Recently I was interviewed online by a writer from Alaska Airlines Magazine. I thought her questions were good and enjoyed answering. Our exchange follows below:

What are some of the most important things that students should consider when deciding where to go to college? Considerations for making a choice vary with the priorities of individual students: institutional reputation, academic selectivity and rigor, geographic region, available programs, traditional vs. alternative campus ethos, and on and on…. Increasingly, given the economy, cost is a factor. Among other things this is fueling enrollment in in-state public schools. One broad factor that I would encourage all students to investigate is the reputation of the school with prospective employers and graduate and professional schools, so they have the assurance of a degree that is truly marketable.

What are common mistakes that students make when trying to pick the right college for themselves? A common mistake is limiting options too quickly. Most students are familiar with colleges near where they live and perhaps the Ivy League and a few other well-known institutions. There are standout colleges of all types all over the U.S., many of which students have never heard of depending on where they live.

Another mistake is assuming that a given school isn’t an option given the “sticker price.” Multiple types of financial aid are still solidly available, and virtually all schools do their own discounting in order to woo desirable students.

How important is it for students to know their majors ahead of time? I have long felt that we do a disservice to 18 and 19 year-olds by expecting them to know their major, especially when 70% of college freshmen are either undecided or change their minds, sometimes multiple times! Most recent high school graduates simply haven’t had enough experience and exposure to make a realistic choice of a major and career path. Thankfully, the majority of colleges have curricular requirements that mandate enrollment in general education courses and electives, giving students as much as a year and a half before they are compelled to declare — while still making real progress toward a degree. In the meantime, there are career counselors and advisors at most schools who can help students narrow their options.

Is there only one right college for students? Absolutely not! With over 2300 four-year colleges in the U.S. there are likely multiple right colleges.  The trick is identifying them and checking them out. This fact, along with the paucity of counselors at many high schools is one of the reasons for the growing profession of independent educational consulting.

How important are gut reactions or first impressions when it comes to campus visits and choosing the right school? I validate the gut check as an important factor, but preferably at the end of a solid visit including a tour, information session, conversations with professors and students, hopefully even an overnight stay in a dorm.

What are some of Pinnacle’s most popular services? College matching (development of a personalized list of potential colleges), essay development and editing, SAT/ACT prep, career assessments/major exploration, and comparative institutional research.

What type of student would benefit most from Pinnacle’s services? Most students would benefit from individualized help tailored to their needs and interests, especially now that the college application process is more complex and competitive than when many parents attended. To get the most out of working with a college planning professional students should be invested in the process and proactive. I enjoy working with all types of students.

Are campus visits important? How can students get the most from a campus visit? A campus visit isn’t absolutely necessary, and may not always be possible, but I think it is advisable. A tour and information session arranged by the admissions office is standard, and many colleges allow prospective students to sit in on a class, converse with faculty members and students, and even stay overnight in a dorm.

How soon should students start thinking about which school is right for them? Serious consideration would ideally begin during the junior year in high school, but I advocate that families begin immersing their kids in thinking about and visiting colleges much earlier in order to establish some perspective. Early visits don’t need to involve the admissions office, and may simply involve walking around the campus, eating at the student union, and/or attending a sporting event or performance of some sort.

Does choosing the right school guarantee success? Nope: students still must attend class, study hard and commit to the process of higher education. In addition, research shows that students who become involved in campus activities are more successful than those who do not. Even a work-study position increases persistence!

Lisa Ransdell, Ph.D.

Pinnacle Education Consulting, Denver, CO

303-635-6620, LRansdell@comcast.net

www.pinnacle-educ.net

1. A rigorous high school curriculum that challenges the student and may include AP or IB classes.

2. Grades that represent strong effort and an upward trend. However, slightly lower grades in a rigorous program are preferred to all As in less challenging coursework.

3. Solid scores on standardized tests (SAT, ACT). These should be consistent with high school performance.

4. Passionate involvement in a few activities, demonstrating leadership and initiative. Depth, not breadth, of experience is most important.

