If you’re a rising senior, you’re probably receiving lots of mail from colleges, both snail mail and e-mail. All of your friends, advisors, parents and others have an opinion about what colleges you should be looking at. It seems like every time you get a grip on that college list, it explodes with more and more names that you should consider and research. And, the more that list grows, the more lost you get in the sea of statistics and used car sales pitches. So, how do you get over the feeling of being overwhelmed by this ever-growing list?
In my position, I do a lot of writing, reading and research. Some days my brain gets overwhelmed by the amount of information I’m asking it to process…call it Writer’s Block (or “Reading Block” or “Research Block”). My mind begins to wander and before long, I realize I’ve read the same sentence six times and ten minutes has passed. The harder I try to concentrate on what I’m doing, the less productive I am. How do I overcome this? I do something else and come back to it later.
So, if you’re struggling through the wealth of information available to you in your college search, here are a few ideas of how to get out of that rut.
1) Put away the brochures and websites for a few days and start thinking about what qualities you want out of a college. These qualities don’t have to be limited to the school. Think about the location, the proximity to other interests of yours, extracurricular opportunities, jobs available in the area, distance from your family, quality of the gym, distance to the nearest Starbucks, etc. Although these qualities may not appear to directly impact your formal education, they will be a big part of your life and happiness in school, which ultimately affects your quality of learning. Once you have a list of qualities you want, see which schools have all or most of those qualities.
2) Do something else and come back. Sometimes, you will be more effective by taking a break than trying to push through. For me, a tough workout at the gym relieves stress and allows me to clear my head. My productivity after taking the break more than makes up for the slow progress I would have made without it.
3) Go research colleges somewhere else. When I was writing my graduate thesis, I struggled to write in my house due to all the distractions. Strangely, it was simply too quiet. I ended up writing the bulk of my thesis at the local Panera. Somehow, the noise and change of scenery allowed me to concentrate better than I could by myself. If you have a laptop, head to your local wifi hotspot and get away from those distractions at home. If you don’t have a laptop, your local library might be a good place to visit.
4) Have a college search party. Most of your friends are probably looking at colleges as well. So, have a get together and share your research. Make it fun!
Leave a comment