The Choice blog at the New York Times recently had an article that discussed a presentation by the president of the University of Chicago on the value of a liberal arts education.  I think anyone interested in attending college should read this short article to better understand what a liberal arts education is all about.

But what caught my eye were the comments. As expected a number of the comments said that only by getting a “vocational” degree like business or engineering did you have any hope of getting a real job.

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know I like liberal arts colleges. Are they for everyone? No. But way too often I talk to a family that feels that the student must have a “vocational” degree like business or engineering to be successful. This is just not true.

What makes a student successful is what a student does with their education. Are you successful because you make a lot of money? Absolutely not. Money and success are not the same thing. You are successful when you are doing what you want to do with your life.

One of my nephews has a business degree from a well known major university. He works as a waiter. Does that make him unsuccessful? Not at all. He works as a waiter for 6 months to a year and saves most of his money. After that he travels around the world for 6 to 12 months. He is loving life and I often envy him.

I recently read a study (sorry can’t find it) that said that businesses prefer to hire history majors over business majors for new jobs. They do this because the history majors typically have better communication skills than the business majors and they can teach anyone basic business topics.

Being a business major is a great option if you are really interested in business. But if that is not where your passion lies, then it is a terrible option. Same thing with engineering. So you have a well paying job but are miserable. That is not success to me. And I have lived long enough to see how cyclical engineering can be with certain periods of time having many unemployed engineers.

Don’t worry long term about finding a job. If you develop your passion in college, whatever your major, you will find success in the long run.

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There is an interesting interactive tool at The Chronicle of Higher Education that lets you look at each college to see where students come from.  If you are wondering how many students from your state attend your favorite college, this is a great way to get that information.

Thanks to Lynn O’Shaughnessy from The College Solution for bringing this tool to my attention.

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If you are thinking about applying to highly selective colleges you need to keep one word in mind when considering extracurricular activities. The word? FOCUS.

Highly selective colleges like to see applicants who have a focus in one or two areas. As you go through high school you need to think about what activities really excite you. Which ones are you the most motivated to do well in? What is your passion?

You want to focus on those activities and related activities so that you develop that passion. Can you combine your passion with volunteering in a related field or even a related job? That will strengthen your application even more.

Don’t just join organizations because you think it will make you more well rounded. Most selective colleges don’t want well rounded students. The shot gun approach to activities, where you participate in lots of unrelated activities, does not help you with admissions to selective colleges.

Does that mean you can not be involved in different unrelated activities? No. But try to make sure that your real passion is obvious to all who know you. That passion can carry you a long way toward admission to a selective college.

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Many of the students I work with are interested in attending medical school.  Well there is some good news for those students.

Medical schools are in the middle of an increase in the number of students accepted into medical school.  The increase has been going on since 2002 and is planned to continue until 2015.  At this point, there are still an additional 2,376 spots to be created in medical schools by 2015.

Although it is good news that there are going to be additional spots available in medical schools, also keep in mind that if you wish to attend medical school, the undergraduate college you attend can make a difference.

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Just a quick note to let you know that I have had a new article published at Family Times Inc. The article is entitled “5 Steps to Finding the Right College for Your Student“.

If you are interested, head on over to Family Times.

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Now is the time that high school juniors need to start working on the college admissions process. Here are three steps they need to take:

1. Arrange for standardized testing. Should you take the SAT or ACT? How do you prepare for the tests? What if you don’t do well on the tests?

2. Think about what you want from a college. Not what your parents want (sorry Mom and Dad). Not what your best friend wants. What do YOU want? Not sure what to consider. Here is a list of what to consider to find the best college for you.

3. Find colleges that fit your needs. You have various options to find a college that fits your needs but here are three of the best online college search sites.

There you have it. Three quick step to help you find, and get accepted to, the best college for your needs.

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“I want to major in business” a student recently told me while discussing what they were looking for in a college. When I asked why they were interested in business, the answer was “because I want to get a job when I graduate.”

If a  student has an interest in business, or any other subject that might lead to a job after graduation from college, great. But, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only way to get a job after college is by having a “practical’ major.

