Like each student, every college has a unique spirit or character. As your family begins the college search, it will be important to focus on finding the right match for your teen's needs and personality, your family's goals for education, and the offerings of prospective schools.

Before you begin a serious search, discuss as a family what you want in a Christian college. Use the Campus Life Priority Worksheet on page 28 to think about the qualities that are most important to you and your student. For example, what size school might your child like best? What kind of location would work best? Would a Bible college be the best place to foster his or her goals, or a liberal arts college?

Preferences, personalities and interests usually determine what type of school is best for particular students. Make sure your student's top-choice colleges offer the courses of study that most interest him or her, but realize that many students change majors at least once before graduation.

Student-to-faculty ratios may be important to you. The ideal college has a low student/faculty ratio and a high percentage of faculty members who have earned top degrees in their fields. In the best colleges, professors teach even freshmen in reasonably small classes.

Campus activities and the proximity of colleges to towns, cities and recreational areas are other factors to weigh in your decision. Students need convenient places to buy reasonably priced toiletries, clothing and supplies. They also need places to go off-campus to spend their free time.

For on-campus activities, are freshmen allowed to participate in meaningful ways? Find out which intercollegiate and intramural sports the college has. Are there facilities for swimming, tennis, volleyball and working out? If a college and its community don't have all your student's favorite activities, ask your child which ones he or she is willing to live without during the school year.

Investigate the possibilities for internships and foreign study. Most colleges provide opportunities for service in the local community and through mission or service trips. Ask about the institution's relationship with the local neighborhood. How do the people in town view the college? Are students welcomed into their homes and churches? Ask whether the colleges conduct regular chapels and how often. Find out what sorts of speakers they invite and whether student attendance is required.

The students on campus are important to consider, too. How many are there, and what is their average age? What is the male/female ratio? How do most students compare academically with yours? Compare your student's SAT/ACT scores with those of average freshmen in each college. This information is readily available in college guides. Ideally, your student will be challenged but not overwhelmed.

As you consider the costs of different schools, start with some fairly straightforward information, like costs of tuition and room and board. Also, ask a financial aid officer to estimate the cost of textbooks. Most of these costs will increase each year. Ask your student to call the financial aid office to find out which school-based scholarships and other financial aid he or she might qualify for. Then determine whether the amounts are high enough to make the school affordable. Also check on the availability of part-time jobs, either on campus or in the surrounding area.

Factor in costs for transportation and supplies as well. For colleges that are far from home, determine your student's travel options and the average prices for transportation to and from school. Don't forget to include holidays and mid-semester breaks. Estimate costs for bedding and supplies, and incidentals like storage space, which can keep you from needing to ship items back and forth.

When it comes to costs, there are other issues to consider. For example, make sure the degree a school confers is worth its price. Ask admissions counselors and career counselors at the career development office questions like this: How successful are the school's graduates? What is the likelihood that your students will earn enough money to repay college loans and still be able to support themselves? How many of the graduates are working within their fields of study?

Find out if the college is accredited, and consider how that may affect your student's prospects for employment or graduate school. If a college's graduates readily find employment and acceptance to graduate schools, the accreditation issue may not be a problem. The key is to know what you are paying for.

Consider the cost of time. For example: If students regularly have trouble getting into the classes they need to graduate on time, extra semesters can be costly. Ask colleges what they do to ensure that students who stay on track will be able to earn their diploma in four years. For instance, if classes are full or unavailable, do they offer tutorials or open extra classes for juniors and seniors to complete their requirements?

Parents and students should also think about the cost of taking out loans. Some students work to save for college or choose less expensive schools that their families can afford. The majority of college students, however, take out college loans to help finance their educations.

Decide ahead of time whether or not your family is willing to carry large loans. Some questions to help you think it through: For your family, are loans a necessity or a convenience? Based on your student's goals and projected earning potential, would it be wise to go into debt for a college education? Would your teen be investing in the future or mortgaging it? (A good math exercise would be to have your high-schooler figure the cost of a college education, including interest on loans.)

Wise Solomon wrote that the borrower is a servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7b). Is your student willing to be indentured to lenders for several years after college? How much debt can they willingly carry? Ask the financial aid office about the average indebtedness of graduates at each college you are considering. If the average indebtedness of graduates is extremely high, the school should have an extremely high percentage of graduates placed in high-paying jobs or accepted to graduate schools shortly after graduation.

Even if your student's financial prospects look good, make sure your son or daughter understands that no college major is a guarantee of a successful financial future. If you decide to take out loans, do so carefully.

Get ready for a lot of mail! After students take standardized tests like the PSAT, ACT and SAT, they will be inundated with college literature. If you have discussed what's important to your family in a college, it will be easy to eliminate most of these colleges. As college information comes in, decide what to keep and file it so that it's easily accessible.

