Building Your College Search Roadmap

I distinctly remember my college search. There was a website (I think it was Sparknotes? If it was, it looks it no longer has that feature) where I looked up schools, acceptance rates, available majors, tuition, etc., and reached out to admissions offices asking for prospective student information. I also thought about what I wanted as a career and what I should major in. I wanted to get out of my hometown and stretch my wings, and I was going to make that happen!

Looking back, I don't think I really understood what I was researching, why I was researching it, or what all of the information I gathered actually meant. I didn't have a plan, and I wasn't organizing any of that information. Ultimately, I made my decision based on how I felt during a campus tour. But, to be fair to my 17 year old self, I chose Miami University, which Robert Frost called "the most beautiful campus that ever there was," and I still believe that how you feel on a campus is important.

Overall, I made my college decision based mostly on vibes and the distance from the campus to my parents' house. It worked out for me, and I believe my undergraduate experience helped me grow into myself. Still, I sometimes wonder how much of that was luck and my stubbornness to "make it work."

Currently, I work in a higher education admission's office where I spend a majority of my work time talking with prospective students and families. It is not uncommon that the prospective students are first generation students. I see my younger self in these students and their families; my mom attended college for a bit but didn't graduate, and my dad did not pursue higher education), and I remember how confusing and overwhelming the college search, admission, and enrollment process can be.

That is what is driving me to create this series of eLearning experiences. My goal is to create resources that can assist students with thinking more deeply about what they want as a career, what their ideal higher education experience looks like, and how to incorporate their visions into their college search.

Where to start?

You start with the goal. For this project, the goal is the following learning objectives:

• LO1: Learners will be able to define common terms used in higher education settings. 

• LO2: Learners will reflect on their personal educational and career goals.

• LO3: Learners will compare higher education options. 

• LO4: Learners will take their first steps in the admissions and financial aid processes by creating a Common Application and a FSA ID.

• LO5: Learners will use completed learning activities to create their own college search file or binder

LO1: Learners will be able to define common terms used in higher education settings.

Starting a college search can be one of the most confusing parts of the college search process, especially for first generation students. Higher education institutions are bureaucracies that can be difficult to navigate. They use words and abbreviations that are uncommon outside of academia. So, the first step of a college search is to familiarize yourself with the common departments and vocabulary of higher education. This knowledge allows learners to follow conversations with admissions representatives and determine which other departments can best assist with their questions.

LO2: Learners will reflect on their personal educational and career goals.

I am a big believer in backwards design, and use it all of the time. I determine my goal first, then map out the steps to reaching my goal. In this learning series, learners will use backwards design to create their personal college search roadmap. They will reflect on their career goals, question if higher education is the appropriate path, and decide what they want their ideal college experience to look like.

LO3: Learners will compare higher education options.

After reflecting on and determining their goals, learners will be able to better determine what sort of institutions to investigate and what information is the most important to gather. Once learners collect this information, they will organize to compare institutions.

LO4: Learners will take their first steps in the admissions and financial aid processes by creating a Common Application and a FSA ID.

Learners will take their first steps in the admissions and financial aid processes by creating accounts for the Common App and to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

LO5: Learners will use completed learning activities to create their own college search file or binder

Learners will compile their completed learning activities to create their personal college search roadmap file. They can use this tool to narrow down their top choice schools, track their admissions application status, manage scholarship deadlines, and organize other pertinent information.

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I expect this learning series to consist of five modules, each with their own learning objectives aligned with the overarching series learning objectives. You can find my current series plan HERE.

I'm excited to work on this project, and I hope you find it helpful if you stumbled into my rabbit hole. 😊