The New York Times college admissions blog recently had an article entitled “Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think“.  The article talks about some of the research that has been done on various majors and the jobs students receive after graduation and it turns out that there isn’t much of a relationship. It turns out that business majors, on average, don’t make more money than history majors who also took jobs in business.

This is a very interesting article that should be read by every student, and parent, who is concerned about picking a practical major in college.

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In the past week I have discussed the 2010 State of College Admissions Report and its findings on how private and public colleges differ in what they look for in admitting a student. Today I want to talk about how the highly selective colleges differ from those that are less selective.

Strength of a student’s curriculum is of considerable importance to 82% of the highly selective colleges while only 65% of the least selective colleges view this as considerably important.

Essays are of considerable importance to 48% of the highly selective colleges but only 14% of the least selective colleges consider essays this important.  Teacher recommendations are like wise more important to the highly selective colleges with 24% assigning considerable importance while less than 12% of the least selective colleges give them the same consideration.

The other area where there is a noticeable difference between the highly selective colleges and the least selective is how extracurricular activities are considered. 25% of the most selective colleges consider activities as of considerable importance but fewer than 4% of the least selective colleges consider activities important.

I hope in discussing these various factors you have come to realize that colleges vary in how they each view admissions for their institution. Of course, these statistics are just broad brush strokes so that the relative importance of these various factors will differ even among the highly selective colleges. And they even vary from year to year depending on the needs of the college. Did a college over enroll last year? More factors may be of considerable importance this year when they try to reduce the number of acceptances they give out.

Bottom line is that grades and courses taken continue at all colleges to be the most important factors. The more selective the colleges you are considering, the more factors that may be considered in deciding who to admit for next fall’s class.

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You’re about to arrive on the campus of one of your favorite colleges. What do you do?

If you have planned ahead, you should be scheduled to go on a tour of the college.  The tour will give you some basic information about the college but you can get much more from the tour. How? Talk with the tour guide.

Most students on a tour will not ask any questions of the tour guide. Some of those that do ask questions will ask stupid questions. Yes, you can ask a stupid question during a tour. How many students go here? What majors do you have? These are questions that anyone who has done any research will already know.

But you have prepared for your visit so you can ask good questions. Not sure what a good question is? Here is a list of possible questions you might consider while visiting a college.

After the college tour there will often be an informational session. These can often sound similar from college to college but you can ask questions of admissions counselors during the informational session so use this opportunity to get answers to more of your questions.

After the formal tour and informational session, wander around campus. Talk to students you see. Ask them questions. Look at areas where students have posted information about what is going on around campus. Do these sound like the sound of activities you would enjoy?

Visit the department of any potential major you are considering. See what sort of information the department has posted. Research opportunities? Graduate school options? This can tell you something about the focus of this department.  If there is a professor in an office with an open door, introduce your self and see if they are willing to tell you something about the department.

Visit the library. Is it being used? If not, the school is probably not very academically focused. Are there adequate computer facilities in the library and around campus?

Eat in the cafeteria. Is the food good? It may sound like a trivial thing, but after 4 years of eating the same food, it will not sound so trivial.  Also, while in the cafeteria, listen to what the students are talking about.  Are they talking about what they were just discussing in class? Are they talking about the big game on Saturday? Are they talking about the big party Tuesday night?  There discussions will give you more of a feel for what the college is like.

If you follow this advice, you will learn more about what the college is really like and will be in a great position to decide if this is a good college choice for you.

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One of the ways to find the best college for you is to visit the colleges you are considering.  But before you leave home, here are some tips to make for the best college visit.

First, decide when you are going to visit the college. Many students visit colleges during the summer. However, the best time to visit is when the students are on campus. Colleges have a very different feel during the summer or during breaks when there are few students on campus. If the only time you can visit is during the summer, that is better than no visit but try to visit your top choice colleges when the students are on campus.

Second, call the admissions office at the college and let them know when you are coming. This is important to make sure that you receive a tour of the college and possibly have the chance to attend an informational session. This is also a great time to ask if you can meet with a professor who teaches a subject in which you have an interest.  If you are interested in playing sports in college, now is the time to talk with a coach.

Third, do some research on the college before going on your visit. If you know some of the basics before visiting the college, you can ask better questions to see if this college would be a good choice for you.

Next time I will talk about what to do once you get on campus for the visit.

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