乐播传媒

During their college search, prospective students and their families often look at numbers 鈥� a college鈥檚 rank, the number of majors  鈥� and at things, like buildings and campus amenities. 

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 important,鈥� says Carl Steidel, senior associate dean of students. 鈥淵ou should pay some attention to those things.鈥� 

But he says, prospective students should also try to suss out what the 鈥渆xperience is going to be like.鈥�

In other words, when visiting a college 鈥� whether in person or poring over social media and 鈥� a prospective student should 鈥渢ry to picture yourself in that place,鈥� Steidel says. 

鈥淣ot just the physical place, not just imagining the good food that you鈥檒l eat there, but what it will be like actually interacting with the people who are there.鈥�

This requires some imagination, introspection, and self-awareness, says Steidel. 鈥淭hink about what has worked for you during your academic career so far. For example, do you have close mentors in your high school that you connect with?鈥�

If yes, you might look at a college where you can have really close relationships with faculty and staff. 鈥淭hat might mean a smaller college where those faculty-student ratios are a little bit closer.鈥� 

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On the other hand, if you鈥檝e had success walking a more solo path through high school, 鈥渕aybe that means looking for a bigger institution where you don’t necessarily need to have those connections quite as much.鈥�

Among Steidel鈥檚 responsibilities are Student Affairs programs that help students make connections between their academic lives and co-curricular opportunities. Success in college is 鈥渟o often about the connections that students make once they get to campus.鈥�

But there鈥檚 no hierarchy when it comes to the folks you can connect with. 鈥淛ust try to make a connection with somebody during that first year, whether your peers in your residence, an academic advisor, the custodian in your hallway, or the person who drives the shuttle.鈥� 

Steidel says that students should also think about their day-to-day lives, and the challenges they face and how they respond to them. To that end, 鈥渨hat does a college have in place to help you succeed? What kind of support team does the college have set up for you in advance?鈥� Steidel asks.

鈥淎t 乐播传媒, we have an academic advisor. We have a student support advisor. We have residential life staff. Colleges have lots of different ways of supporting students, so try to find the structure and the kind of support network that matches what you think is going to make sense for you.鈥