Finding the right fit can be trial and errorBright, talented, and driven, Caitlin Fahey pursued her dream as an opera singer by considering only music conservatories after she graduated from high school in 2003. After narrowing her list to the New England Conservatory of Music and other institutes in the Northeast and Ohio, she selected the Cleveland Institute of Music for the sterling reputation of one of its voice teachers. She soon realized she had made a mistake. Studying music all the time was not fun. She missed home. The pastoral setting of Higganum, Conn., her hometown, did not prepare her for urban life, where the noise was so loud she couldn't sleep. Shortly after moving to Cleveland, she began plotting her return to New England, much wiser about the pitfalls of selecting a college. ''It's all about balance," she says. Now attending Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., her story is a tale of caution and discovery for students searching for their perfect college. But avoiding mistakes is possible, admissions counselors say, if students embrace a holistic approach to college selections. A college decision shouldn't be solely based on how a college looks or whether it boasts prestige. Nor should a college decision simply be based on whether an institution offers the best major in a student's field of interest. The size of the institution and its classes are key, but so is location, because students must decide whether urban, rural, or suburban settings best suit their temperaments, say admissions officials and students who feel they made mistakes in college decisions. ''Keep those options open," says Fahey, who adds that she now wishes she had included liberal arts institutions on her list of potential colleges. When she was in Cleveland, she realized that studying under a voice teacher with national repute didn't stop her from wanting more balance in her academic life. Music, she says, was part of her life seven days a week, and she soon enjoyed her French and political science classes she took at nearby Case Western Reserve more than she did her music. ''What does that say about what I'm doing here?" she asked herself. With the help of her parents, she began planning her return to the Northeast in March 2004, fairly late in the transfer process. She took road trips with her father to Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., and Wheaton, all of which had late admission deadlines. But it wasn't until she visited Wheaton that she felt like she had found a home. Music, she says, will always be a part of her life, and she's continuing her voice lessons. But now she is a political science major and plans to minor in French. ''It's OK to let that change occur," she says. ''When you think about it, making a decision about your career at 17 is a little ridiculous." Picking the right school seems to become more complicated every year. At least two-thirds of the nation's 2,300 four-year institutions now have national recruiting programs, up from one-third three decades ago, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. As a result, the heightened recruiting -- with glossy mailings, e-mails, phone calls, and college fairs -- has led to more student contact with institutions, a flood of information, and an increase in applications. Students today apply to four to seven colleges, the association says, up from one to three in the 1970s, when colleges and universities began to ramp up recruitment efforts. And each application submitted by a student carries with it different requests, such as essays or portfolios of student work. ''That makes for a very daunting task if you are a high school senior," said David Hawkins, the association's director of public policy. ''It's no wonder that there's a lot of confusion and angst." The association doesn't advise students and their parents one way or the other, and there's no sure fire way to avoid the confusion that sometimes overtakes a student's decision-making process. For Stephanie Kon, an 18-year-old Waltham student, academics and location were important, but values topped the list of reasons she left Vanderbilt University after a year. Kon graduated from a Christian high school in 2004 and entertained several college possibilities. Several boasted religious affiliations: Holy Cross, Providence, Georgetown, and Wheaton College in Illinois. But just as many were secular, including Virginia, North Carolina, and Duke. She ultimately selected Holy Cross in Worcester because of its selectivity and proximity to her family. But at the eleventh hour, at the urging of an uncle who lives in Nashville, she visited Vanderbilt. She made a quick trip to Tennessee, ignoring her desire to stay close to home, because ''I always thought I would end up in Boston, so I thought I would go to the deep South for school." In the fall, she found herself attending Vanderbilt. ''People here are really smart, but they really party hard," she said. The frequent outings to clubs and bars were unattractive to Kon, who does not drink. ''It got a little lonely, and I definitely felt out of place," she said. Next fall, she plans to enroll in Gordon College, a Christian college with 1,600 students in Wenham. She's also learned the most basic questions about college selection are the most important. ''I would tell students to consider what they love and don't love," Kon said. ''College doesn't have to be a life-changing experience. Just leaving home is a life-changing experience, you don't have to go a thousand miles away." |