“…the right fit.” This seemed to be defined as El Dorado in college form, where everyone would share this young person’s worldview and interests—and the food was great.

-Mark Moody, “Don Quixote, College Choice, and the Myth of Fit”

I read a piece on the MIT admissions page yesterday that I thought would be a perfect foil to talk about where we are in the college admissions cycle. My goal was to sit down on Friday night and put some thoughts on paper. Then I stumbled on a piece by Mark Moody on “college fit,” from 2011. I knew I needed to put the MIT blog post on the back burner to share these sage words that still ring true, seven years later.

 The reality is that “fit” is elusive. This is not Hogwarts and there is no Sorting Hat to tell a teenager where they belong for the next four years. No one steps on to a college campus and has physical lights and bells go off that indicate that they have found their collegiate home. Finding a good fit takes time, patience, legwork, and honest self-reflection.

Enjoy the article below and stay tuned for the piece on MIT and the admissions cycle.

https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/don-quixote-college-choice-and-the-myth-of-fit/28781