Broader Rather Than Narrower

A good friend of mine asked me to advise the daughter of a good friend of his about college and I gladly said yes. I spent 18 months much earlier in my career as the Associate Dean of Advisement and specialized in advising incoming students, both freshman as well as transfer. I recognize what an important difference advisement can make and am always willing to serve as an adviser. The daughter was interested in a very specialized niche area of business and also interested in a tiny college that specialized on that niche area. The young woman was just turning 18; she is not all that interested in higher education but she is very interested and highly motivated in making her mark in her intended field. The school she selected may be somewhat known in that niche area; it is certainly not known outside of that area. I am very familiar with many colleges and universities, especially in this area; her choice was one that I had never heard of.

Now I greatly admire her interest and determination to make her mark. Too few 18 year olds have a strong focus and too few really know what they want to do in their working lives. On the other hand, working in a niche area and being educated in only that area has its limitations. It is hard for me to remember back to when I was 18 but I am certain that I never thought of being an economist at that time and even more certain that I never considered working at a University. What I wanted to do and where I wanted to work evolved over time and by the middle of my doctoral education, I had made up my mind.

In talking to this young woman, her passion for working in the field she has chosen is clear and I spent no time at all questioning her decision. Instead I made two key points. First, keep an open mind toward other fields and other opportunities. Over time there may be another field that interests you and over time, opportunities in the field you have selected may become more robust, may remain as is, or may diminish and even dry up. No one comes with a crystal ball, keeping your options open is the next best thing to do. To keep your options open, a more general education is an important facilitator. Select a college or university that is at least somewhat well known and select a major that has more general applicability plus an internship in the niche area. That major, together with the internship, will serve you well in your niche area; it will also serve you well if interests and times change. By pursuing a more general major, you are often better positioned.

Now I’m not at all sure that my advice will be taken. I think it can be hard to change course when your passion has directed you toward one area and one goal. Passion often trumps practicality, but practicality when all is said and done usually carries the day.

The Easy Choice

I have been busy completing my remarks for this season’s first admitted students’ day event.  Actually there are now multiple admitted students’ day events since we want the experience to be both as convenient and as personal as possible.  And though my remarks are substantially changed from what I said last year, the message each and every year has been remarkably similar. I urge potential undergraduate students and their families to look for the long term value of the higher education the students are about to embark on.  I encourage students and their families to find the education that is a “best fit” with the needs and interests of the students.  I focus on the value of excellent teaching plus support services and I also stress that national accreditations equate to verifiable quality.  And I note the importance of a fully textured undergraduate experience including internships, civic engagement and athletics.  And this is an easy speech for me to deliver since I completely believe in what I am saying.

Earlier this week I went to a local swim center for an end of the day swim.  Swimming laps for me is a mindless way of not only getting cardio-vascular exercise but swimming also provides a wonderful venue for thinking through what happened that day or just before or just after that day.  While swimming I was thinking about admitted students’ day and whether I should make any major changes in the thrust of what I was saying.  I was still thinking about my message when I left the pool and went back to the locker room to change.  At the other side of the locker room there was a conversation in progress between what I gather were a handful of high school seniors.  These young men were loud and they were talking about choosing colleges for next year.  It didn’t appear that any of their parents were around and they did not notice me since there was a bank of lockers between where I was and where they were.  One of the young men indicated he had already made up his mind to go to a local college (not Hofstra).  He indicated it was an easy choice since the school selected offered more of what he wanted.  Another kid asked him why not another area school.  And the first young man volunteered without any hesitation that the local school he had decided on had “easier girls” and “easier courses” than the other choices.  Unfortunately no one followed up by asking the first young man the basis for these conclusions.  And the conversation switched shortly thereafter to weekend plans and cars, and a few minutes later the young men left the locker room.

 What are the deciding factors in the selection of a college or university?  I know what I want them to be for a decision of such importance.  As indicated above, long term value, best fit, teaching excellence, verifiable quality, a fully textured experience are at the top of the list.  I also recognize the financial constraints that many families face.  But are these the factors that matter most, or is the decision made on the basis of factors that really shouldn’t carry the day?  When a student selects a for-profit institution, is it based on the education provided or is it based on sophisticated marketing?  When a student selects the absolutely lowest cost alternative, is it based on the education meeting the needs of the student, or simply the absolute cost considerations?  Are easy schools favored; the closest schools favored; the furthest schools favored; a party school favored?  A regional clothing chain has always stated that “an educated consumer is our best customer.”  Our standard should be at least as high and we should all do whatever we can to increase the sophistication and expertise of our customer. We would all benefit: the student would have the education that was right for him or her, and we would have higher retention and graduation rates.

Shopping Around

In my household, I am typically the designated grocery shopper.  I go once a week, and both my wife and I buy whatever remaining items we end up needing in between.  Within about a mile, there are five major supermarkets.  All have their strengths and weaknesses but I know from experience that they don’t have the best goodness of fit with the needs of my family.). So instead of choosing based on convenience, I choose based on the selection and go to another major supermarket that is almost 20 by-car minutes from my home.  The supermarket I go to is the Long Island “branch” of what started as a local Manhattan store.  Before the Long Island branch opened, I did much of my shopping at the Manhattan store, so a 20-minute commute is actually an improvement.  (Under full disclosure, I like Manhattan so these shopping trips did allow the opportunity to do other things as well.) What specifically makes this store, the store of choice for my family?  Simply stated, it is the selection of fruits, vegetables, fish, pasta, cheese, meat, frozen foods, diary, and also the selection of dark chocolate (a key part of our well balanced diet).

I made my choice based on years of experience but there are other ways to make this choice.  Typically once a week, each of these stores publishes a flyer with their specials and these flyers are included with my newspaper delivery.  I really can’t tell the differences in stores by looking at the flyers or at the store websites.  I can’t tell the difference by looking at the store facades.  The names of the stores tell me even less. I can only tell which is the best based on my needs and a careful evaluation over time.

In choosing a college or university, I always emphasize the outstanding education we provide at Hofstra but I also always stress the need for potential students and their families to carefully evaluate all their options and alternatives in order to make the “best fit “ choice for the individual involved (which very likely would be Hofstra).  But you can’t find “best fit” by simply looking at websites or printed materials or guidebooks or even a visit to campus.  You need to take your time, you need to talk with students and faculty, you need to especially follow up with individuals connected to your area of interest, you need to see how advisement works, you need to see the residence halls, the dining facilities, the recreational facilities, you need to immerse yourself and become as educated as possible about an institution before you commit to being educated at an institution.  Some families do this very seriously and do it very well.  Others are much more haphazard.

Higher Education needs  to do a better job in encouraging all potential students and their families to view college as a life altering investment  that needs to be researched very carefully.  Perhaps some students may make a different choice, perhaps we will gain other students that had originally thought about going elsewhere.  But what I am most certain of, is that there is a strong correlation between  the effort that the students and their family makes to find the best fit institution and retention of that student. We are all invested in student success; that success starts with making the best choice.