How to Choose the "Best" School and Understanding "Fit"

Every student wants to get admitted to the “best” school possible, but what do we mean by “best” school possible? If you’re like any of the many parents I’ve worked with around the world, especially those from Asia, your instinctual answer is probably drawn from a school’s national or international rankings based on any number of subjective rankings that are released every year by QS Symmonds, US News, ARWU etc. While this is an obvious place to start and not entirely unimportant; international rankings past a certain point become an exercise in branding and marketing with the unfortunate consequence of making university admissions a hyper competitive race to the bottom. So, while international rankings can be a place to start; it is a very blunt and inaccurate instrument in determining where to spend 4 years of one’s intellectual life. A responsible education consultant should focus on helping students get into the school that is the best “fit”. Naturally this leads us to the next obvious question. What exactly is fit?

Fit as a concept in choosing a school exists on a spectrum depending on the education system one grew up in. In the USA, fit plays a very important role as a function of the holistic admissions criteria in US universities. On the opposite end of the spectrum such as in Asia (China, Japan, Korea, etc) where test scores determine everything in university admissions, then the concept of fit has almost no influence in choosing a school to attend. Nonetheless, for any student planning to study abroad, it is very important that one considers “fit” as much as international rankings, for while rankings always take the spotlight in measuring the prestige of a university; it is fit that has the stronger impact on whether a student is successful in their post secondary education. Fit may seem like a subjective concept but it doesn’t have to be and below I break down how I examine “fit” to match students to prospective universities. I divide “fit” into 3 categories in order of importance: Financial, Academic and Geographical.

Financial Fit:

This is the most important and necessary to understand so it is listed first. It goes without saying that you can’t attend a school you can’t afford or at least you should not go to a school that will put your family and your own future into financial hardship. Tuition is not cheap in the USA and this is especially true for international students who pay anywhere from 2-3 times what domestic students pay. Education debt is a serious problem in the USA and is estimated to be around $1.75 trillion dollars. In fact many students continue to pay off student debt even a decade after graduating. It is great to go to a dream school but if you’re stuck with student debt that you will struggle to pay off, then it will become a huge drag on your future. It is very important to find the school that fits your financial situation based on household income, available scholarships, potential earning power after graduation etc. even if said school may not be your first choice school. Of course for the minority who are super wealthy, this is a non issue but for everyone else, it would be irresponsible not to put this as a factor to consider when choosing an appropriate school to attend.

Academic Fit:

Most international students probably do not give much thought to what this means, if they give a thought to the subject at all. For most international students, this is very much understandable because most universities are set up in a straightforward way: you go to class, write your exams, get your degree. The only thing most worry about is choosing a major and all else is peripheral. In America, universities have different academic, cultural and social mandates, as such, there are differences to how students are admitted and how they are educated once admitted. For example, Columbia University is famous for having a rigid structure based on its “Core Curriculum” concept which forces students to take a specified breadth of courses to satisfy graduation requirements regardless of the major chosen; this is in direct opposition to Brown University which advocates the “Open Curriculum” concept and allows students a great degree of freedom in designing their own curriculum to further develop their personal interests. Both schools provide a rigorous and world class education but International rankings place Columbia higher than Brown. The Times Higher Education for example for the year of 2022 has Columbia at 11th in the world and Brown at 60th. If based on rankings alone, Columbia would be the obvious choice for all students but as stated in the above, the education philosophy of both universities are diametrically opposed and so the student that flourishes at Columbia will be a very different student to the one that flourishes at Brown. Success in university is as much about the means as it is the end and so it is important for education consultants to find the school with the best academic fit for their clients.

Geographical Fit:

I’ve listed this as the least important factor to consider though for others it could very well be the factor that tips the scales in choosing a school to attend. Do you need to have a mixed diet of bi bim bap, wonton noodles and california rolls every night to keep your GPA at a respectable level? Then probably choosing a school in Toronto or Los Angeles might be more promising than Rhode Island. Geographical fit is very much personal and subjective but should not be overlooked. No one’s here to judge but yourself because in the end you’re the one going to school not anyone else. For example, a student from Southern China who is extremely adverse to cold weather might prefer to spend 4 years in California or Texas as opposed to Northeastern US or Canada where the climate is much colder in winters. Indeed, some studies show weather has a correlation with a person’s motivation and mood. If you are a student that is easily distracted by the glitz and glamour of big metropolitan cities, maybe a college town isolated away from cities such as New York or Los Angeles is the key to better grades. Conversely, maybe you thrive on the hustle and bustle of major cities. Whichever the case maybe, you are committing yourself to a place for 4 years; the more you like where you are, the more likely you are going to find success. Geography shouldn’t be the primary consideration in choosing a school but even small things add up to big differences over time and so one ignores geographical fit at their own peril.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what I think education consultants should look at when helping their clients but it covers the major bases. It is important to engage parents and students on the idea of fit and and away from the obsession with international rankings. As I always tell my clients, access plus fit equals success. Mission Success Our Mission is Your Success