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Comparing Colleges
by J. Timothy Cloyd, President, Hendrix College (AR)
Published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April
17, 2006
Spring is a bustling time on college campuses. In addition to the flurry
of final exams, planning for summer study tours abroad and commencement
exercises, we are in constant communication with prospective students
and their parents who are struggling to make one of the most important
decisions of their lives.
Perhaps the most common question I hear at this time of year, and often
throughout the year, is from high school juniors and seniors and their
parents: "How do I choose the right college?" That's not an
easy question. Today's students can choose from more than 3,000 colleges
and universities in the United States—large and small, public and
private, with a wide range of academic and social experiences.
When Hendrix College at Conway was included recently in the 2007 edition
of The Princeton Review's "America's Best Value Colleges,"
someone asked me how value is determined. Here are characteristics I encourage
families to compare that distinguish value.
Student engagement—How much reading and writing is required of students
at the college? Do undergraduate students work with faculty members on
significant scholarly tasks such as research projects? How do students
spend their time inside and outside the classroom?
At Hendrix, we have a program called Your Hendrix Odyssey that requires
students to complete at least three experiential learning projects before
graduation. Students embark on educational adventures, such as research,
study abroad, artistic creativity and service projects. Hendrix and many
other colleges participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement,
which measures student participation in programs like Odyssey that emphasize
active learning. Ask each college for its NSSE survey results.
Amount of time faculty spend with students—Are undergraduate courses
taught by faculty or graduate students? Are classes in small seminar rooms
or large lecture halls? How many courses are taught by tenured professors
with doctorates? What is the student/faculty ratio for all first-year
students (not just ratios in specific colleges, such as honors colleges)?
At liberal arts colleges across the country, including Hendrix, there
are no teaching assistants. The first priority of the faculty is to teach,
not to do research. Our student/faculty ratio is 11-to-1.
Visit schools you are considering and ask students if they like their
classes and know their professors. Find out if professors are accessible
and interact with students outside of class. Observe freshmen classes.
Affordability—Look beyond the "sticker price" of a college.
Most students don't pay the sticker price. Visit with the admission office
to discover what grants, scholarships and financial aid packages are available.
More than 95 percent of Hendrix students receive some form of merit or
need-based assistance. Many institutions, including Hendrix, now provide
assistance to middle-income families that previously had difficulty receiving
financial help.
Ask what percentage of students earns a degree within four years. Some
colleges promote retention and graduate rates for elite programs; ask
for these rates of all students. Fewer college students today complete
college in four years than a decade ago, and this is particularly true
at public colleges.
Students who earn bachelor's degrees in four years avoid additional tuition
and begin their careers earlier. While private institutions enroll fewer
than one-quarter of all undergraduates, they account for nearly one-third
of students receiving undergraduate degrees.
Quality of learning-Examining the quality of learning is difficult. Ask
students from colleges under consideration if their college experiences
are transforming their lives. Have they gained better analytical and creative
thinking skills? Have they become better writers? Do they care more about
the world and global issues? Many of our students tell us they chose Hendrix
because of our inclusion in Loren Pope's book, "Colleges That Change
Lives." A former education editor at The New York Times,
Pope profiles 40 colleges with a "proven ability to develop potential,
values, initiatives and risk-taking in a wide range of students."
This book is a must-read for collegebound students.
Track record—Ask colleges what percentages and numbers of their
graduates are accepted to graduate and professional schools. How many
graduates are accepted annually into medical school and does the college
endorse every student who wants to apply to medical school? Seventy percent
of all Hendrix graduates enter post-graduate school within a year after
graduation. Ten percent enter medical school.
Finding the right college, overwhelming at times, is no different from
finding the right church or the right community. Each family must evaluate
colleges to determine if they will meet the student's individual needs,
interests, strengths and goals. Your decision should be based on which
college will provide the best experiences for your next four years of
life.
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