When it comes to building balanced college lists, one thing drives our process: fit.

College fit is how well an institution meets a student’s unique wants and needs for their best college experience. It’s entirely student-driven and entirely individual. If I’m working with a student on their college fit, we aren’t talking about what their older sibling, their friends, or even their parents wanted in a college experience. It’s all about that student. Their unique wants and needs.

We’re big believers in college fit for many reasons, but a few of them are:

Fit gives you a place to begin the college search - There are thousands of colleges out there, and searching can get overwhelming if you don’t know where to start! College fit gives students criteria to look for when learning about different colleges. In that way, fit can help guide college research beyond the admissions website.
Choosing a good fit saves time, money, and resources - Too often, students have a primary reason for choosing a college and haven’t fully considered its other factors. It could be an academic major, a sport (that they will be playing or enthusiastically supporting), name recognition, location, or some other reason. But when they get to campus, something changes. A student may want to change their major (most do!) or no longer wish to continue playing a sport. If the college is not a good fit for other reasons, they may need to consider transferring, which can add additional semesters or years, additional tuition, and so on.
A better college fit leads to happier students - And happier students are more engaged on campus! They’re taking advantage of opportunities, pursuing experience, and having a fulfilling 4 years.

So how do you find this elusive “best college fit?” This blog post will walk you through 3 factors—Academic, Financial, and Social—to find your best college fit.

But first, a disclaimer: the three areas of fit will not be of equal importance to all students and families. And that’s perfectly normal! One student may know that the cost of college is a key factor in their search process, so financial fit may outweigh social or academic fit in this process. Another student may be interested in pursuing a major not commonly available at many colleges or need support from their college with a learning difference, so academic fit may matter more. To give you an experience from my own college search: back in the day, I attended what was then the largest high school in North Carolina. From that experience, I knew I wanted a small college, so social fit was a significant factor for me.

No part of college fit is more important or valuable than another, but just to drive that home, we’ll tackle each piece alphabetically!

Step 1: Assess Academic Fit

When considering academic fit, start by asking yourself how your academic profile matches the average freshman at this school. Is the school an academic fit for you right now?

But don’t stop there! Will the school still be an academic fit for you after you enroll? Do they teach the way you learn best?

Here are some things to consider when you assess your ideal academic fit:

What is your ideal class size?
How much access to your professors do you want/need?
What level of career and/or academic advising would you like?
What major(s) and/or minor(s) are you considering?
Would you like to have academic support or tutoring available?
What’s your ideal class style: lecture, discussion, hands-on?
Are you motivated by a competitive academic environment?
Do you want to pursue research, an internship, or study abroad in your major?

Before you start looking into what colleges offer in relation to these kinds of questions, determine what your unique answers are. Then, when you do your college research, you can assess if a college is a good academic fit.

Step 2: Find Financial Fit

While college fit is specific to a student’s wants and needs, financial fit is often a family conversation. For many, college is a family investment. Money can be a tricky topic to discuss in some families, and often, there can be a lack of communication about financial fit between students and parents.

These conversations look different from family to family, but I encourage parents and students to talk about how your family plans to pay for college at the beginning of the college planning process and not at the end so that everyone has realistic expectations about how financial fit should play into college fit and, ultimately, into the student’s college choice.

Here are some key factors to think about as part of financial fit:

What is your family’s budget for one year of college?
Will your family qualify for any need-based financial aid?
Are you, or your parents, willing to take out loans to pay for college?
Do you think you might qualify for any merit-based financial aid at certain institutions?
Have you considered what else beyond tuition will cost money (for example: room and board, transportation if the college is far from home, books, club dues, etc.)?

Financial fit can really influence a college list because the cost of college can vary so much from school to school. It can determine if a student keeps their college search closer to home to benefit from in-state tuition at public colleges or how balanced that final college list is. A student hoping to receive a lot of academic merit aid offers should be aiming for more Likely schools.

Here are a few more resources as you find your financial fit:

Step 3: Specify Social Fit

We invited family to the table for Step 2, but Step 3 is back to a student’s unique wants and needs.

Many students identify this step as “the fun part” because we talk about football and weekend life. And while yes, these will be some of the most social years of a student’s life, and we do want students to have fun, social fit is important because so much of the growth students experience in college takes place out of the classroom. College is more than waking up, absorbing knowledge like a sponge, and going to sleep. That’s where social fit comes in!

As you consider social fit, ask:

What does your “dream college” environment look like?
Do you prefer a smaller college with a close-knit community or a larger college where you can constantly make new friends?
How important is the college athletic scene?
Do you want to attend a faith-based college?
Is campus diversity important to you?
Do you want many campus clubs or activities to join, or do you see yourself pursuing other social outlets?
Are you interested in fraternities or sororities?
Is the campus environment: Creative? Outdoorsy? Full of school spirit? Political? Social justice-minded? Regional? International?

The complete “college experience” happens in classrooms, dorms, the dining hall, the student center, the football stadium, and beyond. Consider the environment where you want to spend an exciting four years and the types of people you want to be around!

Next Steps

As you go through academic, financial, and social fit, make a running list of the things that are important to you. Once you have a list of your unique college fit criteria, decide which factors are your “must-haves” versus things that would be nice to have in a college but are negotiable.

(A quick tip: if you have too many must-haves, you might end up looking for a college that doesn’t actually exist!)

At the same time, make a note of anything on your “no way” list—criteria your ideal college would not have.

Keep these lists of college criteria—must-haves, would be nice to have, and no way—by your side on college visits and when doing college research. Before you add a college to your college list, compare it to your fit list and ask yourself, “How well does this college fit me?”

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