Tips and Strategies for answering the “Why This College?” Question

When responding to the “Why this college?” question, it is important to convey that you are not just applying for the sake of applying – they want students that want them.

Colleges care about “yield,” which is the percentage of students that actually choose to attend the college, out of the total number who are offered admission. Yields vary greatly between colleges. So, when admission officers are evaluating your application, they look for signs of interest. They want an indication that you will accept the offer if you get admitted.

• Explain why the college is a good fit for you; primarily regarding their academic offerings and secondarily about the campus culture, clubs and opportunities
• Be specific. Show your knowledge of the college. Talk about quirky college rituals and traditions, name college courses and professors. Show them you’ve done your homework and know a lot about the college; courses, activities, study abroad, majors, internships, etc.
• Reference your campus visit if you’ve made one. Describe how you felt, who you met and what you learned, again, specifically about what you learned that helped you determine that this school is a good fit for you and your interests.
• Show how you can contribute to the college campus and the student body. So instead of saying, “I want to join X club,” write, “I hope to contribute my experience on the debate team to X club.”
• Focus on why the college stands out to you and how you can stand out in their college community.
• After identifying courses that pique your interest, jot down some words as to why you would be excited to take them. Find out the names of the professors and see if they’ve written any books or articles of interest. I suggest that my students research the faculty in the major of interest and then go to the LinkedIn profiles of a few professors to find out about their backgrounds, books and articles written.
• Write a little about what you do in your spare time; i.e., what clubs and organizations would you plan to join. How are these clubs related to what you did in high school?
• Talk about your involvement in community service. Research service opportunities at the college and discuss what you’d like to continue doing or get involved in.
• Incorporate the “Why Me?” into your essay: what will you bring to their college campus? How will you enrich the college community?
• Focus on what experiences, interests, talents, skills and enthusiasm you bring with you.
• In essence, explain why selecting YOU will help them.

“Why this college?” Worksheet

Name of college:

Academic Fit

What subjects are you interested in? Why?

Identify two majors/minors and an upper-level course in each major. Write why you are interested in taking these courses. Do a little digging on the professor to see if he/she has written any interesting articles, spoken at any conferences, etc.

Identify one minor and an upper-level course. Write why you are interested in taking this course.

Check and see if the college has any certificate programs, Centers, or interdisciplinary programs that are appealing to you.

Research the study abroad options that interest you and write where you’d like to go and why?

Social Fit

What will you do with your free time?

Check out the list of Student Activities/Clubs/Organizations – pick two or three that interest you, why?

Do you plan on continuing any of the activities you’ve done in high school in college? If so, which ones and why?

Research the community service opportunities. What activities would you do? Why?

How will you enrich the college community? What will you contribute?

What excites you the most about attending this college?

Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@bierercollegeconsulting.com; www.bierercollegeconsulting.com

3 Tips for Navigating Your College Major – Free Webinar

The College Spy is offering a new webinar on October 17th. It’s called, 3 Tips for Navigating Your College Major.

There are so many benefits to knowing your major before you enter college! Making the decision early can save you time and money. Additionally, teens who know what they want to study in college have an easier time finding a college that suits them well, are less likely to drop out, and feel more confident with the entire college process. In this webinar, you will learn how to help your teen choose a college major.

Topics include:

• How to bring new ideas to the table

• Specific tools and strategies to narrow the options

• How to build confidence in making the right decision

• Identifying relevant skills to assist in making the right decision

Here’s the link to register. It’s completely free. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8717284913723/WN_Rh5nAlOeQS2r9hR8nBmA2Q

College List Worksheet

Are any of your students trying to organize their thoughts on which College they would like to attend? Going Merry has created a nice worksheet your students can use to include information about each College on their target list and make quick comparisons. It’s a nice templated they can use to store all the information they gather in one place. Here is a link and it is available free to download: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BKmnpGS0-w2_SivV7ikUsGqkOR1c7z_DDOGb-h7BX78/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Christian College Fairs

If you have any students interested in attending a Christian college, there are more than 125 fairs scheduled this fall where they can meet many representatives from these institutions and find out about those schools. The dates are listed here: https://www.findyourchristiancollege.com/college-fairs and the search function allows searches by state.

