Individualized Careers Advice: How your advisor should go the extra mile for you.

A good advisor when helping students evaluate potential universities, should encourage and help students examine - not just one reason but multiple reasons for wanting to attend them. An institution's size, student body characteristics, or access to clubs and societies are just some categories advisors use to choose a university. We at Learning Pathways combine all categories to build a picture for our students that informs our clients of their best-fit options.  

Universities vary in size; some have as few as 100 students, while others have over 60,000 enrolled. A small university can be just as socially diverse as its larger counterparts. A strong benefit to a small university is getting to know your teachers more easily. You may have small one-to-one classes that students are used to at secondary school.  Larger universities have more range, offer many classes across multiple fields, hold large and different communities of learners, and usually have more money to spend on student events. Many students explain how they look forward to the advanced facilities and equipment a large university can provide them. Analyzing size adds to the best-fit understanding for our students.  

The characteristics of the university students matter to many students, in or out of state option do matter to many. Some look for a mixture of cultures that are known as third-cultures, or want a high proportion of international students in their schools. Our students usually want a diverse population to mix with, some want religion, HBCUs, or single sexed schools, and they feel most at home with like minded people. Our clients are asked to consider the traits they want to see in their fellow students. If the school they choose does not fit expectations, there could be future difficulties with feeling like a part of the school community. 

An area many wish to investigate further is the university's extra-curricular activities. Some colleges have a high number of societies or may offer many outdoor/ recreation opportunities. A recent client wanted to continue their activism, citing a need for their university to have strong connections to community service, their ethnicity and culture.  

When looking at academics, many of our clients value a specific department's credibility and reputation over a school's institutional prestige. When they choose Ivy League or Russell Group institutions, they often feel that the institutions can help them accomplish their academic goals. Rather than just looking at name tags, students who are best-fit-driven identify high-ranking schools because of their known academic ethos or high employability prospects.  

When combined, these best-fit categories help our students make great choices. If you would like to know more feel free to contact us.