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2025 Fall\/Fox<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not a simple answer for the best way to pick a college. It reminds me of the question\u2014how do you pick a spouse? Maybe you chose with the help of a group of friends, through a ministry at church, or using a dating app. Maybe your parents contacted a matchmaker (no joke, some cultures do that).<\/p>\n
More broadly, how do you discern God\u2019s will for your life? The Bible says in Romans 12:<\/p>\n
1) \u201cPresent your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God\u201d\u2014recognize God\u2019s authority over you and live for Him.
2) \u201cDon\u2019t be conformed to the patterns of this world\u201d\u2014don\u2019t buy into the culture\u2019s norms.
3) \u201cBe transformed by the renewing of your mind\u201d\u2014soak yourself in God\u2019s word and His ways.<\/p>\n
Then<\/em> \u201cyou will be able to test and approve what God\u2019s will is.\u201d My mentor, Carol Wever, once summarized this as \u201cFollow God in your everyday life now, and He will make the next steps clear.\u201d Have His attitudes and pursue His priorities.<\/p>\n Apply Worry-Motivated Prayer So let\u2019s say you are praying intensely for God\u2019s direction, guarding your priorities, and walking faithfully with Him day-to-day. What are some practical steps you can take as you seek to know His will?<\/p>\n Decide What You Are Looking For I wouldn’t do it that way now. Today, I see the goal of college more as “Who do you want to be<\/em> after four years?” rather than “What do you want to do<\/em> after four years?” (Which to a lot of people actually means, “How do you intend to make money?”).<\/p>\n The most important question to ask is what your child wants to get out of four years of college. Are they just checking a box in order to move on to grad school or a job? Then, they might want to test out of a bunch of requirements using CLEP, AP, Straighterline, or dual enrollment and graduate quickly.<\/p>\n Is their focus employability? Then lists like U.S. News might be helpful, as well as data from college career placement offices showing after-graduation employment statistics.<\/p>\n However, while credentials and employability are important, a college\u2019s influence on your future goes beyond those numbers. Universities disciple us to become<\/em> someone. Spending four years surrounded by faculty and peers that are passionate about learning and the Lord\u2014or those who aren\u2019t\u2014has a profound effect on a person.<\/p>\n Although my husband and I both went to secular colleges, all four of our kids wanted to attend Christian schools. I have been so encouraged to hear them relay what it meant to them to have classes and a peer environment where the Bible and a Christian worldview were so fully integrated. For example, one daughter told me how much richer her quiet times were because of what she was learning in her constitutional law class. Who would have expected that?<\/p>\n Make a List of Priorities Perhaps a must-have is an ABET-accredited degree in electrical engineering. Maybe it\u2019s having a faculty who are all committed to Scriptural inerrancy. If both are must-haves, then your list of schools just narrowed tremendously.<\/p>\n Some factors to consider: academic challenge (too low, and they might not learn; too high, and they might not pass), campus atmosphere, Christian support, size, majors, social scene, support services (medical\/tutoring\/counseling), internships, study abroad, job or grad school placement, faculty accessibility, extracurriculars, location, and finances.<\/p>\n Keep an open mind about finances at first because many private schools have sticker prices that drop dramatically once you are admitted. For example, did you know that if you make under $160,000\/year, Princeton is tuition-free? For each of our kids, private schools on their list ended up being cheaper than the state school down the road.<\/p>\n Create Your List of Schools There\u2019s no substitute for a campus visit. Have your student contact admissions ahead of time to see if they can sit in on a couple of classes, meet with a faculty member in their major, and, if possible, stay overnight in the dorm. Taking advantage of a teen summer camp at the school can really help get a feel for the atmosphere, too.<\/p>\n Senior year is usually too busy with applications and the rest of life to squeeze in trips to colleges, so aim to make your visits during sophomore and junior years. Avoid the summer and finals\/midterms week; the campus isn\u2019t normal then, and you need to get a feel for the typical campus vibe.<\/p>\n Apply Broadly and on Time You don\u2019t know where the most financial aid will be coming from, so apply broadly\u2014as Ecclesiastes 11 (rather ominously) puts it, \u201cGive portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.\u201d In other words, don\u2019t put all your eggs in one basket.<\/p>\n Apply early; to get maximum scholarship consideration, many schools want applications by mid-October. Sometimes schools waive application fees if you apply early (even in August). Fill out your financial aid forms (FAFSA and possibly CSS) as soon as possible, probably in January. Some schools give away their need-based aid on a first-come first-served basis.