These Colleges Have Closed Since 2020

Education Dive took a look at the trends in college consolidation since 2016. They analyzed mergers, acquisitions and other consolidation since 2016 at public and private institutions here.

Here is a summary they provided (also see their post linked above for a US map showing these as well as further information on each specific college) (Date shown is the date of the initial announcement):

9/16/24 – Ursuline College merging with Gannon University and combining under the Gannon name.

8/14/24 – Peirce College will close in Summer 2025.

8/1/24 – Mount Mercy University will be acquired by St. Ambrose University Summer 2025 and being operating as Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University at that time.

7/1/24 – Clarks Summit University ceased classes in August 2024 due to financial issues.

6/25/24 – Eastern Nazarene College will discontinue operations at the end of the 2024/2025 year.

6/18/24 – Union Institute and University ceased operations in June 2024.

6/10/24 – Pittsburgh Technical College ceased operations in August 2024.

6/2/24 – University of the Arts ceased operations after 150 years in June 2024 due to financial issues.

5/29/24 – Marymount University of New York will be absorbed by Northeastern University after regulatory approval by the state.

5/23/24 – Delaware College of Art & Design closed Fall 2024 due to financial issues.

5/16/24 – Oregon College of Oriental Design closed September 30, 2024, due to pending problems from the pandemic which created financial hardship.

4/29/24 – Wells College closed due to financial issues .

4/25/24 – University of Saint Katherine closed due to financial issues.

4/9/24 – Goddard College closed after 86 years due to financial hardship.

3/27/24 – Oak Point University closed due to years of declining enrollment.

3/26/24 – Birmingham-Southern College closed May 31st due to financial hardship.

3/18/24 – Bluffton University is merging with the University of Findlay.

3/11/24 -Fontbonne University will close after the Summer 2025 term.

2/29/24 – Notre Dame College closed at the end of the Spring 2024 semester and cited declining enrollment and costs.

2/27/24 – Cambridge College was acquired by Bay Path University – June 2024.

12/1/23 – The College of Saint Rose closed in May 2024 after a century due to financial stress.

11/10/23 – Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts closed at the end of the Spring 2024 semester due to declining enrollment.

11/7/23 – Multnomah University became of campus of Jessup University in May 2024 due to financial issues.

10/26/23 – Maryland University of Integrative Health was acquired by Notre Dame of Maryland University in 2024.

10/11/23 – Lincoln Christian University closed in May 2024.

8/31/23 – Alderson Broaddus University declared bankruptcy and closed its doors in August 2023.

8/29/23 – Cox College plans to close after the Spring 2025 term.

8/25/23 – Hodges University closed in August 2024 due to ongoing financial issues.

6/30/23 – Alliance University closed in August 2023 due to the pending loss of its accreditation.

6/29/23 – Compass College of Film & Media was acquired by Calvin University in the Fall of 2023.

6/23/23 – Cabrini University closed in June 2024 due to loss of enrollment and financial challenges.

6/13/23 – Salus University merged with Drexel University in the Summer of 2024.

5/15/23 – Medaille University closed in August 2023 due to financial difficulties.

4/25/23 – St. Augustine College was taken over by Lewis University in December 2023.

4/10/23 – Cardinal Stritch University closed in May 2023 after enrollment challenges due to the pandemic.

3/28/23 – Iowa Wesleyan University closed in May 2023 due to financial issues.

3/2/23 – Finlandia University closed in the Summer 2023 after 126 years due to financial issues and declining enrollment.

2/6/23 – B.H. Carroll Theological Institute will become part of East Texas Baptist University in January 2025.

1/18/23 – Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences was acquired by St. Joseph’s University in January 2024.

1/17/23 – Presentation College closed in August 2023.

12/19/22 – Holy Names University closed in May 2023.

12/7/22 – Cazenovia College closed at the end of the Spring 2023 semester.

