As you glance through our website, no doubt you will be reminded of the workbooks your family did together in those early years. Even that Choose Your Own Adventure series of books your family read together may come to mind. For in this volume you will be asked to do just that, pick the paths that best fit your expectations for the step beyond high school. Although these pages may appear to resemble a kind of workbook, I prefer the label Fun Book. So be confident and have fun as you begin the adventure ahead.

I am making certain assumptions about those of you who are visiting this website right now. First, you have chosen the path of higher education beyond high school. If your choice at this time is for a two-year community or technical school, you still will benefit from following this exercise of problem solving. After all, many students choose to attend two-year schools then continue for a bachelor’s degree at a four year college or university. Also, you have taken or will be taking the standardized tests required for admission by many colleges and universities. These include ACT’s, SAT I’s, and SAT II’s, sometimes specific ones for specific majors. If you are unsure about a field of study, it is best to have taken those tests which are required by a broad range of majors. Also, I assume you have met with your high school college counselors to confirm that the courses and tests taken are indeed the ones you need.

In answer to the question, “Well, Rich, what did you learn,” my eldest son at his graduation from Northwestern University (not his first choice of schools, by the way) with his honors degree in Industrial Engineering replied, “Mom, I could have gotten it anywhere.”  The “it” he was talking about was his first-rate education and fulfilling university experience that would have been his at several schools that provided a good match with his expectations.

College-graduate-wannabes tell your parents to RELAX!  From the Ivy League schools (an alliance, by the way, that was formed as an athletic conference, not academic) to other private schools to state universities to community colleges there are dedicated committed professors who made the personal, professional choice to spend their lives nurturing and mentoring curious minds. So long as there is a match between student, discipline, and campus atmosphere “it” can be achieved almost anywhere. And rest assured, there is certainly more than one good match out there.

Of course, the tricky part is making those matches. The moment that you burst into the kitchen announcing that the college counselor has asked for that first list of school choices by the end of spring break need not be the moment when your parents have to wish for a Dr. Spock reference guide or Time Life “How To” book. There are some very easy questions you can explore, the answers to which will lead you eventually to answers for more complex questions.

The college application process, filling out the information sheets and writing a series of essays, can be very time consuming and down-right grueling for a high school senior busy with those last-year obligations and activities. Many of the essay topics from different schools are similar yet different enough that each submission has to be an original. However, there is an option to completing many individual applications, and that is the COMMON APPLICATION FORM. There is an extensive list of fine colleges and universities which honor the COMMON APPLICATION, and I urge you to look over this list of schools. Sometimes students begin with this list having decided to apply only to schools which use the COMMON APPLICATION. If a college or university offers the option of using the COMMON APPLICATION but also provides its own application form, be assured, both forms are weighted equally by the institution in the admissions process.

A college or university diploma is very expensive. Consider state university programs along with those of private schools. Although financing an undergraduate education may be a large factor in your choices, don’t assume anything thereby eliminating schools. Investigate aid packages of the colleges and universities ending up on your list and get advice on tax laws and self-help portions of scholarships.

What needs to be dealt with here is a basic problem-solving exercise. Whether your eagerness to lift the curtain on an exciting future (reminds me of that moment Christmas morning just before the first gift is opened or the stocking contents dumped) is that of the first person in the family to pursue a college degree or that of child of college educated parents, the process of discovery is the same.

Now for the adventure. Find that place to sit that has some work space where you can spread out your papers. Pick out a nice sharp pencil and be as honest and specific as you can as you tackle the questions in PART I. Ready to get started?  The real value of these questions is that the answers may lead you to other questions important for you personally to ask. Go for it!  Get your pencil poised, get comfortable. Whether you know it or not, the first step has been completed successfully. So pat yourself on your back. The first step in any problem solving exercise is to Identify the Problem. Then that Problem needs to be broken down into components consisting of Conclusions resulting from Answers to Questions. (“One, Two, Three Charlie” would be proud.)

In the text of this Fun Book I will continue to speak directly to you, the young man or woman who is looking ahead to the next step, higher education. Your parents are a part of this exercise as well, but ultimately it is for you.

This Fun Book is divided into two parts. PART I is composed of questions to help you, the student, discover what are your expectations for your college or university. You will be asked to answer geographic, academic, extracurricular, housing, and campus life questions designed to help you define what qualities are most important to you. PART II consists of questions for you to ask of admissions personnel, faculty, students, and alumni either during a visit to particular campuses or in your home-town area to get an “inside” view of the schools you are considering.