5. Letters of recommendation from teachers and guidance counselor that give evidence of integrity, special skills, positive character traits, and an interest in learning.

6. A well-written essay that provides insight into the student’s unique personality, values, and goals. The application essay should be thoughtful and highly personal. It should demonstrate careful and well-constructed writing.

7. Special talents or experiences that will contribute to an interesting and well-rounded student body.

8. Demonstrated leadership in activities. Colleges want people who will arrive prepared and willing to take leadership of student activities and events.

9. Demonstrated intellectual curiosity through reading, school, leisure pursuits, and more.

10. Demonstrated enthusiasm to attend, often exhibited by campus visits and an interview, showing an interest toward attending the college.

For the lucky student who is in a position to choose between competing offers from one or more colleges, some observations and advice:

As I said recently to just such a client, there are essentially two methods that I am aware of with definite merit. The first of these involves assembling a set of facts and making a rational, logical choice, based on the result of the comparison. The facts I believe to be relevant include the total cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, books, fees and estimated personal expenses) less any awards (grants and scholarships). Do not include loans in the award category – this only refers to “free money” that doesn’t need to be paid back. The resulting figure is your adjusted cost of attendance for one year.

I would balance the adjusted cost against multiple indicators of the strength of the institution. These might include recognized ranking systems, such as those used by U.S. News and Kiplinger, which are based on key institutional variables. I have my own set of variables that I scrutinize on behalf of clients. These include the selectivity of the school, the freshman retention rate (the percentage of students who return for a second year after the first), the 4-year graduation rate, the average class size and student/faculty ratio, and the percentage of classes taught by professors rather than by graduate assistants. With freshman retention, 4-year graduation stats, and classes taught by professors, the higher these numbers the better. With class size and student-faculty ratio, the lower the better.

For those who have a good idea of their academic major, or interests in particular programs like a sport or study abroad, scrutinizing programs and departments is a good idea. You may wish to initiate contact with these offices to see how receptive and friendly they are to prospective students. If you want to really get down and dirty, seriously plumb deeply buried institutional reports and see if the college has recently undergone accreditation review, or if it participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement. If the answer to either is yes and if any of the summary results are available, the information can be quite eye opening, as it will feature both strengths and weaknesses of the institution in comparison with others.

The alternative method may seem to be quite ephemeral in comparison with the logical comparative method, and yet I can’t discount it. I believe that a student’s gut response following a campus visit is absolutely important and not to be discounted. So many happy and successful college students that I’ve known have said something like the following: “I just knew, within minutes of setting foot on campus that this was the place for me.”

My best advice is to weigh rational assessments and gut reactions together, especially since I absolutely believe that there are multiple right colleges for each student. An institution with a strong profile that is making an overture of interest (possibly in the form of an award) AND that feels like a good fit will probably wear well over time. Happy deciding!

College-bound high school juniors and seniors routinely field two questions from friends and family members: where do you hope to attend, and what major will you declare? Now that many seniors are close to receiving replies to their school applications, the remaining question needlessly causes anxiety for some, and in many cases for their parents.

As a former Director of Academic Advising and Dean of First Year Students, my strong opinion is that most 17 and 18-year olds simply haven’t had sufficient life experience to make a solid choice. Data show that 70% of U.S. college freshmen either don’t know their major upon starting out, or change their major once or even multiple times. Not knowing is therefore the norm.

With the exception of highly sequenced programs, such as engineering and computer science, most students have a great deal of flexibility in their curricular requirements. Those registered for general education courses such as English, math, social and natural sciences, etc, ARE making progress toward graduation equivalent to their peers with declared majors. Between general studies and the electives that most colleges allow for, students at many colleges can progress as far as the mid-point of their sophomore year before being compelled to declare.

Ultimately, some students will fall in love with a subject upon taking a course from an inspiring professor. Others will get a clue from an intriguing internship or volunteer experience. For those who may need help, there are some excellent free sources of assistance available in the form of academic advisors, psychologists and especially, career counselors. Campus career professionals are experienced administrators of assessments that can identify aptitudes and interests and connect these with programs of study.

