College Prep: For high school seniors, D-Day is nearing

The signature shades of orange, red, and purple that are often associated with autumn are not the only fall colors blanketing high school campuses at this time of year.

Visit the office of a high school guidance counselor in September and October and one also will take in the various shades of ash, green, and yellow found on the faces of millions of high school seniors attempting to figure out where they should go to college.

Yes, after three years of ascending the campus ladder of supremacy in pursuit of its privileges (and, of course, knowledge), the fall of the senior year is a different kind of season for those sitting in the proverbial catbird seat.

After deftly deflecting questions like "Where are you applying?" or "Are you excited about next year?" for a period of weeks, and maybe even months, fall is definitely D-Day, as in for decision making. And while a majority of seniors do, indeed, have some fairly concrete ideas on where they might like to apply, it's often intriguing to learn why they choose the schools they do.

"One of the things that continues to surprise me over the years is the randomness of students' decisions about which college to attend," said Christoph Guttentag, director of Undergraduate Admissions at Duke University. "That randomness might include the flip of a coin, the decision to follow a girlfriend or boyfriend to college (no matter where they're going!) or a 'gut feeling' they really can't explain."

Guttentag went on to share that, among several factors, the decisions of where friends apply often influences application decisions.

It is important to note that there are roughly 4,000 four-year colleges and universities across the country. And with so many wonderfully distinct collegiate choices available, students (and parents) are wise to take a step back, realize the uniqueness of this opportunity, and make an independent decision.

The healthy process for establishing a potential list of schools eschews a "one size fits all" approach and instead favors identifying the right fit and feel. This begins with diligent research that incorporates a vital step of self assessment for what type of school might fit a student best.

Every student will, of course, have his or her own set of criteria that constitutes the right fit. In some cases, the rationale students utilize for particular selections can set the table for some interesting dinner discussions.

Rest assured that rarely do a student's list of schools and a parent's list of schools wholly agree. This is normal and healthy, as the process represents one of the first and one of the most significant joint decisions parents and children make together. And not all partners always agree.

The monetary (e.g. parent) vote aside, students need to feel vested in the process. To help engender this, parents need to be willing to consider that their student's buy-in can and will play a large determinate in his or her ultimate success.

The key, here, is first coming to consensus on the right fit, and where both sides might find some interesting insight into this arena is through a free online assessment called Personal Inventory of College Styles - www.collegetrends.org.

This assessment is a derivative of the venerable Myers-Briggs Personality Sorter that works off the premise of identifying and sorting people into 16 different personality categories through a series of questions.

Though the nature of the questions can sometimes be considered a bit esoteric ("random" in their own right), the results of the 54-question analysis provide some very intriguing and often times useful information for families to consider when considering the objective factors of conducting a thorough college search.

At the conclusion of the assessment, the student will receive a personalized assessment of the type of school that appears to fit him or her best based upon how he or she is "mentally hard wired." Included in the profile are responses to such factors as the ideal environment, curriculum, academic pressure, location (e.g. distance from home), and institutional size.

PICS offers a constructive approach for helping families to begin to see what might represent the best collegiate fit for a student. And while respondents may or may not agree with the feedback in each area of the report, the opportunity to consider the process both reflectively and holistically is extremely valuable.

After receiving the free analysis of the type of school that best fits a respondent, he or she will then have the opportunity to purchase a list of schools that fit that the profile. Please note, this is not required to receive the report.

Future columns will provide the opportunity to blend this information with search engines that can achieve the same result. Next time we'll look at the significance of "feel" in the college selection process.

• Brian Underwood is the executive director of Sierra Lutheran High School.