Review - Colleges That Create Futures

Rest assured: every one of the fifty colleges in this guide offers a terrific education. But when it comes to getting the most out of college, the experiences you have outside the classroom are just as important as what you study. Every year, via our College Hopes & Worries survey (www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries), one of the questions we ask college applicants and their parents is What do you consider the biggest benefit of going to college will be? Since 2010, when we first added the question to our survey, the plurality of respondents have seen the main benefit of a college degree as a potentially better job and higher income while the rest saw the education or exposure to new ideas as the major benefit. We see this point of view reflected on college campuses as well. At many schools, career services advisers begin to engage with students earlier in their time on campus, often in the first few weeks of their first year. These trends in career services arent a result of colleges pressuring students to plan out their futures before they are readyrather, colleges and universities are working to help students identify their interests, strengths, and passions, and use those to build the foundation of a meaningful career strategy.

Schools that empower students help them to discover practical applications for their talents and interests, oftentimes through experiences that complement or build upon their classes and coursework. Hands-on activities like internships, studying abroad, assisting with faculty research, and other experiential learning options give students the opportunities to apply their knowledge to authentic, real-world situations. Employers think so, too. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 78 percent of employers feel that the ability to work in a team is a critical soft skill theyd most want to see in recent college grads. (Other top skills include: problem-solving skills, written proficiency, strong work ethic, and verbal communication.)

You can think of experiential learning as learning by doing, but thats just half of it. Experiential learning is also applying what you already know (such as concepts and theories) to unfamiliar and variable situations. In some ways its like the difference between learning Spanish vocabulary words in a classroom and trying to order local cuisine off a menu in Barcelona. Interacting with real Spanish speakers, who might talk faster than youre used to and pepper their conversation with slang and idioms, is a more authentic experience than learning Spanish solely in an American classroom.

Experiential learning is also a great way to find out what you like and what you dont. You love your biology and chemistry classes, but do you really want to go to medical school? An externship program shadowing a doctor for the day may convince you to sign up for the MCAT. Are your sensibilities better suited for an institutional software company or a scrappy environmental startup? Summer internships in both the corporate and non-profit worlds can give you a better idea of what fits you best. These types of activities are chances to discover new interests and to develop talents and strengths, even in areas beyond your majorand more crucially, beyond your comfort zone. Theres also a risk factor involved. The Association of Experiential Education explains that as experiential learning experiences require students to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results, students may also experience success, failure, adventure, risk-taking and uncertainty. Just like in the real world, you cant totally predict what the outcome of an experience will bebut no matter what youll learn from it.

The final component of an experiential learning experience is reflection. What specifically did you learn through the experience? How could you apply what youve learned to other settings? Landing a great job after college means articulating your strengths and demonstrating their value to a potential employer. For example, upon reflection it will become clear that your work-study gig as a peer tutor in the Writing Center strengthened your ability to break down complex material for others to understandan experience you can reference when an employer is looking for someone with impeccable communication skills. Similarly, your role on the Solar Car Team on campus finessed your technical skills as well as the ability to problem-solve as part of a team.