University of Virginia alumni wrote a list of what to look for in a college. They are clearly happy with their matriculation venue, but I liked their words of advice because no one crams their alma mater down the reader’s throat. It’s just good advice about how to find a school that’s a good fit for you and why that’s important.

Some good bits:

I would tell a high-school student to look for the characteristics that fit themselves and not just go for what everyone else is looking for. I knew many people who just applied wherever the “in crowd” was applying. They ended up transferring or not doing well. You really need to look for a place that suits you, a place where you can call home for the next four years of your life. Think about what you want to study, what interests you and what/where you are most comfortable with, and go from there. Laura Dornan Frick (Economics ’05)

Looking back from the middle of the PhD, my advice is: you can get a good education anywhere if you really want to. It doesn’t matter that much. Stop stressing. When you visit the school, look for a place where the students are serious but don’t all look stressed and constipated, where the faculty are friendly and willing to talk to you…Frederick Ross (Physics, Mathematics ’05)

Having gone through this drill not too long ago with my son (who is now a college sophomore), I feel fairly well prepared to answer. The student needs to decide on some basic criteria for schools: large/medium/small; coed or primarily single-sex; urban/suburban/rural; geographical area of interest; level of competitiveness for admission. Having decided on at least most of these criteria, whittle these down and start visiting, using something like the U.S. News book as a guide. We found in our visit to 12 colleges — UVa unfortunately not among them since my son wanted to attend a smaller school — that you really do have to visit and talk with as many people as possible to see what the school is like. One thing we always did was to pick up copies of the student newspaper to see what students seemed to be concerned about. You can also get a measure of the conservative-liberal direction of the school by what’s on the bulletin boards. A small college that offers “The Vagina Monologues” is probably not too conservative. Bottom line is that my son chose a small comprehensive college in Pennsylvania barely a three hours’ drive from our home in Northern Virginia and has been quite happy and academically successful there. The small size of the college means that every one of his professors is a real credentialed academic, and he has gotten to travel to Japan with the professor who teaches him Japanese in a class of eight.
James T. Currie (MA History ’69, PhD ’75).

Many people have a tendency to view colleges and universities as being mere stepping stones that will open doors to future endeavors and so they choose to study at an institution that they believe will open the most doors. While it may be impossible to not contemplate such a factor in the decision-making process, high-school students should not have such a narrow view when deciding where they will be spending four years of their lives. When I was at UVa, I never viewed my educational experience as a means to end, but rather, it truly was an end in itself. High-school students should try and find an institution that will not only challenge them academically and prepare them for the future; they should also look for a school that fosters an environment that makes just being there worthwhile.
Kevin Hakala (Slavic, Government ’06, Law ’09)

Posted by Alexa Harrington