Did you see the news today that Obama plans to rank schools and tie federal aid to the ranking? Hell yes! The better the schools, the more financial aid they get. Hallelujah, now someone’s thinking! Why should poorly-ranked schools (schools that have high drop out rates, high post-graduate unemployment rates) get funding? It’s akin to throwing money down the toilet.
Anywho, I hope that my college alma mater gets more funding given its status! Go bears!
Now I want to talk about what to look for when picking a college, if that is the correct path. In a future post, I will get to my belief that people do not need to go to college to be successful. People are wired to do exactly what is mainstream, which is why people won’t take the time to think about other options, i.e., alternatives that may very well be more meaningful, profitable, and successful than simply doing what everyone else does.
What to look for when picking a college:
First of all, parents should not be picking which college their kids go to. If your kid wants to go to college, your rugrat better be doing the research! Parents should be sitting on their laurels and not lifting a finger. When kids have narrowed down their choices, they should present to their parents the pros and cons of each school and ask for advice. But parents should not be doing the homework! If high school seniors can stay out late, drink alcohol, smoke, and potentially conceive children of their own, they can surely conduct their own college research.
As for picking the right school, what metric are we solving for? Are we looking for a college with a lot of history? Do you care about a robust and active alumni? Does the sports program give you goose bumps? Are you trying to find the school with the perfect cultural fit? No. No. No. No.
Let me repeat my answer to the above questions. NO! You are not looking to go to the same school that your grandpa went to. You are not looking for a school that has the cutest mascot. You are not looking for a school that has a lofty endowment. You need to zero in on one thing.
Why do you go to college? Tell me your answer. I’ll give you a minute to comment before reading on.
[TAKE 60 SECONDS OR LESS TO COMMENT ON WHY YOU GO TO COLLEGE]
If you want to go to college because you want to have a great life experience, then go sail around the world.
If you want to go to college because you want to play professional basketball, then go play professional basketball in China.
If you want to go to college because you want to meet lots of single people and find a spouse, then save yourself a lot of money and sign up for Match.com.
If you want to go to college because you think it’s the thing to do, then I urge you to think about better options that are available to you before going into a shitload of debt.
Let me tell you the reason why you should be going to college. You are going to college because you genuinely believe it will lead to a successful career. What does that mean having a successful career? It means having a job when you graduate from college! So what are you looking for when you are researching schools? You’re looking for this: Percentage of students who are employed 3 months after graduation.
This metric should be in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for top schools. I can’t tell because I’m not a subscriber but I know they have this for graduate schools. It’s also the most important question you should ask when visiting colleges. Not: Tell me about the student body, tell me about your culture, tell me about your sports teams!
It’s all about career success and employment. If the schools can’t give you a good answer, then move on, it’s not a school you should be considering. You are going to college because it will lead to great things, first and foremost, a job that will pay the bills once you graduate. Look for schools that have successful career counseling and placement services. Grill alumni and ask them about their experience and whether the school assisted in job placement. More than ever, choosing a college is one of the most important investments you will ever make. Don’t make the decision lightly.
Here are other posts in the college series:
Agreed, you go to college to embark on a successful career. And the student needs to do the research. But I am going to help – I’m not resting on my laurels. It’s my money on the line. I guarantee you that my teen is looking at the campus, the dorms, the activities, the student body…I will make sure she also looks at the employment stats. Ugh – this whole conversation makes me nauseous. It can be such an emotional experience – I appreciate your no-nonsense approach to this topic.
Students are graduating only to move back in with their parents and they are taking much longer to find jobs, competing with experienced professionals who are unemployed. Given those are the facts, then college no longer has the ROI that it did in the past. Because it is such a serious investment, we need to ask very hard and serious questions about whether this makes sense.
Quite frankly, i couldn’t have said this better if I tried. It is about finding a school that is the right fit that will indeed give you the best possible outcome career-wise in the end. I do agree with Dana thought that sometimes at a young age, kids don’t always have the whole picture and it is up to the parents to help guide them (not make the decision by any means). I remember being this age and having no real idea what I wanted to do and my mom sat me down and talked with me to help me figure certain things out. that really did help at least focus me. Great post though and thank you for sharing your thoughts here on this!
Thanks Janine. I agree that most kids don’t know what career track to take, but if that is the case, then they or their parents (whoever is paying) should not have to fund an ambiguous dream, especially now that education is becoming more and more expensive.
You are right on target, again, Catherine. Although not everyone will agree. It’s a tricky matrix to navigate: the best college you can get into and can afford and has a high placement percentage. That’s why I think the real work needs to begin in middle school. I’m not talking about exerting undue pressure on your kids, but working with them to set goals. My son was a bit of a slacker until we finally sat down with him in 7th grade and suggested he start doing research to identify the type of colleges he would want to go to. We helped him to realize that, if he had big dreams (which he did) he was going to have to make every day in high school count. This may not work for every family but it worked for us.
Mo that is exactly the right approach, to tell our children that they need to step up to the plate. You’re right that it is a tricky matrix, I definitely agree with that. Life is hard and is a matter of making the best decisions with the information available to us. The sooner children can learn that message, the more successful they will be.
