Recently,
the U.S. Department of Education released a new web application to help connect
students with potential colleges. Referred to as a “College Scorecard,” the
application provides search criteria from majors offered, to locations, to
student enrollment. Once the search is initiated, the student sees different
institutions along with their costs and their average salaries after
graduation.
While
the scorecard is a good starting point for some students, it still represents a
cursory beginning to a larger process. Even The
Denver Post weighed in saying, “And while no
single data point may be pivotal in the ultimate selection of a school,
students clearly ought to be aware of the sort of information the College
Scorecard, at collegescorecard.ed.gov,
provides.”
The
Department of Education should be credited with amalgamating some of the data
and making it accessible. However, students need to keep their options open and
perform the research necessary to find the right school that fits their career
goals while also fitting into their family’s budget.
When
I work with my students, we start the road to college with everything on the
table. We use aptitude tests and others to find strengths and opportunities for
careers and majors that best fit the personalities of each individual. We also
schedule and train for taking the SAT and ACT. Once all of these preconditions
are met, we holistically approach finding the right fit that matches
highlighted majors and test scores. As we evaluate these schools, we do more
than just review the data. We look at graduate students and professors in their
major and hear about student achievements and opportunities that appeal to each
applicant. The culmination of all these efforts will ultimately identify the
best option or options for each person.
Certainly
more data is better, but having an experienced college planner in The College
Store helps decipher the data and steer the student in the best direction.
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