Do You Know How to Get a Great Education? Advice for preschool through graduate school.

More than ever, we view education s the magic pill.

As individuals, we continue to place faith and lots of dollars into getting that degree, or third degree, in hopes that will levitate us from the stack of applications for a good job.

As parents, we spend heavily on our kids' education. We may move to an expensive area so our kids can get "good" public schools. We may even spring for private school and college, which today costs an inconceivable amount of money. A child paying sticker price at well-regarded private schools K-16 costs--when all is added in--almost a million dollars: $30,000 a year x 12 and $70,000 a year x 4.  And that assumes s/he'll graduate in four years. 45.5% don't, even if given six years. And that's just to get to the bachelor's degree. And that's just for one child. Sure, there may be financial aid, but much of that is loan. That has to be paid back, with interest.

As a society, at least publicly, we tout education as the magic pill, the best hope for closing the achievement gap and for enabling the U.S. to compete in the global economy, notably with China. So the U.S. spends #1 in the world per capita on education even though, year after year, among developed nations, the U.S. scores near the bottom. 

And although colleges' PR machines tout US higher education as the finest in the world, dispassionate research finds remarkably little average student growth in college in, for example, writing, critical thinking, and now, yes in employment. 

It is an unpopular yet ever more evident truth that how we end up may well be more a function of socioeconomic status  and peers than any difference between School A and School B, let alone teaching tactic A vs tactic B. Yet, even if data doesn't support the power of education, we somehow deeply believe that all those years, all that money, all that effort on education has to make an important difference.

So let's assume that education matters and that it's worth our effort to try to optimize it for ourselves and for our children.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer my best shot on how to do so from preschool through graduate school.

The College Report Card: A Tool for Selecting a College

Dear Students and Parents,

You've narrowed down to a few colleges. This can help you make the choice wisely. Give each college you're considering a grade from A to F on each of these factors:

1. Academic fit (for example, you'd likely do best as a big fish in a less selective pond)

2. Social fit (for example, you're studious and would grow most among politically liberal students)

3. Emotional fit (for example, you're nervous and so you want a college that's small and close to home)

4. Weather (often important: it affects you every day of every year)

Ask the admissions office for the following. Even if a college refuses, that too is telling.

5. The 4-year graduation rate for students with your high-school grades and test scores.

6. Likely 4-year cost given your family income & assets

7. Results of the latest student satisfaction survey

8. Evidence for freshman-to-senior value-added

9. Most recent accreditation visiting team report

10. For your intended major, % of graduates professionally employed or in grad school within one year of graduation.

11. Any other factor you care about (prestige, size, religiosity, availability or quality of a major, disability services, etc.)

Now, average the grades for each college. If you wish, give more weight to the factor(s) most important to you.

I'll Be on KGO Radio's Ronn Owens Program

If you'd like some free career or education advice, I'll be on the Ronn Owens Show, one of the West Coast's most listened-to shows, tomorrow, Tues, Apr 5, 10:07 am-11 am Pacific time on KGO (810 on the AM dial in San Francisco.)

In addition to offering advice to callers, the host will likely ask me about under-the-radar careers I'm bullish about, little-known but effective strategies for landing a job in a tough market, how to choose a college, and how to line up a good internship.