[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:06] BHA: Welcome back to another episode of the College Admissions Insider Podcast. I'm Becca Haupt Aldredge from Bucknell University.
[0:00:14] BT: I'm Brooke Thames, also from Bucknell.
[0:00:16] BHA: So far on the podcast, we have taken you through each step of the application process, from exploring what schools are out there, to making a decision on where you will be applying, and getting ready to submit your very best applications. Now, we've made it to spring and its decision season. Soon, if not already, you may have received decisions from some of your top schools, and if you've applied Regular Decision, that means it's time to choose where you'll be enrolling this fall.
[0:00:44] BT: It's an exciting time, but it can also be a bit stressful. Becca, I know you like to talk about making this decision in terms of fact versus feelings. Is there a magic formula to figuring out how to weigh both of those things?
[0:00:55] BHA: Oh, Brooke, I really wish there was a magic formula. Unfortunately, I guess the answer is yes and no. There's no magic eight ball that you can shake, and it'll tell you which college you should be enrolling to in the fall, but what we're going to walk through on today's episode is ways you can look at both the feelings associated with the decision that you're making and the facts of which school makes the most sense for you and your family in order to feel like, at the end of the day, you're making a really good decision that everybody can feel good about.
Brooke, do you want to start by talking about some of those facts? When a student is looking at all of their decisions laid out before them and they're comparing and contrasting schools, what are some of the facts that they should consider?
[0:01:34] BT: Sure. When you're looking at the different schools that you've been admitted to, some of the things you might want to think about when weighing the different options are things like distance from home. How comfortable you feel being far away from your family, or if you feel more comfortable being closer to your family.
Financial aid is another really big one. If you've applied for financial aid, you'll likely to have different packages that are offering different amounts — or even scholarships. So looking over those packages with your family is going to be really important when making that decision.
[0:02:07] BHA: Absolutely, Brooke. Let's say you've applied to lots of colleges, you've applied maybe into particular majors, but throughout your senior year, you refine and decide what you want to study. It's going to be really important that you're choosing a school that has a program that makes the most sense for you. That's another one of those facts to check off your list.
Your point about distance, Brooke, makes a whole lot of sense too. Maybe your dream school is halfway across the world, but maybe it's not feasible for you to get back and forth to that destination, especially if you have a fear of flying or don't have a car, right? So some of those really practical elements in making a decision that, again, makes sense, I think is a big part of where to start in your decision-making process and maybe narrow down your list a little bit.
[0:02:50] BT: So that's a really good overview of some of the things that might go into the fact’s category. Becca, what about feelings? What does that mean?
[0:02:57] BHA: Well, throughout the entire college search process, students and their family members have all been on different journeys when it comes to feelings. At some times in the process, maybe as a student, you've been really, really excited and your family's been really, really nervous. Or maybe now, when it's decision time, you're feeling really nervous as a student and your family is really excited for you.
When I have worked with students at this stage in the decision-making process, I find that it's important for them to check in with how they're feeling and try to tune out the noise of how everyone else around them is either feeling or wants them to feel. Maybe your family's excited about a particular school opportunity for you. Maybe one of your peers in your class or in the lunchroom is really excited about where they're going, and you're starting to feel the pressure. Finding ways to tune out some of that noise and really tap into how you're feeling as a student will hopefully allow you to pick a place that you feel like your best self, you feel you'll be supported, you feel like you'll have some great academic and social growth as a student. And can ultimately make a decision to enroll somewhere that you're going to feel really good about.
[0:04:00] BT: It seems like one of the ways to really hone in on that and drill down on those feelings is to think about how you felt when you were maybe touring these different campuses. When you were interacting with different people, were those people kind? Were they smiling and happy to see you and happy to show you around the campus, show you what they're working on, show you all the different great opportunities that you could have at this school? Did that make you excited?
[0:04:23] BHA: If you don't remember how you felt on your visit, it might be time to visit again. Or if that's not realistic, there are tons of ways to engage with a school via social media or virtual opportunities to get a refresher on maybe what it felt like when you visited for the first time.
[0:04:39] BT: Now that we've talked about both facts and feelings, what do we do with all of that? What's the best way to weigh those things? Pro and con lists are so great for so many situations in life and this is another one of those. Get a piece of paper or pull up a Google Doc and make some columns. Put your pros on one side and put your cons on the other and see what happens. Maybe your pros are short and your cons are long or maybe it's the opposite. Really take the time to break down this decision.
[0:05:11] BHA: I love that you remind just to take our time. Some students who may have applied Early Decision throughout the process might be finding out early and they already know where they're going. But as a reminder, May 1st is the national deadline. You don't have to make a decision until really toward the end of April and into that May 1st time frame. If you're not ready to make a decision, like Brooke said, take the time to sit with it. Take the time to do that repeat visit or explore some social media and virtual opportunities. Don't rush into making a decision, because again, you want to pick one where the facts make sense and the feelings are something that you could feel really good about.
[0:05:47] BT: Remember that you don't have to do this alone. Share that pro and con list with family members, maybe a trusted friend, or even a teacher, or a counselor. At the end of the day, the choice is yours, but there are plenty of people around you that are ready and willing to support you.
Okay, Becca, so I think we have a great grasp on the things that our students should be doing to figure out how to make this decision, but are there things that they shouldn't be considering when trying to figure out what school to commit to?
[0:06:14] BHA: Definitely. We talked about that friend in the cafeteria who may have already decided where they're going, right? You could begin to feel a lot of peer pressure from some of your peers who are making those decisions. We hope you know this is your decision, and we hope you're not facing your decision on where your best friend is going, where your significant other is going, or even the place that your family members may have been. We also hope you're not basing this decision off of things like whether the school colors look good on you or what the school's mascot is.
[0:06:44] BT: What I'm hearing, Becca, is that it's best to not wing it. This decision is an important one, and you want to make sure that you're putting yourself in the position to have the best college journey that you can have. We at Bucknell are celebrating you, whatever you choose. So keep on reaching for your dreams and your dream school.
[END]
