We recently started nominating a “Student of the Month” in our office. But our nominations have nothing to do with grades, test scores or accomplishments; it’s all about the students’ attitude towards the college process. Are they engaged in their college search? Do they research colleges and try to find the right fit, even at schools they haven’t heard of? Are they excited about the opportunity to go to college, even if the school isn’t a famous one? Those are the students of the month we’re looking for.
Our most recent nominee has a good system for discussing her college choices with her parents. Here’s what she told us:
I just have different conversations with each of my parents. My mom spent most of her college days in the UCLA library. So when I am
considering a college, I tell her the first thing I look at is how vast their library is. With my dad, who claims to not even know where the library is at his alma mater, Oregon State (the “Harvard of the West”, as he constantly calls it), I tell him that the first thing I look at is how their football team ranked in the SCC or PAC-10. Well it’s a good thing the University of Florida has both, or else they’d figure out my secret!
That’s a smart kid.