By Judy Marrazzo
Nobody buys a new car without going to see cars firsthand at the various dealership showrooms. People usually have an initial idea of what kind of vehicle they want to buy from hearing reviews and seeing ads, but then they check out everything that’s available in the marketplace to see what will best fit their needs and personality.
Do they want/need a truck, a pick-up, an SUV, a sports car, a sedan, or a van?
They look at several makes and models and visit several dealership showrooms to see the vehicles to make sure of the kind of vehicle they want and at the best price.
They kick the tires and sit behind the wheel to get the feel. Armed with enough information to make a list of options in makes, models and prices, they put all of that together and figure out which vehicle best fits their needs, style and budget.
They buy a vehicle that fits them the best!
So why all too often do people not put the same time and effort into finding the right college?
Many students apply to colleges without ever having visited the college and know almost nothing about the college campus, student population, culture, surrounding area, or climate/weather.
Some pick a state college because it has a cheaper posted tuition “sticker price”. Others pick an Ivy League college because they are the best colleges, regardless of how low their acceptance rate is.
Or they choose only colleges that they’ve heard of before or like the mascot or sports team.
The importance of visiting/touring a selection of colleges is to get a firsthand idea of what colleges are all about.
“Everybody knows what motor vehicles are and the differences between a truck and a compact car, but not many college-bound high school students know the differences between the Ivy League colleges and don’t understand the college ranking systems”, says Beverley Lashley, managing director at goCAMPUSing.
“We take thousands of high school students to tour hundreds of colleges all across the United States, and it’s always a revelation to them to see and hear about colleges firsthand, direct from college admissions officers and college students on campus. It’s an incredible thing to watch the epiphany come over them of how colleges work, the differences and similarities, and what they are looking for in applicants.”
Obviously, nobody can or should tour every college, but visiting a variety of different colleges provides the insight to know which types of colleges fit your wants and needs. Discover what academic curriculum/majors/programs colleges offer.
See colleges in urban, suburban or rural settings. Understand the differences between big, medium or small campus – in size and/or number of students.
Feel the campus vibe in colleges with a laid-back atmosphere and a college with a rah, rah enthusiastic student population. And so much more.
Soon it will become clear that although many colleges are different, by cost, location and offerings, you can classify and group them as fitting into very similar parameters.
With this knowledge, you can quantify any tradeoffs of positives and negatives, allowing you to select “target”, “reach” and “safety” colleges to apply to without sacrificing your basic wants and needs.
So go ahead and feel free to start looking at finding the right fit colleges to apply to like you’re buying a car.
Every college campus is a dealer showroom. Check under the hood, kick the tires, get the feel behind the wheel, and talk about any deals and what it will take for you to drive that “college” out of the showroom floor and to the highway of a future yet to come.
Judy Marrazzo is the founder and an Associate Director of goCAMPUSing, America’s Premier College Tour Company. For more information, visit www.goCAMPUSing.com or call 516-941-6992.
