Critical Thinking Case Study

As a senior in high school the time has come when people begin to ask big and sometimes overwhelming questions like, “Where are you going to college?” and “What will be your major?” These questions, of course, lead to college visits and decisions. The two colleges that seem to meet my criteria are The University of Findlay and Ohio Dominican University. Both colleges have positive aspects, such as having the major that I am interested in as well as being close to family.  However, The University of Findlay seems to be a better fit than Ohio Dominican because it is closer to home and I am familiar with the campus and I grew up on this campus.

When Ryan hears the word 'college', there is probably a certain school that comes to mind. It could be one of the 'big' schools that he has heard come up in conversation, or it could be a smaller, local school that is more commonly spoken of. Deciding upon a particular college is difficult and is tiring for the mind; and there is no guarantee that a particular choice will be the 'perfect' solution. Choosing the right college may come down to a heuristic approach, which means taking a mental shortcut and relying more upon intuition, best-guess, and

I created an account on College Board in sixth grade. Since then, my list of colleges I want to attend continuously fluctuated from to 20 schools to 5. Right now, it is at seven schools: Boston University, University of Southern California, Northwestern University, Kenyon College, Syracuse University, Vanderbilt University and -- as an in-state something-horrible-happens-and-I-don’t-have-enough-money-to-get-out-of-state back up plan -- University of Arizona. However, when making a decision about schools, I must consider what each of these schools can offer me, both financially and in regards to major choice. In general, my interests lie in theatre and psychology. As of now, the plan is to double major in either of Bachelor of Fine Arts or

During the time of uncertainty that comes with graduating high school, students have two choices: to moan and groan about applying to college, or to accept the challenge and put forth the effort. Humans tend to want to avoid the difficult road, and find the easy way out. Attitude is a choice; how one chooses to spend their time will affect their future.

This model describes the college choice process in terms of four layers of social context influencing the relevant economic decisions. For example, the demographic characteristics of a student’s local area may influence the marketing and recruitment activity of a potential college at the student’s high school, which may influence the availability of knowledgeable counselors or other resources at the high school. All of these contextual factors, combined with the student’s personal characteristics, or habitus, influence the student’s ability to make an informed decision about which college to attend, if

When applying to colleges, many people have different views on the endeavor. Some people think that it is an exciting adventure filled with many turns and twists, and decisions that lead to a different outcome, while others may think that it is a stressful ideal, filled with looming questions, pressure, and “what if’s”. To Alaijah, she believed it was the latter. When I asked her how she felt, she said that it was “A heavy task. However,” She states. “Once you’ve done everything you need to do you feel accomplished.” She feels that way for the simple fact that she knows it will help her accomplish her goal of getting a better future for herself. When I asked if she thought about college a lot, she responded the way most students would respond.

Lexi applied to many school and ended up getting accepting into eight different schools. She ended up attending Elizabethtown for it’s similarity to Hanover. “They encouraged you to be an individual and to be involved in a lot of stuff. Right from the get-go, I was already working on the newspaper and TV station, so it was a lot like Hanover in the sense that it immediately involved you in the community.” However, Lexi ended up transferring from Elizabethtown to Shippensburg. “I went to a private school. I got a huge scholarship, I was a good student, but it still was a ton of money. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the school, the quality of education, or the experience I was having, because all that was very good, it was just so expensive.” Lexi ended up graduating from Shippensburg in just 3 ½ years. “I saved so much money by going there. I wouldn’t say I have regret

He may have gotten a scholarship for basketball but he still didn’t know what he was going to major in for college. He soon started second guessing himself wondering if he was even going to go to college. He asked himself “Is it the right choice?”, “Am I college

Sue Biermert explained to our junior class that night that life is about taking risks and facing problem after problem. It was obviously not getting any easier by applying to colleges. However, this is what we all had to do in order to feel like our parents in thirty years, because our culture has forced us to be part of the system of going to some sort of university. She admitted that many of us would feel rejected, literally and emotionally, in a year from our top choice. Though, one never knows until you take that leap of faith as she quoted a popular Michael Jordan poster in our Chicago-suburban high school that reads: “I miss 100% of all the shots I don’t take.” Biermert reiterated to us that we were there that night to be part of the process, therefore we must be willing to tackle the admissions problem head on and do the best we can.

After graduating from high school, students must choose between going to a public college or a private one. Different colleges prepare students in a variety of ways. Some colleges concentrate on specific fields, while others broaden their selections. There are multiple colleges to choose from. However, different colleges attract different kinds of students. Some students prefer larger class sizes, some prefer a more direct lecture from their professors. Tuition rates might sway a student’s decision when choosing a particular college. With the amount of post-secondary institutions in Florida, students may feel overwhelmed when figuring out which college is the best fit for them. In Miami, Florida, public and private colleges share similarities and differences related to their financial assistance, tuition, acceptance rate, and size class.

As students are a step away from going to college, they are frightful of their path after high school. Once students know their college choices, they are faced with making one final choice of where to attend. Usually, a student’s college decision is made by considering the distance from his/her home as well as if their parents will be able to afford the expenses that their college asks for. Colleges, though, look into the distance from home, SAT score, high school GPA, parents income, parents education, ethnicity, and gender in order for a student to be accepted into their college. All of these factors are important, but the one that tends to have a heavier weight in a student's college

Every year at the same time, thousands of students face the same difficult decision: What college should I attend? Consider two young men both of the highest intellectual capacity and deserving of admission into the nation's most prestigious institution. Steven, high school All American, student body President, and leader of the debate team, hopes to be admitted to the university of his dreams. Christopher, most valuable player in the high school division and aspiring NBA athlete, wants to attend college with students of the same caliber. Steven's parents are both successful neurosurgeons at the local hospital planning to see to it that their son is awarded recognition for his efforts. Christopher's mother, unemployed and unable to care

The college selection process is essentially synonymous with the home selection in numerous ways. At some point in life, you will have to decide if you want to enter the workforce right out of high school, or attend college. Similarly, once you are ready to move out of your parent’s home, you have to decide what type of place you want to live in. To begin the process, you think about what you are looking for: features, location, and price range. Eventually, you choices narrow down your choices and put a deposit down. Each person goes through a similar process in selecting their future school or home.

A big school or small, public or private, urban or rural; these are just a few of the many difficult deciding factors I faced during my college selection. At the height of my selection process, I had applied to ten schools ranging across all those factors. I was completely unsure of what I wanted to do with my life yet and had no idea what type of school I wanted. My mind wasn’t set enough on the future and I was too worried about getting through high school and working my full-time job. As it got closer to spring, I had to start making some decisions. Ultimately, I narrowed my deciding process to three factors to specifically analyze to make the right decision. Beginning with reputation, followed by student life, and lastly the financial cost to attend.

The consequences of making decisions based on outside influences is clearly shown through the aforementioned interviews in The Overachievers. In this passage, Robbins interviewed a male student who was considering Muhlenberg College and Swarthmore College (183). He felt Muhlenberg lacked name recognition while Swarthmore was widely known as a prestigious institution. The student instantly stopped considering Muhlenberg, which denied him the opportunity to discover for himself what he liked or