So, future collegians, enjoy your senior year of high school, but don’t slack off in your performance – colleges do check year-end grades! One thing you need not obsess about for some time is your future major.

Lisa Ransdell, Ph.D. is a part-time college faculty member and educational consultant in the Denver area.  Her website is pinnacle-educ.com.

In order to be optimally prepared when it’s time to begin applying to prospective colleges (fall-winter of your senior year), it helps to know that you’ve been thorough in your planning. The following is a list of things to be stressed in each year of high school in order to have that assurance:

Junior Year:

• Continue core classes and extracurriculars as previously suggested;
• Prepare for and take the ACT and/or SAT; take the pressure off by knowing you can repeat these tests if necessary, and that only your highest scores will count;
• Begin to explore colleges by viewing websites and making visits when you can; try and visit a college campus whenever you are traveling; attend college fairs at your school;
• Summer before senior year: Begin work on the Common Application (www.commonapp.org) – if you apply to schools that use the CA you’re well prepared; if you apply to schools that don’t use the CA you will likely be more than prepared.

Senior Year:

• Complete requirements for graduation, ensuring that HEAR requirements are met;
• Repeat ACT/SAT if necessary, making sure you do some prep first if you are hoping for score improvements;
• Continue developing your list of possible colleges, identifying some that are reach schools, some that are safeties, and some that are likelies;
• Request references early on, ideally your counselor and one teacher who can speak to your potential;
• Continue key extracurriculars;
• Have fun but don’t slack off in your academic efforts. Colleges scrutinize performance during senior year and will ask questions if you crash and burn at this point;
• Finish honing your list of school of interest and note deadlines – applications must be received on time. Remember to inform your references of deadlines as well.

In order to be optimally prepared when it’s time to begin applying to prospective colleges (fall-winter of your senior year), it helps to know that you’ve been thorough in your planning. The following is a list of things to be stressed in each year of high school in order to have that assurance:

Summer before freshman year: If there are any deficiency areas - for example struggles with math, fears of foreign language study or lagging some in reading level - this is the perfect time to address such issues. Enrollment in summer school or in a tutoring program for weak subjects is a great idea for a strong start in high school. Costs can be controlled if you have a neighbor or friend who is a strong upper level high school student who might welcome work as a tutor.

Freshman Year:

• Enroll in core classes that meet the Colorado HEAR requirements for graduation and college eligibility (http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Admissions/);
• Explore several extracurricular activities for fun and to develop and expand yourself;
• Visit a college campus with your family or through a program at your school – begin thinking about college as an aspect of your future, and the type of school you might wish to attend.
• Again, hit any deficiency areas during summer months before 10^th grade when you have the time to really dig deep and improve academic skills.

Sophomore Year:

• Continue core classes following HEAR guidelines;
• Identify one or two extracurriculars (clubs, sports, volunteer programs) that you will maintain throughout your remaining high school enrollment. Colleges are more impressed by depth of involvement over a wide breadth of dabbling in random activities;
• Prepare for and take the PSAT as a trial run for future testing, and to qualify for National Merit scholarships.

College bound high school seniors, their parents, and college officials are typically anxious at this time of year regarding admission decisions, aid packages, and what colleges call “yield,” which is the size of the incoming freshman class after offers are made, accepted and declined.  Due to the deepening recession, this season those anxieties are significantly magnified.

Here is a quick overview of what national education sources are saying about the status of financial aid for college in 2009, along with some tips for making the best of the situation. Happily, there is actually some good news despite the gloomy economic picture at present!

 Good News:

The best news is that federally funded student loans are secure and have been affirmed by recent congressional legislation; in fact, funding has been expanded somewhat. This applies to Stafford loans, Perkins loans and PLUS loans.

 Many families will qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit included in the recently passed stimulus package, a potential credit of $2500.

