Nelie McNeal, Founder and Managing Partner

Where do I want to go to college?

Many high school students ask themselves this. Where will home be a year or two from now? Where will I be happiest? Fair enough; we’re all curious about what lies ahead for ourselves. But if you want to find useful answers, start with a better question:

What do I need to be successful?

Yes – rather than starting with “where,” back up a little and start with “what.” What are my goals? What are my preferences? What setting is most conducive to being content and productive? Once you work out the “whats,” the “where” should be much easier to determine. But how do you find that information?

For starters, be honest with yourself about what you need and what motivates you.

But what if I don’t even know that?

We can help.

At McNeal Sams, students have access to Achieveworks Assessments. There are four: Personality; Intelligences; Skills; and the one most relevant to this conversation: Learning & Productivity. This assessment explores your sensory, environmental, and mindset preferences—those factors that are critical to your success. 

Sensory is quite straightforward—in other words, the senses you use when you learn. Do you prefer to listen or read? Do hands-on assignments bring out your best? The environmental component, meanwhile, asks about the setting. Are you most effective in the morning or the evening? Do you need a snack? Warm or cool room? Bright lights or dim lighting? Finally, mindset looks at what motivates you. Are you a self-directed learner, or do you want lots of support? Would you rather learn independently or collaboratively? Do you need outside rewards to get your work done, or is your own motivation enough?

All of these factors have a direct impact on your performance. Once you understand what works best for you, you’re in a better position to be successful. This is true whether you attend a college on the coast, in the mountains, or smack dab in the middle of the country (or in another country, for that matter!). 

Yes, where you go to college matters. But as the old saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” In other words, your choice of college should be a decision that benefits your whole self, and that includes far more than a magazine ranking (which will change next year, by the way, so the magazine can sell more copies). Your strengths, talents, and needs come first. Take care of that, and the name of the school will take care of itself.