2008 Woodie Awards
Study plays down 'fit'
Briana Byrd - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Metro
If you're a high-school senior, don't worry so much about which college fits you best - your academic performance will likely be the same wherever you chose to go, a recent study suggests.
The College Board studied different ways in which college performance can be predicted other than through high-school GPA and test scores, according to an article printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The researchers suggested that colleges no longer assume students will do poorly if they attend a school that may not be "fit" for them. This is because the perceptions of high-school students on what colleges are right for them don't have a bearing with how well they perform.
"We recommend coming to campus to see for themselves," said Michael Barron, the UI assistant provost for enrollment services and director of Admissions. "When my two children were looking at schools, when they visited and saw how some of their characteristics played out, they re-evaluated some of their priorities as they gained more experience in seeing places."
In addition to the study, a paper by College Board researcher Krista Madden reported that it didn't matter whether students felt they would be happier at specific schools - the graduation rates didn't change.
Eric Peterson, a guidance counselor at City High, said high-school students are advised to consider different aspects, including possible majors, college selectivity, location, size, cost, whether the school is state or private, extracurricular activities the school offers, and the surrounding community. Although he said that no college meets every criteria, as counselors, they encourage the students to visit different campuses so they can "experience the campus and make judgments as to how it meets their criteria."
Adam Segal, an English major and freshman at the UI, said that when he decided on a college to attend, some of the additional characteristics of the school didn't come into play.
"Coming into the University of Iowa, I wasn't really concerned about whether it fit me," he said. "I just assumed I'd make friends. I'm from Milwaukee, and I knew there'd be differences. I assumed that where there's a good English program, there are people like me."
There are many things that help to determine whether a student will attend a certain school, including social aspects, Barron said.
"All these things come into play, filling in the gaps to create a composite picture of each school to look at what's best for them across all of these characteristics," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
The College Board studied different ways in which college performance can be predicted other than through high-school GPA and test scores, according to an article printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The researchers suggested that colleges no longer assume students will do poorly if they attend a school that may not be "fit" for them. This is because the perceptions of high-school students on what colleges are right for them don't have a bearing with how well they perform.
"We recommend coming to campus to see for themselves," said Michael Barron, the UI assistant provost for enrollment services and director of Admissions. "When my two children were looking at schools, when they visited and saw how some of their characteristics played out, they re-evaluated some of their priorities as they gained more experience in seeing places."
In addition to the study, a paper by College Board researcher Krista Madden reported that it didn't matter whether students felt they would be happier at specific schools - the graduation rates didn't change.
Eric Peterson, a guidance counselor at City High, said high-school students are advised to consider different aspects, including possible majors, college selectivity, location, size, cost, whether the school is state or private, extracurricular activities the school offers, and the surrounding community. Although he said that no college meets every criteria, as counselors, they encourage the students to visit different campuses so they can "experience the campus and make judgments as to how it meets their criteria."
Adam Segal, an English major and freshman at the UI, said that when he decided on a college to attend, some of the additional characteristics of the school didn't come into play.
"Coming into the University of Iowa, I wasn't really concerned about whether it fit me," he said. "I just assumed I'd make friends. I'm from Milwaukee, and I knew there'd be differences. I assumed that where there's a good English program, there are people like me."
There are many things that help to determine whether a student will attend a certain school, including social aspects, Barron said.
"All these things come into play, filling in the gaps to create a composite picture of each school to look at what's best for them across all of these characteristics," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
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