Tips for an Intelligent College Search
If you are the parent of a senior in high school, college-hunting season is officially open. Several years ago, I declared myself an "expert" and wrote an article for SMI on the parent-child rite of the college search. Since writing that article, four more Houser children have left the nest and gone on to institutions of higher learning.
Looking through a 13-year lens of hindsight, would I do the same things over again? Yes. Would I have changed a few things? Actually, not much.
Growing up in Peoria, Illinois, everyone in my graduating class desired to go to the University of Illinois. Only one of my contemporaries went to a private school. What was a simple decision in my day, my wife and I soon discovered, is a complex one today.
We live in a mobile society, and it's a safe bet that your teenager will be looking for a college outside the borders of your state. When it was time for Matt, our oldest student, to launch his search, he applied to nine schools. We live in Georgia, but some schools were as far west as Texas and as far north as Michigan.
We have looked at lots of colleges and here is some of what we have found out along the way:
• You cannot start too early. Most college applications are due January 1 or 15. I will never forget the time that I had ignored my wife's urgings to "get off the dime" and start visiting schools. One night my wife, who tends to dream, sat straight up in bed and said, "Jimmy G. already has a scholarship to Duke." Wanting to avoid more sleepless nights, I immediately began to schedule college visits.
We did not apply to all the schools that we visited, and we applied to some schools that we didn't visit. Time and expense made trips far away a hardship. I would recommend starting to think about colleges in the spring of the junior year so that when September comes, you already have a game plan. Even visiting a school in the summer can be helpful and save valuable time during your student's busy senior year.
• You know less than you think you do. For our first child, my wife and I didn't start the process by pushing Matt to any one school. We did start, however, by assuming that the last school Matt would attend would be the University of Georgia.
As a result of our campus visits and other research, however, Georgia turned out to be one of our top three choices. Moral of the story: When selecting a college, no school is an "automatic" choice, either for or against. Selecting a college is an educational process, and as you gather more facts and information, your views of what is important will change.
• Research and read. When I was finally prodded to begin the college search in earnest, I decided to go to the bookstore to buy a book on selecting a college. Little did I anticipate the volumes of material that have been written rating colleges and universities across the U.S. Evidently there is a good market for information-hungry parents seeking to make the best decision.
We found the following sources helpful: Cost Effective College
I am sure that newer books are available, but the important point is to look for resources written by authors who share your values.
• Double check the facts. Some years ago, a Wall Street Journal article titled, "Cheat Sheets: How Colleges Inflate Ratings," exposed several weaknesses in college rating systems. Those deficiencies have only grown with time as the competition for students has increased.
Many of these rating systems are dependent upon the colleges voluntarily furnishing information to the publisher. The article found that several institutions had falsified the information they sent. Information that was knowingly falsified included giving the number of students attending that college who had graduated in the top one-half of their high school class as well as inflating the average SAT scores of entering freshmen.
• Things that matter most. Originally, we were predisposed to a "name" school. Resist the temptation to gravitate toward prestige. Look for a school with a mission statement and values that your family can endorse. One statement from the National Review College Guide caught my attention: "Knowledge of the great books and other sources of traditional wisdom is the soul of citizenship, and these days it seems clear we educate more than a sufficient number of technicians but far too few citizens."
Additionally, the quality of the undergraduate education can be far more important in getting accepted to the right graduate institution than attending a "name" school.
• A visit is worth a thousand words. Our most positive college visits included attending classes and staying overnight in a dormitory. The Admissions Office is more than happy to arrange class visits in the field your child may be interested in studying. If the professors know that your student is visiting and introduce themselves after class to your son or daughter, that speaks volumes about the attitude professors at that college have.
• Your teenager is not objective. You have driven a few hundred miles to a college campus, parked the car, and are just walking onto the tree-lined quad. The first words out of your child's mouth are, "I don't think this place is for me." As a businessman, I am used to evaluating slightly more objective data in making a decision. Resist the temptation to quote the facts; say nothing, and let time take its course. After your child has viewed several schools, he or she may come to a more well-thought-out conclusion.
It is quite possible that your college-bound teenager may strangely conclude that being located close to a beach or a ski resort is a prime consideration. It shouldn't be. (By the way, if you live in the East and your child goes to school in Colorado or California, don't expect him or her to move back home.)
• College visiting time is prime time. You may be one of those families whose life would model a Christian version of "Leave It to Beaver." Life at the Houser household was a bit more hectic. With five children around the dinner table, meaningful conversation usually was defined as determining that the food was passed properly. Our oldest son, Matt, played three sports a year, worked a part-time job, and as a result of his academic schedule, had considerable homework. We enjoyed a great relationship, but I really was not sure of what he thought about different issues.
Our college visits provided us much needed time together. Driving 400 miles to Memphis allowed us several hours of quality conversation. Our trip on AirTran to Detroit was fun. Matt felt important with a big trip and I was able to share with him my money-saving tips related to air fare, rental cars, and hotels. One could say that we wasted time visiting colleges that we didn't apply to. I would not trade that time for anything. Some trips, it was Candy, Matt and I; some trips it was only Matt and me; some trips it was Candy and Matt. They were all great.
• There isn't one perfect school. When searching for a college, I used to ask every person I met where they or their children went to college and what they thought of their college experience. It seemed as if everyone we spoke with was a loyal alumnus and were delighted that they or their children attended the institution in question.
This was put in perspective for me by my good friend, John Dodd. As I was sharing my decision-making process with John over a plate of barbecue, he reminded me, "College is what you make of it." Every college offers more opportunity than your student will take advantage of. Every college has sports teams, intramural teams, Christian groups, dorms, Christian teachers, non-Christian teachers, overseas study programs, etc. Most colleges contain enough ingredients to give your child a positive experience.
• Avoid obsessive behavior. For our first child, we attacked the college search process. The search took on a life of its own to the point where it was all we could think about. Don't worry. Your chances of making the right decision are very high.
• Look at the Christian quotient. In our experience, college is where your kids go from a controlled environment to one of freedom. You are out of the picture and their walk with the Lord depends on their decisions. Make sure that the college you are considering offers multiple opportunities for them to get plugged in to Christian ministries such as InterVarsity, Campus Crusade, or local church outreaches. It's in college where your convictions are galvanized into their convictions.
• Conclusion. So which colleges have we chosen? First, Hillsdale College in Michigan — a small liberal arts school that values independence in teaching the Judeo-Christian ethic. Its slogan, "Ideas have consequences," caught our attention. Next came Berry College, Grove City College, the University of Virginia, and the University of Georgia. So far, so grateful. 
- SMI's College page
- Navigating the College Aid Process and Avoiding the Pitfalls
- Help Your Child Get the Most from a College Education
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