How should one select a college? I recently asked a variety of friends and associates to reflect on their own experience in choosing their college or universities. The responses were as varied as one might expect. No two stories are alike.
But the answers reveal a lot about the fact that different schools fit different people in different ways. Since it is my job to help students identify the colleges that are right for them, I try to be a good listener. My aim is to gather enough information to help students be somewhat systematic in their selection.
Not everyone is so systematic, however, and still these people end up having very satisfying college experiences.
So off and on over the next few weeks I will be sharing some of these “real life stories” of people how people chose their college and how they fared once they got there.
Here is the question I posed:

What was your primary criterion for selecting the college or university you attended? Today’s students (including my clients) struggle to decide upon criteria by which to select a college or university. Admissions professionals all talk about fit or “making the match,” and parents want the best that money can buy for their little dears. As hindsight is 20/20, I’m interested to know what criteria you used to choose a college, and whether, in the end, those original criteria really mattered with regard to the value of your education. Did you choose a college for all the wrong reasons, but end up loving the experience anyway? Did you do tons of research to find the best college for you, and then later decide that the place wasn’t really your nirvana? What should kids be looking at most in choosing a college or university? Thanks in advance for your thoughtful responses.

Look for the responses as I post them. They provide a very interesting retrospective look on the college selection process.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting