In Frank Bruni’s cautionary tale about the American pursuit of the perfect college admission, Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be (2014), he lays out a strong argument that there is no one path to success. Despite the obsessive pursuit of admission to elite colleges, Bruni illustrates the successful path of successful CEOs like Howard Schultz (graduate of Northern Michigan) who create their own path to success.
Bruni argues that these unique paths are not accidental. These non-elite environments are more personal, often more nurturing, and don’t foster an entitled attitude that an elite college fosters. In fact, Bruni argues that many students at elite colleges believe they have done enough once they have been admitted. He argues that the world cares about who you are and what you’ve done, not where you went to college.
The book is a fascinating peek at the obsessive pursuit of admission to elite colleges. This pursuit begins in pre-K and continues through high school, involving tutoring, outside consultants, and even service projects to enhance a student’s resume. The sociological angle of the book makes it enjoyable.
But it also should cause school administrators to pause. When an obsessive focus on college can begin in elementary school (“College and heaven”) we need to temper those expectations to make them more realistic. We cannot make those expectations so high that students understand that only elite colleges matter.
In the process, Bruni makes a cogent argument for the value of college:
We live in a country of sharpening divisions, pronounced tribalism, corrosive polarization. We live in the era of the Internet, which has had a counterintuitive impact: While it opens up an infinite universe of information for exploration, people use it to stand still, bookmarking the websites that cater to their existing hobbies…and customizing their social media feeds so that their judgments are constantly reinforced, their opinions forever affirmed. And college is indeed a ‘perfect place’…to push back at all that, to rummage around in fresh outlooks, to bridge divides. (112)
The undergraduate experience is formative, unique, and valuable. Bruni values all colleges and cautions against an unnecessary obsession with elite colleges.
Dr. Tim's Blog 
While fun, high school can also be turbulent years. It’s like a chick inside an egg kicking violently from within to break open its shell in order to be free to live in a brave new world. Our adolescent students are developing, learning and experiencing. Their bodies and emotions are changing. They are learning to have all kinds of new relationships—with friends, intimates, teachers, and parents. They think no one believes or understands them or what they’re going through, or that no one has walked their road or in their shoes before. They believe others are judging, blaming or disbelieving them. And, they also face many disappointments in their relationships who may have betrayed and let them down. And they must ponder their future— college in the years ahead.
Well, while every student, parent, school and high school counselor want college for everyone—the fact is not every student is prepared, ready, or a “fit” for college—especially the elite colleges or universities and vice versa. For most students despite coming from a wide range of backgrounds, college is almost a pre-determined destination. Parents emphasized it and the school environment saturates their daily lives with it. Students very much buy into the “college-for-all” norm, no matter their social background. However, exactly what “college” one should attend differs for schools, counselors and students.
There seems to be two types of students, those who have “always known” they are going to college and always considered it the next logical step–and those who weigh their options and make a decision to attend. Students also differ in how they explain their aspirations. While students whose parents were college educated described attending college as a natural progression in their family, students who anticipated being the first in their families to go to college described wanting to start a new family tradition.
Moreover, advantaged students viewed college less as a way to obtain a job and more as an experience to have. This is also reflected in the fact that more advantaged students were less sure of what they wanted to study in college, while first generation college students had a particular major in mind.
This brings us to the college search. The search phase usually begins at the end of sophomore year or in the junior year, though it can begin as late as senior year. This is when students start to familiarize themselves with the colleges available to them and develop a choice set–a list of schools they are considering applying to. Minorities, males, lower-achieving and lower-income students tend to start the process later, identify fewer criteria, and apply to fewer schools. Lower-income students tend to consider financial aid, college costs and close geographic proximity more than higher income students when creating their choice set. Low-income students may conduct “constrained” college searches and limit their options due to inadequate information. Students may engage in “passive searches,” where they consider information that comes to them, “active searches” where they seek out information, and “interactive searchers” where they initiate conversations with parents, counselors and admissions officers about college.
An “ideal” college search is the process that begins around junior year. It consists of “getting an idea of the basics,” such as what a large school looks and feels like compared to a small school, what a rural school looks like compared to a city school, etc. “Getting an idea of the basics” is how students may engage in visiting and hearing about colleges, both formally and informally. It involves developing criteria and generating a list. Upon defining their preferences, students narrow down this list of schools based on their academic profile and criteria. This may be an iterative process, where schools are added and removed from an evolving list over time. Having a good “fit” means that the student is able to handle the work at a university, but still be challenged, that there are programs of interest to the student that match his or her skills, and that the environment of the school matches the personality of the student. While “fit” can be hard to describe and unique to each student, it is something both college counselors and admissions officers must emphasize.
It is my opinion the cause and blame for why most high school students do not enjoy and do well in college rests squarely on their high school and high school counselors. High schools assume that all students possess the know-how to engage in productive college searches, thereby ignoring the information deficits of those students who don’t.
I argue that lower status institutions have come to engage students with high aspirations and haphazard searching strategies through marketing techniques that convince students to apply despite the school’s lack of fit with students’ achievement, goals, finances, and realities. This lack of fit (or “match”) makes it more likely that students will not complete their college degrees. And more importantly–will not enjoy the process of their education.