12/1/22 – Presidio Graduate School was acquired by University of the Redlands in June 2023.

10/26/22 – Bloomfield College was acquired by Montclair State University in June 2023.

9/12/22 – Chatfield College ceased operations on January 1, 2023.

8/12/22 – St. John’s University Staten Island campus ceased operations in the Spring of 2024.

6/29/22 – Wave Leadership College ceased operations on June 29, 2022.

4/22/22 – Marymount California University closed August 31, 2022.

3/29/22 – Lincoln College shut down in May 2022 after 157 years due to declining enrollment.

12/7/21 – Ohio Valley University closed December 15, 2021.

9/14/21 – Mills College was acquired by Northeastern University on July 1, 2022.

9/11/21 – St. Louis Christian College was merged with Central Christian College of the Bible on May 31, 2022.

7/7/21 – Sierra Nevada University merged into the University of Nevada, Reno on July 1, 2022.

6/9/21 – University of the Sciences merged into Saint Joseph’s University on June 1, 2022.

5/6/21 – Judson College closed on July 31, 2021 after 183 years.

3/29/21 – Becker College closed on August 31, 2021 due to financial issues.

1/28/21 – Concordia College of New York closed on August 31, 2021.

9/17/20 – Pacific Northwest College of Art merged into Williamette University on August 31, 2021.

8/28/20 – Ancilla College was acquired by Marian University in July 2021.

7/23/20 – Marlboro College was acquired by Emerson College in the Fall 2020.

7/9/20 – Wesley College was acquired by Delaware State University in July 2021.

5/13/20 – Pine Manor College was acquired by Boston College in 2022.

5/4/20 – Holy Family College closed Summer 2020.

4/21/20 – Urbana University closed Summer 2020.

4/2/20 – Nebraska Christian College closed Spring 2020.

3/27/20 – MacMurray College closed Spring 2020.

2/10/20 – Concordia University – Portland close Spring 2020.

1/28/20 – Walker College of Art merged with Belmont University Fall 2020.

Early Application Options

Ready or not, the college application season has begun. Early or not is often the question.

I know I’m not the only one who feels the college application process seems to be creeping earlier each year.

There used to be uniformity among colleges and their deadlines. For the most part, applications were due in January of the senior year and students were notified in March or April. When colleges recognized that many students ended up choosing to attend the first college that accepted them, they started a domino effect with earlier and earlier notifications, and with that came earlier application deadlines.

Early admissions consists of four distinct programs: Early Action (EA), Early Decision (ED), and because a handful of colleges insist on making the process even more complicated, we now have something with two different names  “Single Choice Early Action,”  (SCEA) and “Restricted Early Action (REA). Many other schools operate with a “Rolling Admissions” process that reviews applications as they come in and they notify students continuously. Many colleges offer multiple admissions programs and students must choose the right one for them.

Early Action (EA):

Early Action is a great option for the well-prepared student who has a solid transcript and has taken the necessary standardized tests. Students apply early and may apply EA to as many colleges as they choose. The biggest benefit for students is that they are notified early; in most cases before January 1.

October 15 is now the first deadline for many colleges and universities. This movement towards earlier deadlines is especially popular in the Southeast with many of the large public flagships universities leading the way.

Early Decision (ED):

Early Decision is binding; students who are accepted must withdraw their other applications and are bound to attend that school. Students are allowed to apply to just one school ED and the deadlines are in early November with notification by mid-December. A newish program is called ED II

There is a lot of folklore surrounding the perceived benefits of applying ED. However, exactly how much more likely a student is to be accepted if they apply ED  rather than Regular Decision (RD) is very variable. In some cases, there is a big jump in acceptance rates and at other colleges, it is not significant at all. Parents and students need to keep in mind that the higher rates of acceptance with ED can often be attributed to a variety of factors. Typically the strongest students are applying early and they would have been accepted in Regular Decision as well. Additionally, athletes, legacies, students whose families have given generously, and students with focused interests are encouraged to apply Early Decision and these factors often skew the numbers.

Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@bierercollegeconsulting.com; www.bierercollegeconsulting.com