<\/p>\n Choose Wisely Once your financial aid packages are announced in the spring, compare them carefully and go back to schools to ask graciously for reconsideration where needed. (Yes, college price tags are negotiable.) Keep praying.<\/p>\n Keep Trusting Missy Fox and her husband, Greg, are twenty-one-year homeschool veterans. They thank God for leading each of their four grads to just the right college fit and that He brought scholarships to pay for it, too. Missy enjoys encouraging families through the homeschool-to-college transition, speaking on high school planning, transcripts, and scholarships. She can be reached at FoxbridgePrep.com.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_sidebar area=”et_pb_widget_area_2″ admin_label=”GREENHOUSE Sidebar” _builder_version=”4.27.3″ global_module=”19006″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2025 Fall\/Fox There\u2019s not a simple answer for the best way to pick a college. It reminds me of the question\u2014how do you pick a spouse? Maybe you chose with the help of a group of friends, through a ministry at church, or using a dating app. Maybe your parents contacted a matchmaker (no joke, some cultures do that). More broadly, how do you discern God\u2019s will for your life? The Bible says in Romans 12: 1) \u201cPresent your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God\u201d\u2014recognize God\u2019s authority over you and live for Him.2) \u201cDon\u2019t be conformed to the patterns of this world\u201d\u2014don\u2019t buy into the culture\u2019s norms.3) \u201cBe transformed by the renewing of your mind\u201d\u2014soak yourself in God\u2019s word and His ways. Then \u201cyou will be able to test and approve what God\u2019s will is.\u201d My mentor, Carol Wever, once summarized this as \u201cFollow God in your everyday life now, and He will make the next steps clear.\u201d Have His attitudes and pursue His priorities. Apply Worry-Motivated PrayerAs each of our children finished up high school, the temptation to worry about next steps served as an excellent motivation for a more fervent prayer life. It wasn\u2019t easy. But by May of senior year, we were rejoicing in God\u2019s direction and the closer relationship He gave us with Himself as we were forced to rely on Him more heavily than before. So let\u2019s say you are praying intensely for God\u2019s direction, guarding your priorities, and walking faithfully with Him day-to-day. What are some practical steps you can take as you seek to know His will? Decide What You Are Looking ForWhen I was choosing a college for myself years ago, I started with a list of the top universities in each major (the 1980s version of US News and World Report\u2019s list, I suppose)\u2014I picked my major, found the schools with the best reputation, and started visiting. I wouldn’t do it that way now. Today, I see the goal of college more as “Who do you want to be after four years?” rather than “What do you want to do after four years?” (Which to a lot of people actually means, “How do you intend to make money?”). The most important question to ask is what your child wants to get out of four years of college. Are they just checking a box in order to move on to grad school or a job? Then, they might want to test out of a bunch of requirements using CLEP, AP, Straighterline, or dual enrollment and graduate quickly. Is their focus employability? Then lists like U.S. News might be helpful, as well as data from college career placement offices showing after-graduation employment statistics. However, while credentials and employability are important, a college\u2019s influence on your future goes beyond those numbers. Universities disciple us to become someone. Spending four years surrounded by faculty and peers that are passionate about learning and the Lord\u2014or those who aren\u2019t\u2014has a profound effect on a person. Although my husband and I both went to secular colleges, all four of our kids wanted to attend Christian schools. I have been so encouraged to hear them relay what it meant to them to have classes and a peer environment where the Bible and a Christian worldview were so fully integrated. For example, one daughter told me how much richer her quiet times were because of what she was learning in her constitutional law class. Who would have expected that? Make a List of PrioritiesA helpful approach is to make a list of must-haves and preferences in order of importance to you. Usually, walking through this kind of exercise helps you start to narrow down a list of schools of interest. Perhaps a must-have is an ABET-accredited degree in electrical engineering. Maybe it\u2019s having a faculty who are all committed to Scriptural inerrancy. If both are must-haves, then your list of schools just narrowed tremendously. Some factors to consider: academic challenge (too low, and they might not learn; too high, and they might not pass), campus atmosphere, Christian support, size, majors, social scene, support services (medical\/tutoring\/counseling), internships, study