It’s Decision Time! Tips from Smart Shoppers about Choosing a College

The smartest college shoppers (meaning, students who are picking a college), might just be those who have experience and those who conduct research that is beyond the typical agenda of a campus visit.

Here are some tips from the trenches:

As I’ve reminded readers many times, many students aren’t sure about their major. In a perfect world, you’d pick a college based on the quality of a particular academic program and the quality of life you expect to experience on campus. But even if you’re “extremely” or “very” certain about your major and how much you like the campus, yes, even you could change your mind.

Be proactive when visiting a college.

You won’t find all the critical information about a college in a brochure. And you may have to ask for favors beyond what the typical campus visit offers. Call ahead and see if you can accomplish as much of this as possible during the visit:

College shopping at its best is “qualitative research”. You can only find out by asking the right questions to faculty and students. How you feel after the visit is going to be the main influence on your final decision. Record your impressions and key data points. How you feel may even outweigh your financial considerations.

First, conduct in-depth research on the faculty in your major:

Talk to several faculty of your chosen program. If you’re going to a research-driven university, which can be an unparalleled learning opportunity, find out about the teaching philosophy of the instructors of the upper level required classes in your major. If the instructors are absorbed by their research projects, will you be able to assist them? How do they make themselves available to advisees who need career help?

There can be a big difference between an instructor who teaches from the basis of their own practical experience in the field, versus one who is a research scholar, and both have positive attributes. Maybe the right situation for you is to have a blend of such instructors available.

If they aren’t around during your campus visit, call them later. Ask them about the teaching and learning styles in their classroom. A college is a collection of individuals; and instructors are no different.

Second, seek out students and specific classes:

Is this campus more collaborative or competitive? Every college has a campus culture that influences the classroom. The learning styles of students – the “norms”, if you will – can be very different in different majors. Seek out junior and senior students in your interest areas. Ask them for examples of typical classroom experiences. Don’t let them generalize. Ask them to describe a recent class they attended.

Every college offers a chance to sit in on a class. Ask to visit the classes of particular instructors who are legendary among their students. What are their teaching methods: straight lecture, experiential or both? Ask to see the syllabus for the class. This is the best way to see for yourself what makes THIS academic program at THIS college special.

Another data point to ask for:

Students who “transfer in” to a college after starting somewhere else might be the smartest shoppers of all! What can we learn from them? If a college as a higher-than-average rate of transfer-in students, something good could be going on. Ask the admissions folks for this data and an opportunity to talk to a transfer-in student.

Contact me for workshops and coaching on student success and career planning.

The Yellow Brick Road of Career Planning: Four Tips to Get You Out of the Muck and Back on the Path

Students: Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in Oz, searching for the Wizard?

Someone who can help you make the best decision about your career?

What’s most important, anyway?

Best-selling career books will encourage you to think about any number of things:

- the emerging “green” jobs
- the international job landscape
- the trades
- your personality
- job security
- the healthcare industry
- the service economy
- job security
- the IT industry

So with all this advice about good opportunities, how do you finally decide where to start?

First, realize that almost half of college students switch majors; at least once. The best planning can’t account for “happenstance”. In other words, along the “yellow brick road”, you’re going to meet people and experience things that will change your thinking about jobs. And that’s a good thing.

Second, don’t let your career indecision drive you into debt. Take a pause, if necessary, to get clarity; especially if you’re a junior or senior and still really uncertain about your major. The longer you take to find a major that fits; the longer it may take you to get a job in that field; if that’s your expectation.

Third, get some help! Where?

If you’re a college student:

Go to the career center of your college, talk to your advisor AND another faculty member you respect about what recent graduates in the major are doing; what their job titles are and what career paths they’ve taken. The more talking you do, the more information you’ll gather.

