The Good College
If you are beginning the journey to college, you will find a lot of misleading information on what is a “Good College.” After visiting over 300 schools over more than a decade and profiling many more virtually during a pandemic, I know what a good college is not.
- It is not the school that ranks highest in a magazine study.
- It is not the school that denies admission to the vast majority who apply.
- It is not the school whose graduates earn the highest salaries right out of the gate, or even five or ten years later.
- Nor is it the school whose entering freshmen have the highest test scores.
I wrote The Good College to challenge “conventional wisdom” about admissions, value and costs, academics and college reputations and rankings, and help families address critical campus issues, to set “musts and wants,” and make their own lists and choices. There’s a lot of learn about such practices as merit aid, honors colleges, “return on investment,” “cost of attendance” and more, to learn why colleges “do what they do.” After reading The Good College, you will discover that many best practices in higher education are not limited to the most selective schools. A Good College does right by the students it attracts, even if they did not have “perfect” grades and test scores in high school.
I started my website, Educated Quest to profile colleges in a different way to address “Seven C’s” including Competition, Completion, Costs, Curricula, Community, Comforts and Connections. The very first school I profiled was my alma mater, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I was reluctant to go to Rutgers when I was a high school senior. It was too close to home and “not as big a name” as other schools that interested me. I had to graduate, attend another university for graduate school, and be in the workforce for a few years to really appreciate my Rutgers education. Now, I want families to learn how a Good College prepares students for life after graduation before they take their first steps on campus for their freshman year.
This is my second edition of The Good College. I’ve not only updated facts and numbers for you, I also wrote nine new chapters based on events that happened over successive admissions cycles since the first edition came out. I also hope that readers will share their experiences with me as they try to find their Good College.