 Colleges are aware of and concerned about the ability of families to afford the cost of higher education in the current climate.  As a result, most are trying to contain costs (60% of U.S. colleges have hiring freezes at present), striving to limit the extent of tuition increases, and in some cases, attempting to increase institutional aid packages.

 Not Such Good News:

Private college loans are now much harder to come by and carry less desirable terms than in the past.  These have been affected in much the same way as other forms of credit, unlike federal student loans, which are guaranteed by the government.  

 The continued stability of federal grants, such as Pell grants, may be tenuous, as more families are now eligible given the drop in net worth for most Americans.  While increased eligibility is positive, it is also possible that the unanticipated increase in demand will negatively affect the availability and the size of future grants.

 Virtually all colleges provide aid on their own, based on unmet need as well as merit.  Given the particular strains faced by public institutions that rely on state funding, and different strains faced by private colleges (in the form of decreased donations and diminished endowments), institutional award packages may not match what students have been offered in the past.

 Tips for maximizing aid in the present environment: apply early, shop around for the best offers and packages, appeal award decisions whenever circumstances change, and definitely ask about the financial health of the institution when visiting campus.  Also beware of financial aid scams in the present environment.  Check out “too good to be true” private offers with the financial aid office at your college.  Also check into the background of private entities that promise to secure questionable levels of aid.

One of my services to clients is help in preparing for the SAT and ACT examinations.  It’s been some time since I was on the college testing scene as a test taker, but at the moment I am right in there with high school juniors, studying for the SAT myself at the age of 50 with a looming October 4, 2008 test date. I decided that prepping for and taking the test myself would be an interesting, alternative sort of professional development at this point in my career.

 What does an educational consultant and former higher ed administrator recommend as the best means of preparing for college entrance exams?  As with nearly every consequential thing one plans for, “one size doesn’t fit all,” and “it depends.”  For myself, given that I have nothing riding on my exam scores, I am going low level.  My preparation consists solely of spending time working my way through the Barron’s guidebook, “How to Prepare for the SAT,” and also receipt and completion of the SAT question of the day from the College Board (and its Educational Testing Service), the folks who created and maintain the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

 Generally, there are four broad types of preparation.  One is to do what I’m doing, and prepare on your own with the help of a guidebook.  There are several out there roughly in the $30 price range and each will help prepare you in relatively similar ways.  I chose Barron’s because it is highly regarded by other tutors who are my colleagues and friends.  I like it for its breadth of coverage of key test areas (critical reading, writing and mathematics), the fact that it includes a diagnostic test to help identify strengths and weaknesses, and the fact that it includes no fewer than six practice tests. It also comes packaged with a CD-Rom that I haven’t checked out yet.

I would only recommend guidebook preparation for students with solid across-the-board academic strengths, for those who scored quite well on the PSAT, and as an initial strategy when there is plenty of time left to re-test should more in-depth preparation prove to be necessary.  Guidebooks also work best for those with the self-discipline and motivation necessary to devote multiple hours per week to study and review for several weeks leading up to the exam date.

 Self-motivation would similarly be necessary for those who are attracted to the idea of using one of the on-line test prep programs, such as Kaplan online, Princeton Review online, and one of the newest, Encyclopedia Britannica online.  These programs are more expensive, ranging in price from approximately $399 to $535.  I am especially intrigued by the Encyclopedia Britannica online program given their publicized average score improvement of 300 points, and the fact that their program has multiple personalized features that are part of their basic $499 fee.

 Next are the classroom based review services, including Kaplan, Princeton Review, and others.  These programs offer comprehensive coverage and may work best for those who are more motivated by having a time and place all mapped out for their review sessions.  They can be pricey, however, often costing upwards of $1000.  I recently affirmed the choice of the Sylvan Learning program to a client in another state who had a positive experience with their services earlier in her high school career as it seemed comforting to her to return to them. If I were a parent, I would make inquiries about the background and experience of session presenters before committing to any of these programs.

