Applying for College: the myth of the “Good School”

Under Pressure

This Fall many seniors will be applying for college. Many will be very stressed out about the expectation of getting into a “good college.”  But what is the definition of a so-called “good college?” Newsflash: it’s a myth! There really isn’t one! The college that is truly good for one kid might not be the right fit for another. How teens and their parents perceive the value of institutions of higher learning is highly subjective.

How Do You Do College?

In our practice we see lots of kids who go to prestigious schools and end up miserable and unfulfilled. Conversely, we see kids who started out at community colleges and went to have happy and fulfilling careers. Does your kid feel good about themselves? What gives them a sense of self worth and are they pursuing something they like? When applying for college, these questions are more important to happiness and success in the long run than where they go to school.

Grades aren’t everything, but we get by in this Tips on Teens video:

“My daughter is really stressed out about getting into a so-called ‘good school’ for college. She probably won’t make it into a UC her freshman year. I think she’s feeling a lot of pressure and expectation about it since a lot of her friends will be. How do I support her and how do I know if I’m contributing to the stress she’s feeling?”