Juniors: Start Your College Process With Introspection
Shveta Bagade's Take on College Guidance Tips from a Dean
Recently, the Dean of UG Admissions at the University of Rochester shared his advice for Juniors, before they dive headlong into their College Process.
The tips are qualitative, experiential, and requiring introspection. And quite a bit different from a numeric or quantitative approach you might typically see.
I turned to Shveta Bagade on my podcast, to get her thoughts, as a College Counselor, about this approach.
The first thing she said was that the Dean did not mention college rankings. That's really important for families to pay attention to.
Here are 3 Big Things that stood out for Shveta:
1.Know Who You are
When you hear this, it may sound mundane. But it is very relevant:
The kind of student you are
Where do you thrive?
How do you learn? Class room lectures? Discussion? or hands-on?
What are the things you enjoy? Do you want to continue the things you enjoy in college?
Do you like a small classroom where you have one to one engagement?
Or do you picture yourself in a large lecture hall, and taking notes and being one in a crowd?
So, this is about finding and knowing more about yourself, so you can find colleges that can augment and complement that.
2.Talk with your Parents
The second one is talking to your parents or another trusted adult.
They tend to see things with different lenses.
So, talk to them about what you are thinking about college, your future. Listen to what they have to say.
They might give you a different perspective, but may be something for you to consider.
As a high school junior, it is a good idea to talk about the cost of college with your parents or guardian.
While they could be awkward, Shveta believes it's part of being an adult - learning money management, understanding finances, and understanding costs.
Having a discussion now, about college costs and having an understanding of what is possible, what they can afford now, is lot better than saying a year later, “Oh, I got into ABC school, and the tuition is, you know, 60k a year.”
And the parents say, “Sorry, we can't afford that.”
3.Visit Nearby Campuses
Shveta loves this one.
Depending on where you live, there may be schools that are within an hour to two hour drive. It is an easy day trip with no hotel expense, just some gas and time.
And you can get a vibe of the kind of campus.
Do you like the smaller campus? Do you like the big campus? Do you like urban?
For example, in California, there are a fair number of schools near beaches. So does Santa Cruz really vibe with you versus San Francisco State?
It's also a great learning. Without even getting on a tour, you can easily step on a campus and see students walking around, interacting with each other, and observing, can give you a feel of a campus.
And, finally, COVID forced a number of colleges to offer virtual tours. That’s another way to check out campuses without having to travel.
What Next?
These are great tips to get you started;
Make notes and write down your impressions as you go along;
Share them with your college counselor.
I believe you will start a personally relevant discussion about colleges.
All the Best!
Have a Great Week.
Venkat