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The College Search: Finding the Right Fit

Overview

Estimated time to complete: 45-60 minutes

Target audience: 10th-12th graders

This lesson will cover:

Guiding questions to help you identify what’s important to you in a college or training program
Stories from other students on how they chose
Tips for determining if a school is a good fit without being able to visit in person

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The College Search: Finding the Right Fit

Before You Start

This lesson consists of 11 short videos to help you reflect on what you want from your post-secondary experience so that you can narrow down the search to institutions that meet your values and preferences. The videos should be watched in order, but don’t have to be watched all at once. Each video has questions to help you reflect on what’s important to you around this topic.

To make the most of this lesson:

Create a “College & Career Pathways” folder in your Google Drive.
Save a copy of the The College Search: Finding the Right Fit Reflection Questions to this folder so you can fill in your thoughts as you go along, and have this document to refer back to in the future.

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1. Intro to the College Search

Some guiding questions can help you think start to think about what’s important to you. The college comparison chart can be a helpful tool in comparing schools you’re considering.

Watch this video:

Then answer the “Would You Rather” question on the next page.

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1. Intro to the College Search

Would you rather:

Attend classes in person where you can make strong connections with your classmates and instructor, but have a strict class schedule
Take mostly online courses where you have flexibility for timing and work but might not make the same strong connections with classmates and the instructor

Remember to fill in your answer on your copy of the The College Search: Finding the Right Fit Reflection Questions.

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2. Majors/Academic Programs

Does the college have what you’re interested in studying?

Watch this video:

Then answer the “Would You Rather” question on the next page.

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2. Majors/Academic Programs

Would you rather:

Go to a school that encourages you to explore many classes and fields of study
Go to a school that has you dive right into the details of your field of interest

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3. Campus Size & Location

Watch this video:

Then answer the “Would You Rather” questions on the next page.

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3. Campus Size & Location

Would you rather:

Live through 6 months of winter every year but be able to see your family every weekend
Enjoy sun and warm weather most of the year but only see your family during winter break

Would you rather:

See new faces every time you walked across campus
Recognize many of the people you pass on your way to class

Would you rather:

Attend a larger school where there are many of opportunities for research with professors, but sit in a 300-person lecture for your first-year classes
Attend a smaller school and have mostly smaller classes where your professor knows you well but there are fewer opportunities for research

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4. Selectivity

Watch this video:

Then: Go to nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator and type in the name of a school you’re interested in. Click on “Admissions”. What percentage of people who apply are admitted to this school?

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5. Campus Atmosphere and Student Life Experience

Watch this video:

Then answer the “Would You Rather” questions on the next couple pages.

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5. Campus Atmosphere and Student Life Experience

Would you rather:

Go to a college where the campus is integrated into the city so there is less campus community
Go to a school that has a close-knit community with strong campus community, but it is not very connected to the town

Would you rather:

Attend a school where most students live together in dorms and you have opportunities to make many new friends
Attend a school where most people live off campus and you don’t have to pay the school for housing and meals

Would you rather:

Attend a school that has clubs for your favorite extracurriculars but isn’t your dream school
Attend your dream school that doesn’t have your favorite clubs and activities

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5. Campus Atmosphere and Student Life Experience

Would you rather:

Attend a school in a place that looks and feels like Vermont
Attend a school further away where you could meet many kinds of people

Would you rather:

Spend your Saturday at your college football game
Hang out in a chill setting with your friends on the weekend

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6. School Outcomes

Watch this video:

Then: Go to nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator and type in the name of a school you’re interested in. Click on “Retention & Graduation Rates”. What percentage of students returned after their first year? What percentage of students graduated?

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7. Cost and Affordability

Does the college have what you’re interested in studying?

Watch this video:

Then answer the “Would You Rather” question on the next page.

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7. Cost and Affordability

Would you rather:

Attend your dream school no matter the cost
Attend any school you get into if the price is right

Bonus activity: Go to nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator and type in the name of a school you’re interested in. Click on “Net Price”. Based on your family’s income, what is the net price for this school likely to be?

Based on the results, would this school be a financial safety, match, or reach school for you?

Remember that the calculators are just an estimate. You may get more aid than expected or get scholarships to make up the difference. Just because a school is a financial reach doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply. You should just also strongly consider applying to at least one financial safety school that you would be happy attending so that you’ll have options when it is time to make your decision.

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8. Wisdom to take with you

Watch this video:

Then answer: What’s one piece of advice from this that you want to remember in your college search?

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8. Wisdom to take with you

You can find many additional resources at vsac.org/collegesearch. Some other resources to help with your search are:

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9. How can you know if a college is right for you if you can’t visit in person?

Watch this video:

Then: Pick a school that you’re interested in and find a “Day in the Life” YouTube or TikTok video. After watching, could you see yourself at this school? You may also want to check out the Virtual College Visit Guide.

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10. How do other students choose?

Watch this video:

Then answer: Did any of the reasons these students gave resonate with you? If so, which ones?

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11. Common Myths

Watch this video:

Then answer: Did you believe any of these myths before watching this? If so, did this video change any of your thinking about where you might want to apply?

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12. Navigating the College Search for Students Who Learn Differently

This is a longer video, but contains a number of helpful considerations and resources for neurodiverse students:

After watching, answer: What do you want from your college experience? What types of support do you need, and what college support structure appeals most to you? What other advice from this video do you want to remember?

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