Which Colleges Are Right For Me?

Reputation and Rankings?

It is impossible to search for colleges and not come across comments about rankings and reputation. Reputations are based on rumors, perceptions, and differ widely among people, even the school’s alumni! And rankings are gamed by many colleges and based on subjective criteria that often have nothing to do with learning and student success. Despite numerous scandals and obvious subjectivity, they dominate college decision making in many ways. Don’t be fooled by them!

College Fit?

College marketers have mastered the art of seducing students and families with attractive amenities, promises of belonging and lifelong friendships, fancy new buildings, etc. But none of those speak to the quality of the education, learning, or return on investment. Campus visits are designed and choreographed to create emotional connections between students, not to portray the school objectively. For costly decisions like college, feelings should be used last to decide between otherwise equal options.

The best decision is an informed decision!

The first thing students need to know in order to decide on colleges is what type of colleges best align with their

academic mindset and individual agency.

The college experience is dominated by 2 things:

intellectual activity (analyses, studying, writing, etc.), and
stress (from the many challenges students inevitably face)
Students who enjoy intellectual activity more than others tend to better at schools where faculty are invested more personally in students’ academics and engage them in deeper learning activities. They tend to feel disengaged and disappointed at schools where their classes are focused more on surface level knowledge and taught by graduate assistants. Students who like less intellectual activity experience more of the opposite.
Every single college student deals with countless sources of stress during college, whether it’s relationship issues, poor grades, a bad class experience, death in the family, changing majors, or even figuring out how they will afford to eat this week. Students who respond to stress effectively and positively are more successful at schools regardless of how easy or difficult it is to access resources. But students who need extra support to respond effectively, tend to do better at campuses where they are not anonymous and it’s easier for them to find help or where faculty, staff, and peers can see when they need help.
Academic Mindset deals with how students appreciate and engage in intellectual activities, and Individual Agency deals with how effectively and independently students respond to stress and adverse experiences. Research shows that these characteristics effect student success, and they interact differently across different academic environments.
Cogi can help you identify what type of schools are best suited for you!

Once you know the types best suited to your context, you need to determine what’s your Ideal College Profile. This profile outlines the type of college environments best suited for you along with critical performance indicators related to costs, retention, graduation, ROI, etc. It should also identify your most important preferences, like location, major, religious affiliation, etc. This will help you identify the best performing, most affordable, and best matching options for you to pursue!