How Do You Handle College Advice When You Don’t Agree? at student-ready.net

How Do You Handle College Advice When You Don’t Agree?

When it comes to your college career and your career goals, more than likely there are many people wanting to give you advice and lots of it. Quite often people will put pressure on you to follow their advice, whether its friends or family. If they can’t recognize that their advice is useless or even downright bad, what are you do to in such a situation? What do you do when college advice goes beyond financial aid and grants or how to find scholarships and instead dives deeper into your decision making process?

Dealing with a pushy relative who wants to give you college advice can be quite tricky. Few of us actually state, “Hi there, find a college for me,” but the fact is that family members will try to tell you what to do and even pick out your college for you. If you have someone trying to make this decision for you, here are a few tips for handling the situation.

Tip One-Show Why Your College Pick is Better

The first option is to prove that your college selection is better than what they have in mind. For example, you can demonstrate that your preferred school is higher ranked in a particular program than the one your relative is suggesting. Keep in mind that stating, “But my school is a better party school,” isn’t likely to work very well. Don’t try that one!

Tip Two-Apply to Many Different Colleges

Whatever you do, never apply to just one or two schools, as this can leave you without a school altogether. Further, by applying to several universities and colleges, you will give yourself some wiggle room as you will be able to state, “But I did get into…”

You Can Always Ignore the Advice

Ignoring a relative’s advice on college is a lot easier if he or she is not paying for attendance. If your parents are paying for your college and they are expecting you to attend a given school but you hate their idea, you are in a tough situation. However, there is still hope. After the first year, you can explain to them in more detail why the school isn’t right for you. At that time, you can transfer to another program.

Remember that People Want to Help

You have to be the one who lives your life, and that means you need to make your own decisions about where you will go to college and what you will major in at college. With that stated, however, try and remember that the people who are giving you advice about college only want the best for you.

In the end, take in the advice and listen carefully to the logic behind it, as this is very important. If the logic is sound and based on facts, then it is worthwhile. However if the college advice you receive is really just someone’s opinion then that is a different story. Ultimately, you want to be happy with your college experience. Finding that happiness might just mean ignoring the advice that you’ve been given.