In the college search, vibes will only get you so far.

I grew up in a community that valued education, with two highly educated parents. Even so, when it came to choosing a college, I did not have enough information at my disposal. 

I had learned from my community that high selectivity was a good thing. Whenever someone from my synagogue got into an Ivy League, it was huge news. 

I had also learned that there were schools with bad reputations, the worst of which became punchlines. I grew up in New Jersey, and Fairleigh Dickinson University caught a lot of flak in my household.

When I was in high school, my parents bought me a copy of Fiske Guide to Colleges. I read it religiously. 

They don’t structure it like this anymore, but at the time, there were four numerical rankings at the top of the report for each school. One of them was selectivity. 

The scale went from 60 to 99, with 99 being most selective. For each school that I was interested in, I memorized the selectivity ranking. The higher, the better.

My mother took me to visit a bunch of colleges, all with high selectivity rankings, but I did not receive any further instruction as to what I should actually look for. It ended up coming down to vibes.

Vibes are important and should be part of a student's criteria. They should go to a college where the environment feels aligned with their personality and preferences. But other factors are important too.

I based my college decision on selectivity and vibes. It worked out, more or less, but I wish I’d had the tools to make a sounder decision.

When I work with students, I find it gratifying to help them learn all the information I didn’t have. My students end up knowing so much more than I did when I was in their position.

My students and I talk about selectivity, and we talk about vibes, but we also seek information about various other factors including academic offerings and location.

We still use Fiske Guide to Colleges, but I give students numerous additional resources to help them learn about the schools they’re interested in.

When they work with me, students and parents feel well-informed, prepared, and supported. I provide structure for a process that can feel unwieldy and difficult to wrap your head around.

Amanda, a parent of one of my students, said: “Rachel's knowledge of the entire college process, from deadlines to documents to nuances of applications, gave us a roadmap that took the fear and tears out of the process. The clarity she provided, the resources she shared, and the personal care she invested in my child’s success have set us on a path we never could have navigated alone.”

Amanda was a comprehensive college counseling client. I also offer an essay coaching service. 

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