The *other* March Madness -- how to evaluate colleges

March is a little crazy in the college admissions world. For senior students and parents, the last of the decisions are rolling in, and then families have a little over a month to make a decision. There are last-minute visits and wrangling over numbers and crossed fingers.

For sophomores and juniors, there's often the mad dash through college campuses, trying to evaluate speeches and facts and buildings that all blend together.

As a college consultant, one of the things I try to emphasize with my families is to think about these places as the place where their student will spend most days of the next four years. What will your student's life look like, day to day, if they choose College A vs College B? Where are they most likely to blossom?

Whether with senior families or with sophomore or junior families, here's advice I give to families as they navigate these campuses and evaluate their options:

• Think critically. College tours, and college websites, and admitted student events are promotional materials. The information you're getting is accurate, but also presented in a slanted way. Think about what's missing. Think about what's emphasized. What is being left out?

  
  

• Get specific. Walk through academic buildings, if you can. See if professors' doors are open. Look at the faces of the students as they walk across campus. Grab a student newspaper in the campus coffee shop (or find a QR code to it if it's online). Look at the posters around campus. Sit in on a class and meet with a student, if you can. Your tour guide is a real person with real experiences. Ask them as many questions as possible about all aspects of their life.

  
  

• Evaluate Student Support. Look at the Student Support Services and, especially if your kiddo is neurodivergent, the Accessibility Services (I was recently at a campus where the Accessibility office was housed at the bottom of some very impressive stairs. Cue eye roll). Ask about the transition to college. How are first-year students supported? How do they build community? If it's a campus with satellite programs or with lots of students who go abroad, how are they re-integrated back into the social fabric on campus?

  
  

• Finally, take notes! Note your gut reaction, the information about the program you're interested in, and anything unexpected. This can be hard to do while walking: I've found that a notes file on my phone works well. If you're touring with multiple family members, assign roles -- one of you can take notes, one can ask questions, one can just take it all in more organically.

For families evaluating schools for their final decisions, I advise families to look beyond the statistics that were front and center when applying. In particular, I advise folks to:

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• Look up the 4 year graduation rate and the 6 year graduation rate. If they're lower than expected, think about why this might be. Are people transferring? dropping out? are they having trouble getting into the classes they need to finish their chosen degree? On a campus where those rates are low, think about what that will mean for your student that does stick around.

  
  

• Consider the reality vs the advertised stats. Even at a big school, it sometimes happens that the opportunities that drew you to it -- the specialized upper level classwork in X subfield, let's say -- are not nearly as available. A given class might only be offered every few years, or admit only 20 upperclassmen out of 50, or have some other constraint. The same goes for opportunities such as co-ops or internships -- the advertised stats might conflict with what's actually available.

As a college consultant, I work with my families through all stages of the process to help evaluate college choices and help students have a productive, healthy college experience that will get them ready for the world. Schedule an introductory session with me to find out more!