Finding the right college fit is a key part of the college admissions process. You have to know what you need. And you have to know what you want. The elements of a good fit vary from student to student. But we can identify some basics. In this series of posts, Great College Advice takes a deeper look at the various aspects of a good college fit. Here we focus on how to find the right academic college fit based on this criteria:
- Type of learning environment;
- Level of rigor;
- Majors offered;
- Structure of curriculum
Academic College Fit: Learning Environment
Some students are excellent independent learners and need little guidance from their instructors. They can take ideas gleaned from a lecture, and use those to fan the flames of their own intellectual curiosity. Students don’t need much hand holding in developing ideas into term papers or independent projects. They are not afraid to approach their peers or their professors with questions or further exploration of course material.
They have a good sense of what is important in a subject. They can marshal their own resources to ensure their own academic success. These students will likely be successful in any academic environment, even large universities with enormous lecture classes. These students are active in their own learning, so the mode of instruction is less important. The passive presentations of lectures and readings may be enough to activate the innate learning impulses of this sort of student.
Other students enjoy learning most when instructors are able to bring the material alive and help them tie abstractions to the practicalities of everyday life. These students may not yet have developed their own internal academic compass. They may not be as confident with their basic academic skills. Or they may simply enjoy the higher level of interaction that occurs in smaller classes that require a high degree of participation by both teacher and student.
Match the college learning environment with how best you learn
Thus it is critical to match a student’s learning habits and preferences with the sort of learning environments that exist at different colleges and universities. This is more difficult to extract from students in a short discussion. Most students have never really considered why they prefer one teacher to another, or why they are more successful in one class than in another. Most people never give much conscious thought to their own learning.
Some will thrill to the art of a well-crafted lecture by a distinguished professor and be able to convert that thrill into independent learning. Others, however, simply cannot develop a personal relationship with the material without a personal relationship with the human beings in the classroom. In order to make a recommendation about the appropriate learning environment then, it’s important to discuss with high school students why some classes are more successful and to uncover the reasons why others are less so.
Academic College Fit: Level of Rigor
High schools tend to offer various levels of a course (college prep, honors, AP) to provide various levels of academic challenge to different sorts of students. Some prefer to take courses that challenge them intellectually at the top of their game. Others prefer to coast a bit more. Some seek a cohort of students who are as academically driven (or not) as they are, while others prefer to hang with students who are smarter. Still, others prefer to be a big fish in a smaller pond and standout in a less challenging environment.
When you and your family visit colleges, try to get the general academic vibe on campus and rank your schools on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being over-the-top academic. Which schools appealed to you most? Hop on Tik Tok, Instagram and other online resources to confirm or reject your campus visit.
Academic College Fit: Program Offerings and Majors
It’s pretty obvious that finding the right major is important. But it’s important to go beyond the student’s first answer, no matter how confident they appear about their top choice of major. The fact is that the vast majority of students change their major at least once in college and many change two or three times. So as we help our students look for the programs that they want most we also try to be on the lookout for other programs that may interest them.
For example, a high school junior may tell us confidently that they want to be an architect. But they may also enjoy foreign language and literature. Thus it would not be enough to simply list the schools of architecture. We need to consider which schools also would make it possible to continue that interest in a second language.
A student may or may not change majors; but college is also a time in which students are introduced to academic disciplines they have never had any contact with in high school (aeronautics, psychology, philosophy, linguistics) that may end up becoming a passion. So while we start with programs and majors a student identifies as first choice, we also try to tease out what other academic interests the student has. These alternative interests may become a well-spring of electives, a potential minor, or an about-face major alternative down the academic road.
Academic College Fit: Curricular and Program Structure
Some students simply don’t like to be told what to study, while others feel more comfortable making choices within a more structured, controlled environment. Some have a very good sense of what they want to learn and why. Others are still exploring and are happy to have at least a bit of guidance to help them make sense of the smorgasbord that is a collegiate course catalog. Fortunately, there is a college to match this preference.
At one extreme are the colleges that make very few demands and impose few—if any—curricular requirements. The curriculum may be completely individualized and tailored to each student’s interests and passions. At the other extreme are the colleges that allow for virtually no choice in what courses students take. And then there is a broad spectrum of colleges and universities that fall somewhere in the middle of this continuum.
Here again, curriculum structure can be difficult to discuss with high school students for whom their entire academic experience has been laid out to them. Electives have been few and far between, especially compared with the options available in college. In order to make a recommendation, then, one has to measure a student’s academic maturity and ability to make good, future-oriented decisions.
While it’s completely fine not to declare a major until the end of the sophomore year, students still need to put a plan in place to ensure they can graduate on time. Students with less self-discipline may be better off in a more structured program or one that at least has a very strong and personalized system of academic advising.
Evaluating Academic College Fit: Conclusion
Academic fit is the single most important factor in choosing a college, in our view. While the environment, availability of extracurricular opportunities, and social climate are all also very important you must remember that families are not choosing a country club or vacation resort. The primary purpose in college is to get an education—one that suits them best and allows them to achieve their own intellectual and professional goals.
How to Find A Great College Fit
There are many other aspects of finding a great college fit. Please check out our other posts on this topic:
Evaluating social engagement on campus
Evaluating campus social life
Finally, here’s a video on how the team at Great College Advice can help you find a great college fit.
Since 2007, the expert team of college admissions consultants at Great College Advice has provided comprehensive guidance to thousands of students from across the United States and over 45 countries across the world. Great College Advice has offices in Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, North Carolina and Massachusetts.
In addition to our one-on-one counseling, Great College Advice extends its support through one of the most active and resource-rich Facebook Groups for college-bound students and their families: College Admissions Experts. With nearly 100,000 members—students, parents, and experienced counselors—this vibrant forum offers peer support and expert advice like no other.