Mailings will eventually stop, so make sure your student contacts the colleges that interest him or her. Make sure your teen requests current literature, videos and especially catalogs if seriously considering a school. Also, do your own research online, at the library or by getting information from your child's guidance counselor. Make sure your child is actively involved in this process—work together to balance his or her need to make this decision for themselves and your need to guide and provide input.

As you read college literature, look carefully for insights into the mindset and worldview of students and faculty. Think about the educational values that are important to you, and talk to admissions officers or professors in departments like Bible or philosophy if you have questions. Discern whether a particular college plans to guide students or to remold them. Will they tell students what to think or challenge them to reason for themselves? Many colleges will reinforce good values and help students to mature in their convictions while expanding their knowledge and understanding of the world.

At many Christian colleges, students and/or faculty members are required to sign and adhere to a statement of faith or a lifestyle statement. If this is the case at schools where your students apply, ask for a copy of the statement.

Catalogs are a great source of information beyond the details in the viewbook. Here you and your student will find information about admissions requirements, academic programs, individual courses, financial aid, expenses and faculty. Read faculty profiles. Are their degrees from reputable institutions? If your student wants to work with researchers, find out whether professors are involved in interesting research and whether undergraduate students can actively participate.

Request a copy of the student handbook to find out the rules and the consequences for breaking them. What is the college's position on alcohol, smoking, and other drugs? Are there rules about dating, public displays of affection, premarital sex and cohabitation? Is there a curfew? Also, ask for statistics on campus crime and obtain information on the procedures that the college employs to ensure campus safety.

Student newspapers are another good source of information about a campus. It might even be worthwhile to subscribe to newspapers at colleges that are high on your student's list. Doing so will give you a sense of the events and issues that are important to students on that campus.

Networking with other parents and students can save time and money in your college search. Through your school, church friends or your student's youth group, find others who are going through the college selection process and ask their impressions of the colleges they've visited. Sharing information can help you and your family, and allow you to develop friendships with other families in the same stage of life.

It's also important to get a sense of the campus atmosphere, the general character of the student body and the rapport students have with their professors. Campus visits are essential, so don't skip this important step in the college search process. Even if it means finding extra time or money, the investment is worth it.

Although schools usually have special weekends with planned activities for prospective students, try to go when classes are in session. Plan to stay for at least two days if you can. Make arrangements at least one month in advance for your college visits. That will give admissions departments enough notice to provide you with information and to accommodate your student in a dorm. Staying at least one night in a dormitory and eating meals in the cafeteria will be more enlightening for your son or daughter than staying with you in a hotel. This will give them a chance to get a real feel for campus life.

Most colleges provide housing and some meals for prospective students who visit. (There is usually a small charge for the special weekends mentioned above.) Parents generally stay in hotels or campus facilities for a fee.

Sit down with students in the cafeteria, and if you get the chance, ask questions about classes, professors, social activities or other things that are important to your student. Ask students what they like and don't like, and why. Find out why they chose the school and whether it fulfilled their expectations. Ask them about ways they think they have grown or changed since beginning college.

While on campus, you and your student should attend several different classes (separately, if possible), taking notes from the lectures. Observe professors and students carefully in class. Notice how well the profs respond to questions. How enthusiastic are the students? Ask questions after classes. When you have time, or after you return home, compare notes and observations.

Before your visit, arrange an appointment to talk with a professor in your student's major department, and for athletically inclined students, with a coach. Music majors may be able to arrange scholarship auditions during their visits as well.

If possible, attend a sports event or music concert, and sit in on a club meeting. If there is a fine arts performance, attend it. Do everything you can to immerse yourself in the life of the campus.

During your visit, try to get a sense of how members of the campus community relate to one another. What are the male/female relationships like on campus? Do the faculty members take a sincere interest in students' ideas and questions? Do they have friendships with students outside of the classroom? Is there a sense of belonging and school loyalty? Visit the bookstore and thumb through a few textbooks, especially for classes like philosophy, science and literature. If the president of the college has written a book, buy it or note the title and read it after you return home. Pick up or read an issue or two of the student newspaper and any other student publications.

Take lots of notes about everything that you might need to remember later. As you visit different campuses, your memory may blur and they all start to look alike! Consider taking pictures of a dorm room, a classroom, the cafeteria and a few other spots on campus as memory aids. After each visit, students should write to thank the college admissions department, the student ambassador, and any staff or faculty with whom they had appointments. They should do this as soon as they return home while their memory is fresh. Better yet, take some note cards with preaddressed envelopes for admissions departments and blank envelopes for other notes. Write the notes immediately and mail them the day you leave each campus. Then you will be sure not to forget.

Having completed all this research, your student will most likely know where he or she wants to apply. If still unsure, have your teen make a list of pros and cons for each college and then compare them.

With that first phase of the college process complete, your student can move on to the next big adventure: filling out applications!

Jeanne Gowen Dennis is a writer and speaker who lives in Colorado. Her website is www.jeannedennis.com.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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