A friend of mine often calls attention to “The Six P’s of Planning” when characterizing his athletic performances. He also likes to wait a second or two before announcing, “Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” I have also found his little mantra to be an effective approach to college selection and applications. Front-loading resources (including time) in order to gain long-term and more meaningful benefits is critical to college admission success, and asking a few critical questions of students and families can decrease the stress that is too often encountered during the process of applying to and selecting a college.
The two foundational questions that I ask students at the beginning of the college application process are:
- Why? Why do you want to go to college?
- What? What four things do you want to know how to do or experience by graduation?
All too often students have never considered or taken time to reflect on these questions. This is unfortunate. Honestly, the answers to these two questions are the foundation for effectively and successfully filling out applications, writing personal statement essays, selecting best fit schools, identifying and filling out scholarship applications and obtaining financial aid. A student who can answer Why? and What? authentically and thoughtfully will even be prepared for a successful college interview. Best of all, spending the time and energy to reflect on Why? and What? will decrease stress surrounding the college application process for students, and families. How does this work?
A college education represents one of the primary and most expensive endeavors of life and only the smallest fraction of students has taken time to ask themselves why they are going. However, when students are asked “Why college?” it is all-to-often taken lightly, or worse, mindlessly. Students often take the easy route, stating what they have heard from other people or what they think they should say. This is not only disheartening but given the cost of tuition at many of today’s colleges, not knowing Why? and What? can be extremely expensive for some students and families.
I have done triage for two main groups of college students: sophomores and graduates. Sophomores who come to realize they are attending the wrong school, and graduates who realize they don’t know why they went to college. Both situations occur when teens are not asked Why? and What? and end up applying to schools for myriad reasons, none of them authentic, personal or realistic. While I tell students that changing schools is always an option, it can be expensive. Classes may not matriculate, additional fees may be added and even an additional year may be required to graduate. However, given current tuition costs, graduating without direction or intention can result in decades of debt. It is much better, cheaper and less stressful if admission to a truly “Best Fit” college is achieved the first time.
As a college admissions advisor – and former teacher, mentor and internship director – I understand that students and their goals, passions and priorities mature; however, the process of reflection used to identify those aspirations remains constant over time. The earlier I begin working with a student the earlier she learns how to reflect and ask questions and make such practices a habit. Developing refined answers early helps find clarity of personal mission, academics and life-goals earlier than peers and helps identify and clearly communicate their college Why? and What?
A great resource for approaching Why? is Simon Sinek’s book – Start With Why. While this would seem to be a rather obvious approach to any problem or challenge, very few people actually employ the right steps. This book provides a clear, concise and cogent game plan.