I’ll have to look in to the new ranking and federal aid. I’ve not heard that before. It sounds interesting! When your child gets to a certain age you sort of naturally turn from the person running the show completely to more of a consultant role. (But I think I’m going to do some independent research into colleges, too) I will say, the amount of scholarship and aid you get ultimately makes a difference. That was the deciding factor for me.
Yes, I like how you phrased it…’consultative’ role. As Mo mentioned in her comment above, making the college decision is like a matrix with lots of different inputs. Scholarships and financial aid are a huge component.
Hey there! I just wanted to stop by to say thanks for the follow back on bloglovin’! I appreciate it. Hope are having a fabulous Friday and have a great weekend :o)
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You stepped on a lot of toes with this one for sure. I love it! You were spot on with the WRONG reasons a lot of ppl go and you gave them better alternatives for those accomplishments.
I agree that parents should let the children do all the work so they know what they are getting into and the job outlook for said major and institution. I do think it’s the parents responsibility to guide them in researching and making sure they cover all the necessary factors in making responsible decisions.
I heart this new series of yours!
Thanks Joi! It may have been ok for kids to go to school to “experience college and have fun” in the past, but it won’t work anymore because of the rising costs. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thinking this way when I was a teenager, but at the same time, I also paid my own way through school which is why I chose a cheap university which also gave me grants, scholarships, and financial aid. Too many parents just spend money on college because it’s the thing to do. Oh well, there goes the retirement funds.
Great post Catherine, unfortunately a lot of people are looked down upon without having a degree, I personally wouldn’t encourage my kids to not go to college because I have seen the effects of what not having a degree looks like. As a daughter of an educator it would be so hard to take a different path, but if college wasn’t for me, I probably wouldn’t go.
I truly believe that in this day and age that you do not have to have a college degree to get ahead. The success of non-college grads is prevalent in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, so maybe my perception is skewed. Nevertheless, I honestly and firmly stand by my first statement. Smart people are in demand and they will be hired regardless of a piece of paper. Stay tuned…more on this series.
It took me a while to figure out my life, but I went to college and got my degree.
My daughter is a senior in high school and I have encouraged her to do the research herself but her mother (we have been divorced since both kids were little) has made excuses when the kids get poor grades and has not encouraged her to do the research, but I have made a bunch of college tours with the kids.
One thing that you missed is that the educators in the high schools are always pushing college. My daughter is thinking about joining the Navy (I was in for four years and it did wonders for me) because she is not sure if she is mature enough for college right now. She told that to a teacher and the you-know-what has hit the fan. I ended up filing a complaint against the teacher for harassment because she kept telling my daughter how that is wrong and so on, which leads me to another point.
The high schools are pushing college for kids because it makes them look good. A local Catholic high school at the end of the school year runs an ad in the local newspaper -99% of Our Students Go To College, then they post what colleges the graduating students are going to. Over 70% of them are going to the local junior colleges, but most people do not read that far(I do, that is what ADD does for you) so they think that the school is a great school.
I always tell my own kids and the kids I teach that the world needs plumbers, electricians, etc. and that they make more money than some people that have degrees. I always tell both my own kids and the kids I teach is that is that you need to give yourself options in life and the more the better as you will have (according to the stats) about six different careers in life and more you know and the different skills you have the better. The people who I teach with don’t like when I say that, but I try to be real with the kids.
Sorry for being so long with this but as an educator and a parent it is something I deal with. Thanks for running this series.
Wow, Patrick, you bring up a very good point. It’s important to understand how people benefit from the decisions you make and to take that into account. I didn’t even think about how high schools will try to sway all students to go to college as it strengthens their stats. Thanks for pointing that out. I agree with you that there are a multitude of careers to go into and many that do not need college degrees.
You make a great point, the purpose of college is to help you find a career. I think it is difficult for a teenager to be able to think long-term, but researching schools is a good exercise for them to learn how. I remember being concerned about campus life, and the “college experience.” In the end the campus life wasn’t a very good fit for me at the college I chose. On the other hand, my professors prepared me very well for the work force. I know it’s a very hard choice for teens and their parents to make!
Thank you Stevie for following here and commenting! I know it must be really hard for teens to think long-term, but given the gargantuan investment being made, teens are going to have to step up to the plate and make hard decisions. And if they need to take the time to decide, they should do it, versus delving into college without understanding the pros and cons.
Intially, I went to college because I thought that is what everyone did. I thought it was the norm…if you wanted to have a somewhat livelihood. Now, that I’m in my senior year I know that I went to college to learn more…about myself. Yes, I’ve learned some stuff from classes and books, but the life lessons I’ve learned far out weigh anything I’ve learned in class. My degree putting me a tad bit ahead and offering the possibility of financial security is just an added bonus.
Taylor, I would really love your perspective after you’ve graduated and are working full-time so keep on learning, keep on reading my blog, and get in touch with me so I can share your thoughts.
I’ll have one in college in a couple of years and he pretty much knows what field he wants to go into. You can bet placement is going to be one of the top things we’re going to be looking at. He has already started doing his own research…I couldn’t tell you the names of the schools. But I know he already has a few in mind.
You done good Michelle! You done good with raising a son who knows the importance of planning!