4 step guide to choose the perfect college

When it comes to choosing the right college and picking the subjects best for you, students get confused. And why won’t they be? Your choice of college is one of the crucial decisions you will ever make in life.

• Should you go with what you like or that pays well?
• Will I be able to sustain myself for three years in a field that I am curious about?
• Is a course that ensures immediate employment opportunities better than the one that doesn’t?

Such questions are hard. But their answers don’t have to be so if you can think along the lines of your strengths and interests. Additionally, by putting yourself out there in the workplace and reflecting on your vision and goals, doubts seem to go away. Let’s have a closer look at how should you decide about your higher education and prepare for your future career.

Engage in healthy communication

Should you amplify your strengths or eradicate your weakness? Well, you have to take care of both. When learning a new skill or subject, one takes action and gets a result. Around action and result lies feedback that can either be positive or negative. The former makes one focus on their strengths and weaknesses. It is wise to use a mix of both but if you have to go with only one, stick to positive reinforcement. If your child is excelling in Maths but average at Social Science, allow her to bring out their best in what they are naturally good at. But how will my child learn to face challenges in and after college, you may ask. This is where the circle of competence and personal values and goals come into the picture.

Seek a glimpse of your future career today

Do you know why it is wise to have a glimpse at your future career today? Let’s say you are interested in computer sciences and aim to become a software engineer. Find people around you who are in that profession and ask them what their work-life is like. Sometimes, your ideal career might look lucrative on the outside, but not what the reality is. It is always wise to see in the present what you envision to become in the future. Moreover, you can direct your curiosity to find internships and volunteering opportunities in places that you would like to work at. This will allow you to follow your passion on a smaller scale and reveal what skills you have to build in the coming years. Such experiences are useful, both personally and professionally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcMyX5R4dzs&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

In One Week Job Project, author Sean Aiken did one job every week for a year and made a documentary of his experiences. You don’t have to take such a big leap but focus on placing yourself in the workplace and see what are your strengths and weaknesses. And later figure out a college that perfectly fits your goals.

The college you join and the courses you pursue higher education in are big deciding factors for the direction of your life. Choosing the right college is a decision that needs to be carefully thought after keeping in mind your interests and strengths during the time of admission. Plus, you also need to be aware of your short and long term goals and have open communication at home and school. At Beyond 8, we Dream Map with our learners to figure out all these things. That’s because there are no perfect subjects or colleges but the ones that align with your vision and curiosity. For more details on how you can solve the riddle of college admissions, do not hesitate to drop us an email at contact@beyond8.in