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Principia School

Search Process

Questioning and Reflection

Instead of focusing first on a list of colleges, we encourage you to give some thought to who you are as a person and potential college student. Starting with self-knowledge will help you match your abilities, interests, and attitudes with a college’s academic program, activities, and atmosphere. The Explore feature in MaiaLearning can support this process. Asking yourself the following questions will also help.

  • Why do you want to go to college?
  • What are your academic strengths and interests? Which courses have you enjoyed most?
  • Are there sports and other activities you’ll want to continue in college?
  • Are there geographical areas you’re attracted to or ones you’d like to avoid?
  • What surroundings are important to you? Big or small city?
  • Do you have specific career goals?
  • What size school interests you? Are you interested in a liberal arts college or a larger university?

Career Exploration

Knowing what major and career you want to pursue can help with college choice since you can look for schools that offer your major. Throughout all years at the Upper School, the Counseling Office encourages students to explore careers they may be interested in. We use the Department of Labor's O*NET site and the Career Planning tool on MaiaLearning. We also hold a yearly Career Fair for all Upper School students that allows them to hear from and interact with adults from a variety of professions.

While we feel this introduction to careers is important, it helps to keep in mind that many students go to college without a strong idea of what they will choose as a major or what career they might want to pursue after college. College coursework and increased maturity will also help students decide on a career.

Here are other ways to give further thought to career choice.

  • Make a list of the subjects or experiences you’ve most enjoyed and research what careers relate to them.
  • Talk with people who have jobs in the fields that interest you, and see what they do.
  • You may want to find a person who has a job you’re interested in and ask if you could follow them during a workday.

College Characteristics and Questions

Listed below are factors to consider when deciding if a college is a right fit for you.

Type of School

  • Liberal Arts Colleges: These four-year undergraduate colleges offer a broad range of academic programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. They rarely have graduate programs and tend to be smaller than their university counterparts. Teaching is usually by a professor, not a teaching assistant.
  • Universities: These are larger institutions that grant both undergraduate and graduate degrees. While class size is often larger in these schools and undergraduate classes are frequently taught by graduate-level teaching assistants, universities often offer more variety in the curriculum and valuable research opportunities.
  • Engineering and Polytechnic Colleges: These are institutions that focus on the sciences and technology and often emphasize research and career-oriented studies. They may also offer liberal arts courses.
  • Military Academies: There are four U.S. service academies that require a congressional nomination: Military, Naval, Air Force, and Merchant Marine. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a congressional nomination. In return for a free education, students must agree to a specific number of years of military service upon graduation.
  • Two-Year Community Colleges: These institutions offer introductory college courses and technical training. They often specialize in programs that prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions, and offer certificates and associate’s degrees. Community colleges can be a nice way to cut down on the cost of higher education. See the information about the Missouri A+ Program.

Academic Environment and Offerings

  • What priority do students place on academics? Is academic pressure and competition prevalent?
  • Is there a strong exchange of ideas? Are students interested in political, social, and world issues?
  • What percent of freshmen return for sophomore year? What percent graduate?
  • What are the core requirements? Required freshman courses?
  • What is the student/faculty ratio? What percentage of faculty have a Ph.D.?
  • What courses (breadth and depth) and faculty are there in your area of interest? Do full professors teach undergraduates? Is there an advisory system?

Size and Location

  • Smaller schools often allow students to get to know their professors better and there can be more opportunity for discussion in classes due to fewer numbers of students. There can also be more opportunities in extracurricular activities.
  • Larger schools can offer a broader range of courses and more activities. There may also be research opportunities or internships available. Sports teams may be nationally known giving a boost to school spirit.
  • In addition to thinking about what region of the country you want to be in and whether your preferred setting is urban, rural or suburban, it’s important to consider travel costs as you decide how far you want to be from home.

Student Life

  • In addition to academic life, you‘ll also want to think about life outside the classroom. What will make your experience more interesting, fun, and comfortable? These offerings might include spectator sports, intramural sports, community service opportunities, performing arts, student government, fraternities and sororities, clubs and organizations, and community-based events.
  • Also consider living arrangements. Is there a variety of housing options and is housing guaranteed? What food service options are available?

Selectivity

  • How difficult is it to get into each school on your list? Selectivity is determined by the percentage of students who are admitted. The lower the percentage, the more selective the school is. 
  • To get an idea of how selective a college might be for you, compare your GPA and test scores with those of admitted students. You can find this information on the college/university website or through the College Search tool in MaiaLearning which gives the admission rate of each school listed.
  • An increasing number of schools are becoming test optional. If they are, they will weigh other parts of your application more heavily.

Making a College List

  • After you have focused on who you are as a potential college student and considered the college characteristics most important to you, you’ll be prepared to begin your college search. We encourage you to get started using the excellent search tool on MaiaLearning. Select University Search from Universities on the blue side panel and you will be guided through the process.
  • As you explore colleges, check out all the features of each school using the tabs at the top of each school’s Factsheet.
  • Most of the schools on your list should be in the “likely” category, meaning that your test scores and GPA fall within the range listed for most of the accepted students. You may also have a couple of schools that fall in the “safety” or “reach” categories, but keep in mind that your schools should be realistic “right fits” for academic as well as other reasons.
  • If you’d like to see other resources for searching for and learning about colleges, you can explore each college’s website and refer to the websites listed on our Resources page.

College Representative Visits

During the fall and spring, representatives from colleges and universities around the country visit our campus. These visits usually take place during the lunch hour so that students can stop by their table in the lobby on the way to or from lunch. If a representative is from a school you may be interested in, this is a good opportunity to learn more about the school, have questions answered and show interest. Often the representative visiting will be the one reading your application. If the representative isn’t from a school you are interested in, we still encourage you to stop by to learn about what colleges have to offer generally. We post upcoming visits on our board on Portal and on the bulletin board in the hallway next to the School Counseling Office.

College Fairs

There are several college fairs each year in the St. Louis area. Representatives from colleges and universities around the country set up booths where they display information about their colleges and are available to answer questions. We will let families know about these fairs through regular newsletters from our office and through our board on Portal.

College Campus Visits

Visiting a college can be the best way to determine right fit. While we encourage students to do research on colleges and talk to college reps when they visit, there really is no better way to determine if a school is right than by visiting. The following guidelines will help you plan and make the most of a college visit. 

  • Try to visit when school is in session. However, if you can only visit during a break or in the summer, the visit can still be worthwhile.
  • Arrange for an information session or tour through the college admissions website or by calling the admissions office. Student interviews with admissions representatives and overnight stays may also be options. Ask if these are available.
  • Do research into each school and have a list of questions ready for the information session or interview. These questions should not be ones that are easily answered on the college website.
  • Gain as much information as possible while on campus: attend a class, pick up a school paper, read the bulletin boards, have a meal in the dining hall, talk with students, and try to go to a sporting event or arts production.
  • If you are interested in playing college sports, try to arrange a meeting with the coach of the sport you wish to play and ask if you can attend a practice.
  • Take notes on each college visit and write down any personal observations. This will help you distinguish the schools from one another at the end of your visits.
  • If you need to miss one or two school days for the visits, you will need to use a pre-excused absence form that is due at least one week prior to your visit.

Expressed Interest

By speaking to college representatives when they visit the Upper School, interacting with them at a college fair, attending information sessions and tours when visiting a college, and appropriately keeping in touch via email, you are showing your interest in the institution. While it is important not to overdo this contact with a college, “expressed interest” is noticed and recorded by colleges and can be a positive factor in the admissions decisions.