 Finally, there are private tutors, some of whom exclusively do tutoring, and others who combine tutoring with other educational consulting services, such as help with the college search and admission process.  As a professional, I fall in the latter category.  As with the classroom-based programs, parents would be wise to inquire equally about the background of private tutors. I am up-front with clients that I am a good test-taking strategist, and strong in the critical reading and writing categories, but far less so in mathematics.  I would refer a student needing deep assistance in the math area to another tutor, and feel it would be dishonest of me to do otherwise.

 There are two great advantages to private tutors, once you find the right one (and I note that the major test prep companies now also offer their own private tutors).  First, the personalized attention simply can’t be beat.  Second, the cost can be completely controlled by pre-determining the number of hours of review, as most tutors work on an hourly basis.  Many private tutors also utilize a guidebook as they work with students, so there may be a positive triangulation effect from going this route.

 One final observation: provided the student launches the process early enough, test-taking can be relatively non-stressful, as the test can be repeated multiple times with no need for anxiety about outcomes, as schools have long pledged to only consider one’s highest scores.  Also SAT scores can be cancelled if done within published deadlines, and increasing numbers of schools have recently diminished the weight of standardized tests in their admission decision process.  Happy studying, my fellow test-takers!

Lisa Ransdell is a college faculty member, former high ed administrator, and head of a Denver-based college-search consulting firm, Pinnacle Education Consulting, LLC, www.pinnacle-educ.com.

For any given student, the “right” college match is largely a matter of a good fit between interests/aspirations, intellectual aptitude and learning style, and the total campus environment, both academic and social.

 There are unquestionably multiple “right fits” for each student, some never to be considered given the large number of U.S. colleges (there are nearly 4000 colleges nationwide, over half of which are baccalaureate degree-granting institutions), and the likelihood that most students will primarily be familiar with schools in their region as well as some of the well known standouts, such as the infamous Ivy League subset of colleges.  When one conceptualizes the college search as a matching process that has identifiable outcomes of interest to students and families, it becomes clear that many schools can equally yield a stimulating and enriching environment, solid preparation for the future, memorable experiences, and a lifelong set of friends.

 Here’s an eye-opening little truism: students may be surprised to learn that many lesser ranked schools have placement rates for grad school and medical school equal to or even better than their more expensive, higher profile institutional counterparts.  The same thing is true of job placement as well.

 So how is a student to narrow the field and decide which schools to apply to?  It makes sense to establish personalized priority factors, and to create a list of schools of interest based on these.  Key characteristics for matching might include: proximity from home, size of the student body, academic rigor and reputation, faculty-student ratio, strength in a particular academic program of interest, social options available on campus, athletics, opportunities for involvement in special programs like study abroad and internships, and others.  Since every college publishes information on their strong points as well as basic, comparable characteristics, it shouldn’t be hard to begin to narrow your list.

 An additional important factor for students once they arrive at the campus visit stage is the FEELING of fit – Do you feel comfortable on the campus, do you feel that this would be a pleasant place to spend four years of your life?  Did you like the students you met, the professors you conversed with? If you spent the night in a dorm on campus (a good idea, by the way), do you believe you would enjoy the residence life experience at the school?

 Of course not every college will accept you, in many cases due to no deficiency on your part.  If you don’t fit a school’s admissions profile, if they’ve already accepted lots of students who demographically and academically resemble you, or if it’s a highly selective college and you are merely one of many strong, equally interesting applicants, you may not get a bid.  This is more likely at the moment, when the applicant pool is larger than it’s been in a long while at U.S. colleges.  But no worries – there are schools that will fit you beautifully where you WILL be accepted, where you may even be courted with an attractive financial aid package. 

 Helping students find their right fit school and helping them put their best foot forward to increase the likelihood of admission is something I love doing, as it’s an incredibly satisfying form of matchmaking (better than eHarmony and Match.Com!). There aren’t many more fulfilling pursuits, in my book, than helping young people launch one of the most important and enjoyable experiences of their lives.

 Lisa Ransdell is a college faculty member, former higher ed administrator, and head of a Denver-based college-search consulting firm, Pinnacle Education Consulting, LLC, www.pinnacle-educ.com.