WHAT The?????? Senior High School Dilemma
Spring has arrived, and so have acceptance and rejection decisions. High school seniors are excited, disappointed, or distraught about their news. Now comes the next big decision: Where to go to college?
If you have only one offer, then the decision is easy: Go. But if you are lucky enough to be deciding between multiple offers, then the decision is more complicated.
There is no shortage of rankings, reports, and relatives telling you what to do. U.S. News & World Report, for example, purports to know which school is number 39 and which is number 42. Meanwhile, your Uncle John says that education is always what you make of it, so you should just go to the school that offers the best financial aid package. While there are elements of truth to these sorts of extreme views, they are based on narrow insights into what you will gain from a college education. Our advice: You should ignore them all – at least until you have figured out what you want to get out of college.
This is a big decision. Luckily, economics research has some useful insights about the returns on an investment in a college education:
School is about learning – Most four-year college students spend roughly 1,680 hours (70 full 24-hour days) in the classroom and many more studying. You should think about professor quality, course offerings, class size, and attendance norms. Will you learn? Will you learn things that matter? How broad an education will you receive? (How broad an education do you want?)
School is about your peers -- While professors and classes are certainly important, your classmates are central to the college experience; they will shape your learning and the way you think about life. A study by Dartmouth’s Bruce Sacerdote showed that freshmen roommates at Dartmouth – who were randomly assigned to each other – ended up joining similar clubs, taking similar classes, and even receiving similar grades. Research by Kelly Shue, now at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, shows that students who were randomly assigned to the same “section” (group of students) at Harvard Business School made managerial decisions similar to those of their classmates decades after receiving their MBAs. Thus, when deciding where to go to college, you should do your best to meet lots of students before signing on the dotted line. Are these people you want to learn alongside? Are they people you would like to have involved in your personal and professional life?
School is about signaling – A college degree offers what economists call a "signal" of your ability. By having a degree, you will show future employers that you are bright and capable. Your choices of school and major will determine the signal your degree sends. And do not forget: A school's "rank" may matter for signaling, but so does your relative rank within your program of study. Will the school you choose help you excel?
School is about defining yourself – Which do you enjoy more: improvisational theater or broomball? Chances are, you have not tried either option – or even thought about trying them. College is about finding opportunities to discover your own interests and passions, and to better understand yourself – whether deciding between broomball and improv, or engineering and. economics. Which schools will give you the space and motivation to explore and define yourself?
School is about having fun – There are not many chances in life where you get to meet interesting people on a daily basis and live however you want. So you should enjoy it. Where do you want to be for your college years? Which environment feels most “right”? Which has the most energy? We should look forward instead of making things so complicated for us.Senior high school is preparing us for college and employment.
Your choice of college is a complicated decision. While it is great to listen to family and friends (and even pay attention to rankings), it is crucial that you understand your own preferences carefully, so that you can get as much as possible out of your college experience. Good luck and DONT YOU EVER DECIDE FOR WHAT IS EASY TAKE THE RISK BE SUCCESSFUL Michael Luca is an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. Scott Kominers is a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows. Jonathan Smith is an adjunct professor at George Washington University. reference:https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2014/04/22/the-high-school-seniors-dilemma-where-should-i-go-to-college/#2393935852eb
NEVER THINK THAT IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS OBSTACLE,THINK OF IT AS A HUGE STEP TOWARDS SUCCESS.