subject: Using Others' Experience in Choosing a College: Reliable Data? [print this page] As soon as the moment for choosing a college comes, the students are likely not only to engage in individual research, but try to find out more from their friends and parents, read the feedback of those who have already graduated from college and share their experiences with the freshmen in the area. But how reliable are these sources of information and advice, and how real is it to make a mistake being misled by others' experience without one's own? The threat is high, but consultation also conceals certain advantages. The present article intends to articulate the main pros and cons of relying on others in making choices about college.
Who to Listen to and How to Distinguish Personal and Objective Data?
1. The first people to who the student may turn are parents, relatives and friends. These people are older and more experienced, so they can share their own mistakes or successful examples and help the student choose the right path. However, there is no guarantee that the individual will surely repeat his or her parents' mistakes in some college, especially when their job preferences are completely different it is impossible to live other people's lives again.
2. A more objective source of help and experience can be the high school counselor who knows the individual's academic profile, job ambitions etc. The counselor can give a piece of valuable advice deriving it from the individual's performance in certain subjects, knowledge of his/her personality etc.
3. Finally, the campus tour may be a valuable experience in choosing a college: talks with students, both freshmen and graduates, will be the best source of information for a non-decided student. More than that, feeling the environment and atmosphere of the college will answer the question of whether the individual wants to study there or not the best way.
Using Others' Experience in Choosing a College: Reliable Data?
