Jeannie Grimm, College Consultant

What does it mean when we talk about fit?

Close your eyes for a second and picture what your “dream” school looks like. Did you imagine a specific school? Or did you think about the attributes of your college education that matter to you? Do you know yet what matters to you?! That’s part of the work we guide our students through as we help them build a college list.

When we first start speaking with our students about colleges, we don’t start with specific names. We are interested in helping a student discover what matters to them, and in helping families find the sweet spot between their student’s academic and social health and any financial considerations.

Thinking about your interests, the size and location of a school, the campus vibe, the feel of the student body, the academic offerings, and the return on investment will help you to build the best list to begin researching. We will evaluate your academic, extracurricular, and personal qualities profile and advise you on the overlap between your wants and your chances.

Every student needs a broad list. These are schools with an acceptance rate of over 50%. Even at that, there is no guarantee that a student will be admitted, so we have to ensure that your list will yield options.

Over the course of our work together, we will encourage you to fall in love with your safer schools. These might be schools you’ve never heard of until we recommend them, or that you may have an opinion about based on where your friends have been admitted in previous years. Banish that thought! We are looking at the right fit for you, not for anyone else! Does the school offer the program and place that will allow you to thrive academically and socially? That’s the key!

Notice the words “prestige” and “reputation” have not been written until this very sentence. Why? Because they do not reflect fit. They also don’t guarantee happiness or success. One example? Over 88% of Fortune 500 CEOs did not attend an Ivy. There is also the brutally low acceptance rate to consider: When a school has, say, a 6% acceptance rate, it also has a 94% rejection rate. That doesn’t mean you can’t apply. It means we have to consider each school strategically…as long as it has earned its place on your list which it does by virtue of you assessing its fit for you. In the over 4500 colleges in the US alone, the average acceptance rate is over 65%. Those most restrictive select few do not represent that gamut of fabulous places where you can get a great education, excel, and be happy.

So what’s our advice? Keep an open mind. Explore the school before you look up the acceptance rate. Ignore prestige. Focus on who you are, what you want, and how to get there. Our goal is to find colleges where you can be happy and successful. That’s what fit is!