
- Does this client want to have a car on campus? Is that possible for first year students? What is parking like and how much does it cost?
- How close to an airport is the school and how easy is it to get to/from campus? What are the costs of a direct flight from this client’s home?
- Does this client have any needs that might make being within a day’s drive (typically 4-5 hours of driving) from home important?
- How well does the school’s setting - its location, buildings, and grounds - match this client’s wants and needs?
FINANCIAL
- What is the total cost of tuition, room and board, books, fees, travel, etc. per year?
- Can this client/family afford this school with little or no financial aid?
- If this family can’t afford the school, what aid sources are available to this client for this school - academic scholarships, athletic scholarships, independent scholarships, funds from grandparents or other relatives, grants, federal loans, private loans, work study opportunities, other part-time jobs, etc.?
- If this client is likely to be admitted, are they likely to receive an academic award from the school? (based on prior years’ data for admitted students)
ADMISSIBILITY
- How closely does this client’s applicant profile - their high school course selections, their cumulative GPA, their class rank, their ACT or SAT scores, their extracurricular involvement, their special talents, their leadership, etc. - match the admitted student profile of the school over the past few years?
- Would this client add to the diversity of the student body at this school in such a way that they would be a special recruitment prospect? (typically this would refer to my client’s race or ethnicity or special talents they possess, but it could also be that they are very unique in another regard)
STATISTICAL
- What is the admit rate for this school? (The percentage of students who are admitted from the school’s applicant pool each year.)
- What is the retention rate for this school? (The percentage of first year students who return to the college the following year.)
- What is the graduation rate for this school? (Graduation rates measure the percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who complete their program at the same institution within a specified period of time. NOTE that this rate is often measured in a 6 year span rather than a 4 year span.)
- What percentage of undergraduate students receive financial aid? What is the average amount of loans that an individual student takes out at this school?
(Information in this section may be found at The National Center for Education Statistics.)
This isn’t a comprehensive list of the things I consider for my clients but it covers the majority of the important factors.
If you want more info on what I do and how I do it, please book a free consultation appointment. I’m always happy to chat.