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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Fri Apr 14th, 2006 12:28 am |
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If your child is still struggling with their final decision, you might want to pass along a copy of this article which discusses some of the factors other students are weighing. Of particular help is the neat list of decision tips in the sidebar -- some good advice there:
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/NEWS08/604120317/1024
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Dcmom3
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Posted: Sun Apr 16th, 2006 02:00 pm |
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| Carolyn, thank you for the article. I just printed it out for my daughter. She is deciding between 2 schools and we are making our THIRD visit to each this month. They have some similarities but mostly they are different types of schools and she CAN'T decide!! Almost all of her friends have made their final selections and it is driving her crazy. I hope that after our last trip this week, she will feel ready to decide. The problem is (she says) she can see herself at either school. I keep telling her there is no wrong decision here but it's difficult.
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HImom
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Posted: Tue Apr 18th, 2006 09:41 am |
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Great, timely article, Carolyn! Son is set & happy with his choice. Actually, things really just fell into place for him, once the other school balked at being flexible with attendance in connection with his health issues. The school he's selected has been very nice to work with so far and most of the folks who have attended have been extremely happy there. It seems to have a nice balance of "studious" with "fun," and TONS of school spirit. It is interesting how things work out in their own way, sometimes--not what we would have chosen, but very interesting to watch.
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Normagene
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Posted: Sat Jun 7th, 2008 10:15 pm |
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Posted web site no longer has this article.
Would you happen to have that list or remember some of the items that should be considered when deciding between the final choices.
Thank you
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sun Jun 8th, 2008 08:20 pm |
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Normagene, Just for you, today's post in my blog provides some of the questions students and their families might consider:
What Should Students Consider When Choosing Colleges?
I'm sure others here will have other suggestions as well.
What I generally try to do after students have answered these, and other questions, is get students to put the characteristics they are looking for into some sort of order -- in other words, are financial considerations more important than location? Is a strong program in your potential major more important than a Greek scene? Almost always, there are four or five "must have" factors and lots and lots of "nice to have but I could live without it" factors. Sorting out which is which helps when it comes time to make that final decision. But, it's important to remember that the process of putting together a college list and actually applying to college is a growth process. The things that seem most important to students at the start of senior year are very often very different than the things that seem most important after you get in. So, leave plenty of wiggle-room.
Last edited on Sun Jun 8th, 2008 08:27 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Shennie
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Posted: Mon Jun 9th, 2008 09:23 pm |
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I would also like to add, that when all else fails, it really is OK to go with the gut feeling you get at a school. Sometimes, a school might come out on the top when the pluses and minuses are added up, but still not feel like the right choice. I think that sometimes there are things that hit us in the subconcious that we are not always aware of. It really is OK to listen to that inner voice.
Obviously, if there is a great disparity in financial aid or distance or something else of major consideration, then the inner voice needs to be told to shut up! But if things are coming out reasonably balanced, listen to your heart.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Jun 9th, 2008 11:17 pm |
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I absolutely agree with you about the "gut" factor, Shennie. Each year, I work with a number of transfer students. Almost always they kind of had a niggling doubt about their first school but ignored it because, logically, it seemed like the best choice overall. While certainly logic needs to be part of the process, when your kid tells you that they have a niggling doubt in their gut about a school, sometimes it pays to pay attention.
Speaking from a personal perspective, there were several colleges that logically looked great on paper for both of my kids --- but something on the visit or in their communications with the school just didn't set well with them, and the schools didn't make it on the list. It's OK to leave some great schools behind in the list-making process -- there are plenty of schools to choose from.
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Chedva
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Posted: Tue Jun 10th, 2008 01:03 am |
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My d had the same reaction to some schools that looked perfect on paper - thanks, but no thanks. And then she did the "gut reaction" test and chose a school that, on paper, was lacking in quite a few of the "must haves"! She couldn't be happier - well, yes, she could be if the school had more of a dance program, but she does not for a moment regret her choice. There was just "something" about the school and the kids that clicked with her. I asked her at the end of the year if she wanted to transfer, and she nearly hit me!
So I'm all for the "gut reaction" test.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Wed Jun 11th, 2008 09:22 pm |
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For my children, visiting the school was what clinched their final decisions. Each found some negatives after they started but got used to them or made the negatives work for them. How they handle the first month on campus can make a difficult situation workable or not. How you handle it can also make a difference. So, for that reason, if they go with their personal reactions and choose the school that they are the happiest with rather than a school they hear is good or that other people think they should attend, they will be happier.
My son turned down two schools that people told him were academically superior to his final choice. Although we didn't give him inputs on his final decision, we silently agreed with his choice and his reasons. In the end, he made the right choice for him. He's doing extremely well, has selected a major that he's happy with, has made good friends, and is able to overlook the few things he doesn't like about the school. Ironically, since last year, the school he attends has become much more known and popular within our local community, in part because we've sent quite a few students there who are coming back with glowing reports, both from our public and private high schools.
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outwest
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Posted: Mon Jun 16th, 2008 03:17 am |
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Like Chedva, my D chose a school that is lacking in several key areas that were important to her. In the end, the good column outweighed the bad column by quite a bit. She starts this year, so we will se how imporatnt those things really are to her. Or, as she is planning, she will be starting a cooking club and energizing the outdoor club, but we shall see. It is much easier to go with the flow rather then change things, but my D has never been one to go with the flow....
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Wendy (wjb)
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Posted: Mon Jun 16th, 2008 04:37 pm |
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| My son had a tough time deciding between two schools-- went right down to the wire. At 11 PM on May 1, after making and reviewing and analyzing and parsing lists of criteria, he made the decision on what appeared to be a fairly superfical basis: He chose the school where he thought he'd be happier. But it really wasn't a superficially made decision. The process he went through reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell's book "Blink." Gladwell's basic theory is that the soundest decisions are those made by gut underpinned by deep knowledge.
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riviera
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Posted: Wed Jun 18th, 2008 01:57 am |
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| And there's the parents' gut feeling too. From day one, I knew that the college my son is going to this fall fitted him like a glove.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Wed Jun 18th, 2008 03:53 am |
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We had the same reaction to our son's decision, Riviera, and not so much to our D's. In the end, we were all right on both schools. D's school was the right school but was not a personality fit, where S's fit him in all aspects. Of course, no school is 100% perfect. There are a few things he wasn't thrilled with, but they learn to make do, like we all do.
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riviera
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Posted: Sat Jun 21st, 2008 06:34 pm |
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| WestrnMom, my daughter is now a rising sophomore, so we'll see in a couple of years out college admission will work out for her. I think it's going to be different. She is less shy, more mature than her brother at the same age and she definitively knows what she wants.
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