Finding the Right Social Fit College

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While the main objective of going to college is earning a degree, personal growth during the college years is also important. The right social fit college will allow you the opportunity to learn new things about yourself, make new friends, and live a life different from what you’ve always known.

There are seven main factors to consider when assessing the social fit of a college to your needs and wants. Finding the right social fit in a college depends on:

  • Size
  • Location 
  • Climate
  • Diversity
  • Residential Life
  • Social Scene
  • Vibes

The good news is that there is no right or wrong about these factors. How you feel about these factors is up to you, and it may be different than what a parent or a best friend would want. That’s okay! Finding the right social fit in college is what will make you feel like you’re ready to grow and thrive in a new environment.

Seven factors for finding the right social fit college

Size

The size of the school affects fit in two ways– both the undergraduate population as a whole as well as individual class sizes. 

There are no clear, set determinations for what makes a college “small, medium, or large.” You can generally think of small as less than 3000 students, medium as 3000-15,000 students, and large as any school with more than 15,000 students. Remember that you’re really concerned with the undergraduate population, so make sure when you’re researching your stats reflect that. 

If you have no idea how to think about what size school you want, think about it in relation to your high school. Do you want to go to a college the same size or smaller than your high school? Twice the size? Ten times as big?

Class size is another way to think of social fit. Are you more comfortable in a giant lecture hall with hundreds of other students? Does the idea of anonymity or a fresh start appeal to you? Or are you someone who craves individual attention and knows you will do best in classes where your professor and classmates know your name (and notice when you’re absent!)?

You can look up faculty-to-student ratios on the school website, but make sure you’re also looking for average class size.

Location 

When thinking about going to college, do you envision yourself staying close to home or going far away? This is a big decision! If you’re planning to go far away from home, make sure you take transportation costs into consideration.

Location can also refer to the setting of a college: in very general terms, this means urban, suburban, or rural. It is possible to go to an urban area and still have a traditional college campus while some other urban schools don’t really have a campus at all. Maybe you’ve grown up in a city, and you dream of going to a small, quiet town with a closed college campus.  Knowing what feels best for you will help you determine how location factors into finding your social fit. 

Climate

Does your college experience include surfing study breaks or weekend trips to the mountains to ski? Knowing what kind of climate you want can help you narrow down your college options.

Keep in mind that while surfing and skiing both sound exciting, it is the day-to-day weather you’ll face walking to class that is most important. It may be obvious that winter months in cold climates mean snowy, icy sidewalks and frigid temperatures. But less obvious is that warm climates may mean arriving to class sweaty. And let’s not forget to look at the number of days of rain. If you’re someone who needs the sunshine to bolster your mental health, climate is an important factor to consider.

What climate sounds best to you?

Diversity

While racial or ethnic diversity might be what most people think of regarding social fit at college, it is wise to also consider geographic diversity, economic diversity, and religious diversity of students on campus. 

If you are a student with a strong or developing faith, are there opportunities for you to practice your faith on campus? How many other students have a similar faith? Is there a staff religious leader who will support you?

Economic diversity doesn’t just mean that there will be kids richer or poorer than you on campus. It could affect how often your friends want to go out and what types of activities they can afford to do. Knowing the economic demographics of the student body will give you a sense of if you’ll fit in.

Students who are motivated to go to college for a broadening life experience should research colleges whose values and programs reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion for all students. Make sure to check out my post from when I visited the University of San Francisco, the #1 ranked school for diversity in the country.

Residential Life

If you’ve ever seen a movie set at a college, you probably are looking forward to dorm life. Who wouldn’t want to live in a place surrounded by all their friends?! Yes, dorm life can be fun, but it can also be overstimulating. Knowing the environment in which you would like to live– a place where you can study, sleep, and be yourself– will be important for your successful transition into college.

While you’re not guaranteed to get a new-best-friend-for-life as a roommate, you will definitely learn how to share space. Dorm rooms vary in size from college to college (and often even from dorm to dorm), so going in with a positive make-do attitude is essential for communal residential life.

Check out the residential requirements of each college you’re considering– some may require four years of on-campus living, and some may not even be able to guarantee a single year of college-provided housing. 

If you’re not planning to live on campus, make sure you have a good understanding of what average rents are near some schools you find interesting. Many college towns have a serious housing crunch, driving up the price of rent. This is something important to consider when researching schools.

Social Scene

What do you like to do in your free time? Is joining a sports team important to you? Or maybe you’d like to be in an acapella group. Almost all schools have an endless list of clubs and activities for you to join. Doing your homework to find out how easy it is to participate in what you’re interested in is time well spent. 

Let’s talk weekends– after all, the independence of going off to college means weekend parties. Is this something you’re interested in? Would you rather find a group of people playing board games or watching movies? Knowing the overall social scene on campus can help you decide if a school is the right fit for you.

If you are looking for (or really want to avoid) a campus with active Greek Life, the social scene on campus will be a deciding factor for your social fit schools. You can find the percentage of students who participate in Greek Life on a college’s website.

Vibes

In all of my college visit blog posts and social media posts, I write a one or two sentence synopsis of the vibes on campus. These are my gut reactions or overall impressions of the school.  Think of it as the campus culture or atmosphere. Are students proud to attend this school? Will they stop and talk to you if you’re lost on campus? Kindness and commitment to the community matter!

Remember, though, that these are MY impressions. I’m not you, so trust your gut when you feel like a school is right (or totally wrong) for you.

Envision your social fit college

Need more help figuring out what social fit factors are most important to you? I find it useful to envision your ideal college environment. Read through the following questions, then take a few minutes to think about them. Close your eyes. See what you envision!

What does the campus look like– the buildings, the surroundings, the green space (if there is any!)? Did you drive or fly to get there? What’s the weather like? What are people wearing? Are they plugged into earbuds, do they have their noses in books, or are they playing frisbee on the quad? Can you see yourself sitting in a big lecture hall, or are you around a small circular table deep in discussion? Do you think your new classmates have backgrounds similar to yours, or are they from wide-ranging backgrounds? What do they like to do on the weekends? Will you need a car to take part in these activities? How much spending money do you think you’ll need to fit in?

As you think about these questions and envision your ideal college environment, the factors that are most important to you likely are those with the most detail in your mind. If you can’t really think of how you’d respond to one of the questions, then maybe that factor isn’t so important to you. Again, there is no right or wrong with social fit– just finding what is best for you.