Amid protests, counterprotests, crackdowns and even arrests, these are dramatic times on college campuses, and they're likely to stay that way through this year's graduations at the very least. Adding a different kind of drama, the process by which high school students bid for a spot on those campuses has gotten steadily crazier, and this year broke down spectacularly.
For all the urgency of the current crises, it's easy to forget that colleges are first and foremost sites of academic instruction and exploration, places where callow teenagers mature — if all goes at least semi-right — into confident, educated adults ready to find their way in the world.
This is the time of year when many high school students begin their search, poking around college websites, reading promotional material, talking to current students and alumni and touring campuses. But what should they be looking for? How should they sort through their options? What's the right fit?
In a guest essay published Sunday, Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, offers an answer that defies conventional wisdom. It might make readers uncomfortable. In fact, it's intended to. But it's great advice for college selection — and for the life that follows, too.
Read the guest essay:
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 | | Jeremy M. Lange for The New York Times |
Guest Essay The Best College Is One Where You Don't Fit InHave you heard the advice to go where you can see yourself? Ignore it. By Michael S. Roth |
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