How to Decide Where to Go

I just finished reading a fiction book in which the author made some really good points about her college admissions process. (I wasn’t expecting any of this when I picked up the book, but I was pleasantly surprised.) I like how she said that her friends joked that waiting on admissions letters was like being left on read by the guy you like. For those of you with teens, you know being left on read is the worst! For many seniors, this next month feels interminable because they are waiting for their final decisions.

When the author talked about the fact that she wanted to go to the best college, her feelings mirrored those of many of my college counseling students. They do apply to a balanced list of schools, but it is very typical for them to say that they will go to the best college that accepts them. What makes a college the best college? The author of my book was down to Columbia and Penn after being admitted to an extremely impressive list of schools. Columbia was listed as the best school on the US News and World Report article that she had read. If you are not aware, these lists are very “controversial” these days due to the metrics that are used to rank the schools.

Ms. Gutierrez went to admitted students’ days at both schools. Before doing these visits, she was convinced that she was going to choose Columbia because it was the highest ranked school she had been admitted to. She said it is easy to romanticize living in New York City, but she felt that it was very overwhelming for her, and she didn’t get the “community” feeling she was looking for. When she got to Penn, she knew this is where she wanted to go to college. It is all about finding the school that is the best for a certain student, not the best on any particular list. Visiting colleges before deciding to attend is something I advise any student who is able to do so. There is a chance this is an investment that will cost upwards of $350,000. If you were to invest that kind of money in a house or a car, you would certainly find out as much as you possibly could before choosing to buy it. You would walk through the house and test drive the vehicle to see how it feels.

My author still felt that she should go to the “best” college. As a first generation student and daughter of immigrants, she felt an overwhelming need to make them proud and be the best. She made a Venn diagram and a pro and con list. (Those who know me know that she was really speaking my language!) She was just getting ready to make a spreadsheet when her teacher gave her a piece of advice. He told her to flip a coin. She was horrified at the thought of making this big of a decision at the flip of a coin. He told her that in those few seconds when the coin is in the air, her gut and her heart will tell her where she is meant to be. She said she does not remember what the coin showed, but when the coin dropped, she knew Penn was where she belonged.

(Credit to Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez in My Side of the River.)