Weigh Passion, Practicality to Narrow Your College Search

When choosing where you'll apply, it's possible to find harmony between your head and your heart. 

By Brian WitteNov. 3, 2014

Humans love to view the world in dichotomies, whether it's good vs. evil, head vs. heart or passion vs. practicality. A dichotomy means "a division into two parts," and it can be a powerful way to narrow a diverse set of possibilities down to a choice between two options.

The passion vs. practicality decision is especially evident in the college search. Students are often faced with either going with their hearts and choosing the college and major that speak to them, or making a calculation that will maximize earning power. But the options don't have to be so stark. 

When students are narrowing their final list of potential schools, they should consider how each of those schools appeals to both their passions and their practical side. If a certain school appeals to one side more than the other, the student can delve deeper into those factors when further researching the school. Ultimately, students can make a more informed decision in the end if they equally weigh the two sides of this dichotomy now, as they narrow the list of colleges where they'll apply.

If a student neglects to consider both passion and practicality fairly, the effects can be disastrous. Consider my friend Henry, a passionate artist in high school who pursued a degree in economics at a respectable business school within a large state university.

Henry, predictably, was bored by the business school curriculum and graduated with a low-B average. He struggled to secure a rewarding job and instead held several low-paying sales positions while pursuing art on the side. Years later, Henry’s economics degree helps him balance his checkbook, but little else.

The opposite side of the debate is simple to recognize. Individuals who follow a passion for arts could be saddled with $60,000 in student loan debt and a degree in culinary arts or jewelry-making. Contrary to the advice of some, following your passion does not always automatically result in a well-paying position either.

When considering your ideal college or university, include options that excite you, such as schools with lively music scenes, socially engaged student bodies or ones with study abroad programs in countries that interest you. Productivity requires a passion for the work you do, and success in college necessitates work.

Do not make the mistake of believing that anything enjoyable is also impractical. There are legions of artists who are fulfilled and financially secure as web designers or marketing professionals, for instance.

Likewise, consider the practical side of your college choices. Write a list of limits based on your grades, financial situation and aspirations. Many schools offer generous financial aid packages, and now most have electronic tools that can help predict your eligibility. ​Take, for example, Baylor University's model.

Decide how much debt you are willing to amass and limit your choices accordingly. Including these factors does not mean you are shuttering your dreams. Rather, you are giving your dreams the chance to exist in reality after college.

Before you apply to a long list of schools, check the criteria you have set against each institution to see which fit, and which don't. The options that most closely fit all your criteria – both the passion-based and the practical parts – should be the ones to which you mostly strongly consider applying.

One excellent way to organize your college search is to look for high-value bargains. For my undergraduate education, I was accepted by a wide range of public and private schools. As much as my heart led me to the cozy campus of the most expensive option, I eventually settled on an honors program at an in-state university. 

For the cost of in-state tuition, I received the small class sizes of a private school, as well as access to world-class student research opportunities that took me north of the Arctic Circle and to the volcanic slopes of Mount St. Helens.

If I were advising my younger self, I would have put affordability near the top of my list of criteria. By the conclusion of my college search, when the realities of expenses had set in, I had only one really affordable option on my list. 

In other words, I had left myself with no affordable plan B that met my other criteria. I was fortunate in how the experience worked out, but I would advise students to have a short list of schools that meet their practical needs – such as money or distance from home – as well as the excellent schools that would require a miraculous scholarship in order to become practical. ​

College, like life, is a series of compromises. It may take some research to uncover the correct balance of desire and practicality, but it is well worth the effort. Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to narrow the world down to a simple choice between two extremes.