How to shop for colleges: The existential guide

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my younger sister in order to expose her to University of Louisville and get her mind in gear ready to explore college options. As a University of Louisville official tour guide and ambassador, I imagined it would be an easy task to sway her to join me as a fellow card— but what I didn’t anticipate is that I ended the weekend hoping I didn’t sway her too much.

Although, UofL is a school I am proud to be part of and I found happiness here, I worried that she may just be settling at first thing she encounters. As a high school senior I sincerely hope she explores her options more. While talking her through her first college tour, I came up with a few points of consideration that may not be as salient while going through the college search.

 

How much do you anticipate changing?

University is typical when people grow into themselves and develop their independent identity. This is drawn from the fact of all that there are freedoms allotted while studying whatever you specifically want to, being away from home (usually), and planning future endeavors. The changes that one experiences in psyche, worldview, and social structure at times can be overwhelming, which is something I did not consider before university. Keeping in mind that you will be in key development time and may feel vulnerable is something that can shape what you pay attention to while looking into colleges. What clubs are there that support things you’d like to explore; what resources/staff/support are available that are student focused, etc?

How will you learn?

An obvious spin to many college marketing presentations and tours is going to be that they are “academically driven” or “educationally focused”, which are appropriate emphasizes for an institution you will pay an arm and a leg for. However, what I have found out is that the majority of my personal growth— which I consider educational and functional for my future goals—has been from outside of my classroom settings. I have had internships and social experiences that have left lasting impressions on my development of self, and I have had classes where the memorization for exams left my brain quicker than it ever entered. This is not to say that classes will be insignificant in the long run, but rather, paying attention to what growth opportunities a university supports can shape how much you develop while in college.

How well do you know yourself?

You may come into college with a plan from A to Z, complete with what you want the university to offer you in way of opportunities, majors, experiences and prestige. This can all work out in good favor with results anywhere on a spectrum of failure to fulfillment. However, you could be an individual who tends to be surprised by what you end up pursuing, and look for a university that has room for leaders and depends on it’s students to shape it. If you are the first type of person then you may want to value a university based on its prestige, power and the extent to which it can highlight your strengths. If you are the second type of person then you may value a university based on how much you can do for it, how you can develop your own sense of achievement from creating something else and what you can have freedom to explore when there.

All things considered, choosing the right university may be something little of us can ever know if we achieved. But putting into perspective the representation that these 4 (or more) years will have in your life can make the search process more significant than just picking the first that seems to fit.