CHOOSING A COLLEGE IN PANDEMIC

Choosing a college is the most crucial stage for a student as he/she advances from school.

The race for choosing the best college is ceaseless but as of now, COVID-19 has forced most of the colleges to extend application dates by months. This, in turn, is a blessing in disguise for students who are still not sure about the college that they want to get in.

This extended period for application will help students scrutinize their choices. This prolonged period can be used by students to list down what all they expect from their college as well as if the college they are aspiring to fulfil their requirements.

While many people will disregard this time, you can gather a pool of knowledge so that when the time comes, you being a student would be able to aim at the best with the help of knowledge that you have gathered over the time.

It is noteworthy that the colleges too would use this time to tie their loose ends.

Students can consider the following points to make an informed college choice.

1.   GENERAL BACKGROUND CHECK

Be resourceful and think outside the box as you make the best of this challenging time. Consider how you might have normally made this choice or how you have taken other important decisions in life and then brainstorm innovative solutions and approaches.

How do colleges deal in a pandemic situation, their preparedness to health, safety and uninterrupted operations? How well and promptly do they respond to your queries? Are their responses satisfactory?

Dig deep into the history of the college, find out the changes in curriculum, placement records, companies that hire from the college and what packages students grab after graduation.

2.   OPENNESS

Be keen to learn about new colleges and their course offerings.

Don't confine your mind to a previously selected course, the reason being that a lot of things will change in the industries after they open up post-pandemic.

Not all industries and job sectors will be the same as they were before the lockdown. It might be possible that a lot of industries might suffer heavily so the corresponding branch/course you are planning to choose might land you to ‘No Man’s Land’.

Keep reading articles about new upcoming fields that promise a better scope in future. This might give you an edge over other students who will be confined to some selected fields only.

3. COMMUNICATE WITH COLLEGES

This is the part that students are not ready to deal with. The reason being, one cannot expect all colleges and their administration to be 100% transparent with the information that they provide on their websites or in brochures.

 Students shouldn’t expect that all colleges and universities are equally committed to racial equity. The presence of an office of ‘diversity and inclusion,’ even if it is well-funded and adequately staffed, is an insufficient demonstration of a college’s commitment to racial equity.

 This will take additional effort, as it requires one to look well beyond the racial composition of the student population.

            It is imperative that students, parents, and college counsellors do their due diligence.

4.  RACISM

This is one of the most important aspects of any Varsity that a student chooses.

One should make sure that the college faculties, and the management is not biased and does not follow any sort of racism in their institute.

How racially diverse are the faculty, staff, and administration? How many racist incidents and race-based hate crimes have occurred on campus in recent years? How and when did the administration respond? Our faculty, staff, campus police, and administrators required to complete antiracism training?  Do their job descriptions include clear language that the successful candidate will be an equity-minded/antiracist individual?”

5.  INTENTIONS

What do you want out of your college education?

What is the experience you hope to have? What is your goal? For some, it might be getting a college degree for the least amount of money. For others, their aspirations might be more specific, like architect, nutritionist or maybe one is after a college experience that is broader and centred on student life and/or developing a network.

There is no correct answer, but as you choose the right college for you, a clearer understanding of your objective will help guide you. What are your wants and needs? Hopefully, you identified these before you began your college search, but if not, take time to articulate for yourself what is negotiable and non-negotiable about what you are looking for in a school.

  You also might not have clarity on an objective which could be informative in itself and perhaps your college choice should be a school with a wider range of opportunities.

6.   PLACEMENTS

One of the most important aspects of any institute is the placements that they provide after one graduate from there.

Placements define the quality of content that the institute will provide you with better studies, more renowned companies will be there for the placements. Also, it is important to see that the information provided by the institute is authentic, so make sure that whatever you find has/is a genuine source of information.

7.   RANKINGS OF THE INSTITUTES

One of the most common mistakes that students make is relying on the commercial rankings which a number of websites and magazines release every year to lure the students in to join their college.

Most of the times these rankings are paid and magazines, newspapers and even websites who display these rankings earn a lot from these advertisements. Remember that rankings other than government-certified ones are completely baseless and not reliable.

So, do yourself a favour and leave aside the ranking list, instead believe in the reviews that the students who are already studying there or have graduated from there provide. This might help save you from a big disastrous decision.

After your thorough research and networking, here are some potential categories to rate:

• Affordability (financial aid, additional fees, student debt averages, repayment rates)

• Outcomes (job placement, internships, graduate school acceptance, graduation rates)

• Support (academic accommodations, tutoring, faculty advising, mental health counselling)

• Engagement (research, school spirit, student activism, clubs and activities, academic societies)

• Community Life (location, event programming, safety, food, belonging)

• Equity (diversity, inclusion, campus policies, level of discourse)

• Gut (a general rating of what your heart is telling you)