4 Tips for the Best College Search
You want to go to college, but where do you start?
Become a smart college consumer AND save some money, too.
Only with a college education are you encouraged to look at price last. With high-priced consumer purchases most of us follow a logical step-by-step consumer pricing procedure. Except one, a college education. When you shop for any high-priced consumer product (for example, a car) you should START with the price, make several “need vs. want” calculations from there, and arrive at a final decision. You purchase what you need at a price that is within your family’s financial resources.
Is it worth it?
Yes, it pays to go to college. Lifetime earnings will double on average. Several other positives also; civic engagement (voting, volunteering etc.) increases and average life span is longer.
But is that value affordable? In fact, value is there for the savvy consumer who knows where to look.
1. Look for Variations in Program Offerings
* Value tip: you will find in the college search include:
-co-op programs. examples: Drexel in Philadelphia and Northeastern (in Boston) offer valuable paid internships in the discipline of your college major. Income to help with expenses and practical ‘on-the-job’ experience at the same time! What is not to like?
-five college consortiums. examples: at the Five Colleges in Amherst (Mass) and the Claremont Colleges in California a student enrolled at one college may take courses at any of the other colleges, each with its own distinct strengths.
-PG or “Gap” year programs for the student who may get little out of the college experience right now. Whether it be another year of high school in a different setting (“PG” ) or an intense and maturing work experience (‘Gap”) the evidence is clear that students who defer college for a year get more out of college once he/she does enroll.
- ROTC programs where part/all of expenses are paid for by the US taxpayer.
2. Some “shopping” suggestions when you visit a campus.
Work hard to find out the following:
Non-negotiable
-graduation rate within 4 years? within 6 years?
-job placement by major? for the previous year’s senior class?
-average student loan debt at graduation?
-is the net price calculator easily navigable?
-level of student support?
Nice to know and you’ll find it out soon enough once you enroll.
-who teaches freshman courses, full professors? TAs?
-hybrid courses?
-% of grades that are A or B?
3. Check out the Honors Programs at Colleges
Where? At many public universities and a growing number of private colleges.
What? Offerings for eligible university students (honors “programs”) or a distinct unit within the university itself. ( Honors “College”)
Benefits? BEWARE. Varies widely from university to university.
Does it cost me more on top of tuition and board? Possibly, but the two most prominent Honors colleges in the northeast ,the Penn State Schreyer Honors College charges $25 per semester and the University of Maryland Honors College charges no fee. (source: INSIDE HONORS:Ratings and Reviews of sixty public university honors programs-edited by Willingham.2016)
Remember, in many cases Honors students are eligible for merit based financial aid grants not open to the student body at large.
A REALLY GOOD DEAL! Often, public universities will charge out-of-state students in-state tuition if they are admitted to the Honors program.
How do access to internships, graduation rates and grad school & job placement rates compare? Honors students out-perform the general student population.
Sounds like the advantages of smaller , private college ( smaller classes, access to professors) with the facilities and resources of a university. Yes, it is called “VALUE ADDED.”
4. Remember that people are decisive in giving a college education value.
Hmmm. Interesting thought. After all that time, effort and anxiety spent throughout high school nervously searching for the right march of college setting. Is it strong in my prospective major? What about career focused internships? Retention rate? Graduation rate?
NYTimes columnist Frank Bruni makes a similar point in his fascinating book on just this topic; WHERE YOU GO IS NOT WHO YOU’LL BE (Grand Central Publishing, 2015). At one point Bruni refers to Michael Lindsay’s 2014 study of 550 corporate CEOs, college Presidents, and elected leaders.
One finding?
*The undergraduate colleges attended by these accomplished leaders was varied and showed no pattern. No Ivy league bias? Nope.None.
Research done on the colleges themselves suggest a similar, related, point. Dan Chambliss, a professor at Hamilton College (NY) headed a ten year longitudinal study funded by the Mellon Foundation to answer this question, What is the key to making an (expensive) college education work for you? The conclusion of Chambliss’s research?
*The most important single factor? The personal connections you make: with a professor, your advisor, and other students in your major. (see HOW COLLEGE WORKS-Chambliss. Harvard, 2014.)
*What does this mean for your college search? Be an educated consumer. Do your research. Visit campuses. Talk to people-a neighbor who attended the college that has your interest, a counselor with expertise in the college search. Ask tough questions.
So what does that mean for my college search?
Be a savvy consumer. Do your research. Visit campus. Ask questions. Talk to recent grads. Don’t be afraid to use parents, counselors and consultants.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David W. Clark, Ed.M. is an independent college admission consultant who specializes in colleges in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.He recently re-located his practice after working with high school students and their families in the northeast for more than thirty-five years.David is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. His website www.collegesearchnow.org is worth visiting and he can be reached there.