If you’re a high school graduate, but not a college student:

Get the same kind of advice from a “one-stop” employment center. They offer assessments and advising at a very low cost; and sometimes, no cost, depending on your circumstances. If you can afford it, find a career coach (someone like me). They help you fact-find, set realistic goals and keep you on track. Many coaches offer a sliding fee scale, making this service very affordable.

Fourth, get some field experience:

An internship (paid or unpaid) -- or a series of informational interviews, professional association meetings, networks on Linked In, job shadows, or lunch dates, with people in jobs that you find intriguing.

Maybe you could spring for coffee or lunch; although many people will gladly “go Dutch” in the interest of helping a young person get started in a career. Everyone likes to talk about themselves; including the details about their successes and failures. It’s human nature!

Contact me for more help. Your first in-person or phone coaching session is free.

Stuff Happens! Be Open When Choosing Your College Major

With 3000 colleges to choose from, you’ll certainly find a “match” for your lifestyle preferences, what you can afford, and the academic rigor. And there are plenty of books and counselors who can help you find a college that “fits”.

But once you’re at college, your decision about your major is your next hurdle. Even if you have chosen a major, you should verify your decision as a freshman or sophomore.

And one thing is sure: What you think is going to happen to school, won’t.

I coached a seventeen-year-old young lady this week, bound for Tufts University. Kaitlyn is very focused on majoring in biomedical engineering and took all the AP classes she could. In our “Wheel of Life” exercise, she really didn’t want to talk about her career direction; and was sure that this was already taken care of. She’s motivated and focused.

During our coaching session, I was plagued by a question: “Can Kaitlyn really know what’s going to happen when she gets to college?” So I asked her: “Kaitlyn, how open are you to new ideas about your field of study?”

Kaitlyn’s thinking could certainly change once she makes new friends with different ideas. And most colleges offer unique courses, even in the core program, with professors who can inspire and challenge your thinking.

With so many college majors -- and so many job titles -- out there (over 31,000!), you’re doing yourself a disservice if you get too focused too soon.

Freshmen and sophomore college students find themselves torn between finding a major that gets them a good-paying, reasonably secure job; and one that promises real, personal satisfaction.

Furthermore, the real connection between college majors and job titles is fuzzy, at best.

What To Do??

To make a “happy” decision about your college majors, you must know the facts, and know yourself as well. Talk to anyone you know who is in a satisfying job and ask him or her how they made decisions.

And do you own fact-finding; either by yourself, or with a career coach. You’ll have to:

1. Connect the college major with a career area, and then a job title.

2. Think about the job prospects: salary, growth, number of openings and where to find the jobs. (In my previous posts, I talked about the Occupational Outlook Handbook as the source for this information.)

3. Put your SELF first. Reflect often: What types of things do you like to do? WHY do you like to do them? What type of environment would be fun to work in, and what type of people would be cool to work with? What’s important to you?

I’ve talked about career clusters and how to find the fit between you and the World of Work. So remember:

• Your personality is likely to stay constant over the years, but your values could change.

• Most of your interests (abilities and skills) TRANSFER to job skills but you may have to think CREATIVELY about them.

What’s Your Major? coaching and workshops can guide and encourage you through the process. We also offer academic coaching to help you build social and emotional intelligence; and creative and critical and leadership skills: the skills that employers value most when hiring. We’re affiliated with LifeBound, and offer many resources for middle, high and college students, on our site.

You can do much of this research on your own. However, a coach will help you extend your thinking and stay accountable to your goals.

A workbook like Ed Colozzi’s Creating Careers with Confidence presents a thorough and methodical approach. You’ll have to make some trade-offs along the way to come up with a practical college and work plan. The challenge is that there are so many choices. But that’s the good news, too.

Several good guides can help you start the conversation about college majors:

Michael P. Voillt’s College Majors that Work
Paul Phifer’s College Majors and Careers
Laurence Shatkin’s Quick Guide to College Majors and Careers and 50 Best Majors for a Secure Future
Terry Ward’s Major Decisions: A Guide to College Majors

Contact me for personal help with your academic skills and career plans!