We’re not very good at waiting – our western culture rather abhors it. And up ’till now, many of Benicia’s families and students have been doing it for months – years, in some cases.
For these days, you can hear certain sounds ripping the air from the families of Benicia’s high school seniors: sighs and gasps, winces and cringes, crying and yelping and OMG’ing and trash-talk a la rap star prima donnas. All these wholesome wails are in service to the thin or slightly bulging (bulging is better) envelopes that come in the mail, announcing whether or not you’ve been fully – or partly – or conditionally – accepted to a college of your interest. Most colleges have been lined up in some sort of priority, numeric system: the first and second choices, the fall – backs, the I’m –desperate-for-someplace choices, the ones-momma-wanted-me-to-apply to, the I’ve -changed-my-mind-I-would-NEVER-go-freaking-there, and the also-rans.
I’m absolutely no danged help whatsoever in offering anything even close to advice on this choice of how to choose the best college for you. I also can’t cure lepers or change an air filter. It would be easy and predictable and very Good Housekeeper-ish of me to write a few trusted and true guidelines after almost 30 years of working with college age folks. I used to think I could; wrote a column on it once. But…
Oh sure, you can talk about advising students to look a bit further down the road to when they actually graduate (not likely in four years anymore) and have them consider: they should pick the college by considering that where they graduate from is where they will likely be most marketable. Hire-able. A job, a job –my kingdom for a job:
Perhaps even a job that fits really well – one can hope, pray, study, network and work like heck. Just so that you don’t end up with a grim level of indebtedness and a one way ticket back to we parents semi-sweet explanation: “Honey, we kept your room just like the day you left it.”
But: space needs filling. There must be some wisdom to be gleaned. Perhaps we can look at though a glass, darkly. Yes, indeed, so here goes:
10 reasons TO/NOT TO pick a particular college

Don’t pick the college based on the fact that Muffy is going there; she flunked P.E. twice remember, and still thinks Sarah Palin could maybe, just may –be-e….
Conversely, don’t NOT pick a college your parent(s) like, just to show them your inner rebel is on steroids these days; and return that old Catcher In The Rye loaned out book;
Don’t not pick a community college because you heard they only accept the top 100 percent of applicants; that said, wait’ll you check out the small class size and the tuition receipts.
Your boyfriend is going to upstate New York and you want to keep him warm and cuddly; medical alert: There are no places to “keep warm” in upstate New York (or Minnesota or Wisconsin or Michigan, etc., etc.) once November arrives and leaves about May: thermal down parkas, anyone?
The mascot and the motto and the name of the sports teams and stadium and the logo and the hoodies are…you know, way cool; none of that goes on your transcript-
And absolutely no transcript is ever of and by itself, you know, way cool;
You took 17 of those surveys with the theme of “What College is Right for YOU” and your choice turned up tops in every one of hose surveys; big deal it told your twin sister to attend the University of Granada, for a sterling all – Caribbean education.

Okay- you’ll have to fill in the rest yourselves. Trust me – I’ve no solid advice on this.
And disregard the first half-dozen ideas above.
The young lady/gentleman will make up his/her own mind and heart on this one: and even the best heart-to-hearts won’t appreciably change the outcome. Don’t wanna believe it? Then google terms like “destiny,” “fate,” and “providence.” And believe. Always believe. Believe what? Believe that there must be a web-site out there somewhere, anywhere…

Rob Peters is a semi-retired counselor at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. He’s both taught and counseled students for more than 30 years.

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