abroad, job or grad school placement, faculty accessibility, extracurriculars, location, and finances. Keep an open mind about finances at first because many private schools have sticker prices that drop dramatically once you are admitted. For example, did you know that if you make under $160,000\/year, Princeton is tuition-free? For each of our kids, private schools on their list ended up being cheaper than the state school down the road. Create Your List of SchoolsYour list of priorities will direct how you research schools. Use Google and ask friends. Maybe visit a college fair with a list of questions for your student to ask. Narrow your list by poring through websites. Fill out contact forms to request mailings. Have your child call the admissions office and ask if they could speak with a student in a major or activity that interests them. There\u2019s no substitute for a campus visit. Have your student contact admissions ahead of time to see if they can sit in on a couple of classes, meet with a faculty member in their major, and, if possible, stay overnight in the dorm. Taking advantage of a teen summer camp at the school can really help get a feel for the atmosphere, too. Senior year is usually too busy with applications and the rest of life to squeeze in trips to colleges, so aim to make your visits during sophomore and junior years. Avoid the summer and finals\/midterms week; the campus isn\u2019t normal then, and you need to get a feel for the typical campus vibe. Apply Broadly and on TimeEventually, by application time (fall of senior year), you will want to narrow that list down to maybe six schools: a couple reaches, a couple matches, and a couple safeties. If you think you will need merit aid, remember you\u2019re more likely to find it at the safeties, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":47323,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[308,1,14],"tags":[167],"class_list":["post-47320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2025","category-uncategorized","category-greenhouse","tag-preparing-for-college"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgvs5H-cje","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nche.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fox-article-web-tim-gouw-ScWvHUtQca4-unsplash.jpg?fit=1080%2C567&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47320"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48824,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47320\/revisions\/48824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nche.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47320"}],"curies":[{"name":"trang web","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>As each of our children finished up high school, the temptation to worry about next steps served as an excellent motivation for a more fervent prayer life. It wasn\u2019t easy. But by May of senior year, we were rejoicing in God\u2019s direction and the closer relationship He gave us with Himself as we were forced to rely on Him more heavily than before.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>When I was choosing a college for myself years ago, I started with a list of the top universities in each major (the 1980s version of US News and World Report\u2019s list, I suppose)\u2014I picked my major, found the schools with the best reputation, and started visiting.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>A helpful approach is to make a list of must-haves<\/em> and preferences<\/em> in order of importance to you. Usually, walking through this kind of exercise helps you start to narrow down a list of schools of interest.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Your list of priorities will direct how you research schools. Use Google and ask friends. Maybe visit a college fair with a list of questions for your student to ask. Narrow your list by poring through websites. Fill out contact forms to request mailings. Have your child call the admissions office and ask if they could speak with a student in a major or activity that interests them.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Eventually, by application time (fall of senior year), you will want to narrow that list down to maybe six schools: a couple reaches, a couple matches, and a couple safeties. If you think you will need merit aid, remember you\u2019re more likely to find it at the safeties, not the reaches.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>As your student\u2019s field of colleges narrows, encourage your student to stay active in researching, talking on the phone with current students, and coming up with lists of questions for their admissions counselors. Attend in-person or virtual admitted students\u2019 days. Keep praying.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Proverbs 3 says that God\u2019s word is \u201ca light unto our feet,\u201d not a searchlight illuminating the whole forest. He has a way of showing us one step at a time, enough that we know just what we need to do next, but not so much that we are tempted to stop leaning on Him. What a perfect process! Isn\u2019t He good?<\/p>\n