2010.03.05 01:55:40

Patrick OConnor

Choosing a College is More Than Smoke and Mirrors

Today’s column begins with another college quiz.  Ready?

2.      What person was recently quoted as saying “I’m not very pretty”?

Frequent readers have the first answer tattooed on their arm, next to the Web address for Colleges That Change Lives.  The purpose of college is to give you the opportunity to continue to live the wonderful life you already have, and to understand more about yourself, the world, and your relationship to the world.

I’m pointing this out again because this is the time of year when all kinds of people forget that.  As seniors and their families wait for the March Madness of college decisions, and as juniors get back their tentative class schedules for next year and decide if it’s “college-worthy”, it’s easy to think school is more about thick envelopes and “getting in” than personal growth.  

That’s not to say high school should be a breeze, or that diligence and achievement shouldn’t be recognized. But what does it say about college choice if you get into a name college you’d hate going to, or if you get a 7  AP class senior-year schedule with so much homework you can’t even remember your name? There’s a fine difference between self-growth and self-destruction, and if you’re not careful, this approach to college can spill over into other areas of your life, like dating, career exploration, or self-identity…

…which leads us to Question 2.  The person who thinks they aren’t pretty is Anne Hathaway.  Right—not the Anne Hathaway who works at the corner deli, but the Anne Hathaway.  It’s nice to hear a little humility coming from Hollywood, and  I certainly don’t want to diss the reigning queen of Genovia, but either a new mirror or a new perspective is in order— and such is the case when the dream of being admitted to college is more important than the reality of going there.  The first ground rule is keeping grounded.

This same topic is addressed in a must-see movie. “Race to Nowhere” documents the lives of students who discover that more really can be less, and some of these lessons are hard ones.  The trailer’s at www.racetonowhere.com  Take a peek before you decide if a fourth community service project is really all that important— and either way, do your community a service by asking your counselor to set up a screening of this film for your school.

“But dude”, says you, “aren’t you the guy who tells us colleges want us to do all this crazy stuff?  Isn’t it your job to tell us to dance a little faster in order to win the game?”

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever called college choice a game—if I did, I was wrong.  Classes, extra-curriculars and community service aren’t the elements of a game—they are ingredients in the recipe of your life, and my job is to give you cooking lessons.  The recipe for life—and for college success-- is only complete with healthy doses of perspective and self-knowledge.  Without them, you might end up like this guy, who didn’t think he was good enough to be a professional singer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA 

And just how did Paul Potts decide to audition for Britain’s Got Talent, which led to performing before Queen Elizabeth and selling over 4 million albums?

He flipped a coin.

choosing a college | applying to college | college counseling | college entrance