Using All of Your Resources to Find a College Fit Melinda Stephan College & Career Programming and Resources Coordinator

College Fit: Taking the Temperature in the Room ▪ Using your cell phone go to kahoot.it ▪ Enter the Game Pin on the screen ▪ Answer the questions

What is College Fit? ▪ Often described as a gut feeling or you just “know” it’s the “one”. ▪ Can be more thoroughly and thoughtfully described by using a simple equation? Personal Preferences + Goals = College Environment & Opportunities  The college search is a process not an event. To find a fit you need to take steps to understand both sides of the equation.  It’s not just about getting in, it’s about thriving once you are there!  With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. along, there is likely more than one college fit!

MARV & College Fit  Another way to define college fit: MARV – Meaning—do academic programs and student activities excite you. Can you see yourself involved and engaged academically and socially? – Accomplishment—will the college or university help you reach your goals and provide support for challenges you may face? – Relationships—will there be opportunities to make connections with faculty and peers? – Vitality—is there a feeling that the you will “belong” on campus and in the classroom? Will you thrive?

Gallup-Purdue Index: Selecting a College—Engagement Matters  Survey of 30,000 U.S. college graduates sought to identify the college- related factors that led to “great jobs and great lives.” Those who identified as having “great jobs and great lives” were more likely to: ▪ have been engaged with a faculty member ▪ have participated in an internship ▪ have been involved in extracurricular activities; and ▪ have graduated with minimal student debt  These findings held true regardless of the type of 4-year institution (public or private), how selective the institution was, or whether it was a top-100 ranked school in U.S. News & World Report.  Created a list of questions to ask when searching for a college fit. (Handout)

College Fit: Where do you start? ▪ Know yourself and your preferences – Do you like to blend in or be noticed? – Are you someone who will take the initiative in getting involved or will you need someone to push you or pull you along? – Are you willing to take responsible risks or is sticking with what you know more your speed? – Are you “small town” or “big city”? Somewhere in between? – Do you need to have something to do at all times or is down time important to you? – Is a winning football team important or could you care less about athletics? ▪ Have an idea about what you want to study or how your interests might translate into majors or career fields. ▪ Be honest with yourself and follow your own path. This is your personal journey!

College Fit: What should you consider?  Type of School: 2-year or 4-year? Public or private? Religious affiliation?  Location: in Indiana, Midwest, or a specific state/region? Close to home or far away?  Campus Environment: small, medium, or large? Residential or commuter? Urban or “college town”?  Academic Programs/Majors: majors available? Liberal arts or professional focus or both? Study Abroad? Research and Internships?  Extracurricular Opportunities: athletics, leadership, service, social life?  Cost/Affordability: how important is this? Do you expect to apply for aid? Do you plan to extend your education to graduate or professional school?  Selectivity: how important is this to you? Be sure to identify a range of options in terms of selectivity: safety, target, reach.

College Fit: Prestige vs Fit ▪ Prestige may be a factor in your college fit equation, but it should not override fit. ▪ You should never choose to apply to or attend a university solely because it has name recognition, is highly selective, everyone else is applying there, or you just want to “see if you can get in.” ▪ Make sure that prestigious schools end up on your list for the right reasons! ▪ There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. and the “Top 100” doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the amazing opportunities available in post-secondary education. ▪ Book Recommendation: Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania by Frank Bruni

College Fit: Financial Fit ▪ Discuss as a family how you plan to pay for college. ▪ How much debt, if any, are you willing or able to take on? ▪ What are your options for financial aid and scholarships? ▪ There are steps you can take in advance of receiving scholarship notifications and award packages to determine how affordable a college will be given your family’s situation. – Net Price Calculators—all colleges are required to have one available on their website. – New York Times Student Loan Repayment Calculator calculator.html?_r=1 – Indiana College Costs Estimator ▪ Compare estimated net price of Indiana colleges

College Fit: Start looking for a match! ▪ Once you have a solid idea of your preferences and goals, you can start searching for colleges that potentially match your criteria or that “FIT”! ▪ Remember, this is a process not an event. Set aside time to gather information, make plans, and reflect upon the information you have gathered periodically. ▪ The resources for gathering information are abundant!

College Fit: Talk with Admissions Reps ▪ Talk with college admissions representatives when they visit Carmel High School OR when you visit the school.  How does the rep describe the college environment?  What types of opportunities are highlighted?  Get your questions answered by someone in the know! ▪ Attend College Fairs ▪ Get information from several schools in one place. ▪ Talk to a variety of admissions reps. ▪ Pick up brochures, and get your name on a mailing list to receive more information. ▪ Ask questions to determine whether the school is worth investigating further. ▪ Area Information Sessions

College Fit: College Visits  The BEST way to help determine whether a college is a good fit for you!  Make it official—hear from the admissions department, tour the campus, show your demonstrated interest!  See what it might be like to live and learn at a particular college. Visit classrooms, tour the residence halls, eat the food.  Get a sense of the campus culture, physical environment, social opportunities and more!  Take what you’ve been learning from brochures and websites and experience it firsthand.  Sometimes that “gut” feeling about a college is the thing that pushes a school into the “yes” or “no” category for you.  Setting up visits is easy! Just go to the college/university website. They will tell you exactly what you need to do.

College Fit: Electronic Resources ▪ Virtual Tours – Some colleges offer virtual tours from their website – YouVisit.com ▪ ▪ College Web Sites – Research academic programs and explore extracurricular opportunities – Investigate admission requirements and student profile information ▪ Social Media – Checkout how the college/university represents itself using social media such as student blogs, Twitter feeds, Instagram, etc. ▪ Use your Family Connection account!

College Fit: Using Family Connection

▪ College Match Tools: plug in your criteria and get a list of colleges that match your criteria. ▪ College Look-up and Compare Tools: look up colleges and compare their information side-by-side. ▪ Acceptance Data (both CHS and nationally). ▪ Start creating a list of “colleges you are thinking about”. ▪ Career inventories and research tools. ▪ Scholarship and financial aid information.

Don’t forget that we are here to help!  Your counselor is a great resource for identifying steps to finding a college fit.  Check out the CHS Counseling Website at  Make an appointment with one of our College Advisors in the College and Career Resource Center (CCRC).  Follow us on  Follow us on  Like us on Facebook at “Carmel High School College Counseling”

Questions?