How to pick a college.

Four years ago, my daughter faced a major decision: where to go to college. Luckily, she had me to “help” her. We looked at cost. We looked at location. We looked at academic programs. We looked at the social life on each campus. Frankly, the decision was easy for me. I wanted her to attend my alma mater, the only university that mattered.

I took my daughter to see campus. I showed her the awesome new gym. I walked her through lecture halls and dorms and the quaint town of Lewisburg. (By the way, I did NOT graduate in the class of 1942.) Anyhow, we had a great time looking around. There was just one problem. My daughter kind of sort of wanted to go somewhere else. This is how my husband reacted:

I tried to be as stoic as my burly beloved. However, I was SURE I knew where she should go to college. Believe me, I was a little stunned when Bucknell ended up third on my sweetie’s list. How dare she! Despite my shock, I treated this shocking revelation with calm, poise, and grace.

After a good long cry in the parking lot of the grocery store, I hauled a huge vat of ice cream into our house in anticipation of The Final Decision. The choices boiled down to two colleges. There wasn’t much time left to decide, and my daughter struggled to make a choice. She tried. She made lists. She studied the options. She just had no idea what to do.

As the clock crept alarmingly closer to decision day, I couldn’t take the uncertainty any more. I swept all of the lists aside, turned off the TV, and proclaimed, “I’m  sending you to College A!!!!” She burst into a huge grin. Then, I shook my head and proclaimed, “No, wait. I misspoke. I’m sending you to College B!” Her grin disappeared.

Based on that smile, we chose College A. Frankly, I had my doubts. It was far away. It was expensive. It was different. And it was the best choice we ever made. My daughter has thrived there. In a few short weeks, she’ll graduate.

In hindsight, that stressful decision taught me a valuable lesson. Maybe a smile is the only thing that will tell you when something is right. Good luck to all of you who are facing that decision with your sweeties.

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This post brought to you by College Decision Day (May 1st).

FYI: Ice cream helps.

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