Choosing the right college can be a daunting process, but understanding what constitutes a good college fit can simplify this important decision. In this guide, we’ll explore the key factors that contribute to finding a college that meets both your academic and personal needs, as well as financial considerations, particularly for Ivy League institutions.
Understanding College Fit
The concept of “college fit” encompasses several dimensions beyond just academic programs. It’s about finding a college where you will thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. There are five main factors to consider:
Academic Fit
“Academic fit” refers to how the faculty teaches, the academic priorities and environment of the college, and, most importantly, how your teen learns best. When it comes to academic fit, there are distinct curriculum offerings that a college may offer.
A college may offer an open curriculum, a core curriculum, or a distributed curriculum. Open curriculum means that students are free to choose which classes they want to take. There are several colleges with an open curriculum, including Brown University and Hamilton College.
A core curriculum means that there are specific courses that all students must take regardless of their majors. One well known example of an institution with a core curriculum is Columbia University. Most US colleges have a distributed curriculum which is a hybrid of a core and open curriculum. For example, a college with a distributed curriculum may require that students take a natural sciences course. However, within that category of natural sciences, there could be any number of courses from which students can choose. These academic distinctions matter to your teen’s success throughout college.
This is the most important factor of fit because your teen will be spending most of their time in college in class, studying, and doing their homework. There are many reasons to go to college, but you need to make sure that the college your teen attends has an academic program that they could see themselves fully participating in.
In the process of building your teen’s college list, you should be sure that you account for how your teen learns best, then match that understanding to the college’s teaching style and level of rigor so your teen will thrive academically during college.
Social Fit
“Social Fit” refers to whether the social environment matches with your teen’s interests and how easy it is for your teen to make friends. The social fit really speaks to the culture of the campus and the potential for your own teen to thrive within that environment.
Perhaps a large university with athletics, lots of clubs, and extensive social activities matches with your teen’s maturity and responsibility. However, if your teen will struggle with making friends in this larger setting, then perhaps not.
Freshman year of college in particular, the social adjustment is the biggest factor in transitioning well to college life. To really get to know a campus socially, students must visit it in person. The internet is no substitute for sitting in the dining hall, talking with students about their clubs, or walking on campus at night to see if you feel safe.
Another important aspect of the social adjustment to college is having a roommate. I applaud the colleges that still spend time matching freshmen roommates. In too many instances, I have seen students undermine their freshman year experience by foregoing the university’s roommate selection system and choosing their own roommate.
Even if the matched roommate isn’t the best choice in the end, it teaches students how to deal with unfamiliar situations—which is a part of growing up.
Financial Fit
The “Financial Fit” refers to the types and availability of merit and financial aid opportunities for your family to make college affordable. Financial fit has nothing to do with sticker price but has everything to do with reading the fine print and meeting with appropriate university officials to negotiate the best offer. Fine print details include researching these key statistics:
- Cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, housing, meals)
- Percent of financial need met
- Percent of students that receive financial support
Vocational Fit
“Vocational Fit” matters whether your teen knows their career interests. Let’s say, for example, that your teen is interested in veterinary medicine. There are certain colleges that support that area of interest with pre- professional clubs, faculty involved in research, or a track record of admission to graduate programs.
Those colleges that match with that career interest should then be researched and visited to perhaps apply for admission.
If your teen, on the other hand, is “undecided”, that is perfectly fine. There are many colleges that thrive on students who are undecided and interested in discovering the possibilities for their future. The college’s career placement office may also have programs to guide teens through internships, shadow opportunities, or community service that can prepare them for careers after college.
Cultural Fit
If your teen is different from the majority of students on a campus, cultural fit is all about where they will be celebrated and not tolerated for that difference.
This cultural consideration had already been subconsciously integrated in my practice, as I’m a Black woman who has attended colleges and graduate schools where I was different from most students on that campus.
Since the pandemic, I’ve noticed that more of my students are keenly focused on choosing colleges where they could build a community. This cultural fit has become even more important. For example, students consider matters of regionality, sexuality, ethnicity, etc. to evaluate the campus cultures.
What about location?
When I was about to graduate from high school, my mother desperately wanted me to stay at home and commute to a local college.
My mom finished 8th grade and my dad finished 10th so they did not know what it would mean for me to go away to college. My mom had never heard of Stanford and having me that far from home was unthinkable.
It may surprise you but I’m still having this conversation about distance with parents today. I believe that in some cases these parents may feel that they will lose control over their teen if they go too far away to college.
I also understand the codependency between parents and children and/or the financial concerns of travel but limiting your teen’s college list to local schools ultimately limits their opportunities to thrive during college.
Research shows that students who go further away from home for college–especially girls–experience a greater sense of academic confidence, leadership skills, and emotional well-being.
Aware of these benefits, many colleges, in turn, prioritize geographic diversity in admissions. Those colleges would like to see students from as many different states and countries on their campuses as possible and oftentimes offer scholarships to distant applicants because of the geographic diversity and benefits those students would contribute to campus life.
Nevertheless, the most important person in this process is your teen, the college-bound student. Be sure to have a conversation about distance earlier in the college admissions process to tell your teen they can apply and attend any college no matter how far away it is.
If your teen wants to apply to schools close to home, great! If they want to apply to schools far from home, also great! Ask your teen if they like how the different schools “fit” to ensure that their wanting to apply to these schools is for good reasons, and if the answers are for good reasons, then support your teen’s decision wholeheartedly.
Conclusion
Finding the perfect college fit involves evaluating multiple factors to ensure that the institution meets your academic, social, financial, vocational, and cultural needs. By carefully considering these factors, you can make a well-informed decision that sets you up for success and fulfillment in your college years.