By Nolan and Zahra
The morning began with some silent queries on what interested us on college visits and our student traits ranging from strengths to weaknesses. Then we moved on to our first task of the day: completing strength inventory surveys to reflect internally before touring colleges. These surveys took an hour to complete and reflect on as they provided us with detailed summaries of our strengths, most and least compatible archetypes, interests, and field of study matches, as well as some potential job matches. The surveys were a combination of different types of questions in order to understand how we thought, engaged with others and responded to different situations. These assessments were followed with guided journaling and meaningful discussion on the results, such as things we found surprising or affirming while exploring the importance and utilization of these reports.
The latter half of the day primarily focused on the collegiate aspects of this Intensive Learning experience, exploring news rankings of colleges and how we would personally rank aspects of higher education to consider when applying, followed by imaging our lives in the future and a brief reflective discussion. When presented with the percentage breakdown of how U.S. News made its rankings, many of us were surprised by the numbers. Making our personalized ranking methodology allowed us to think about what we considered to be the most important in a college setting and eventually transitioned us into a broader discussion on what environments allow us to strive while connecting this back to the college decision process as well. Additionally, our future-life reflection made us think carefully about what we wanted to achieve in life with college and afterward; relating to the “now and beyond” explorative nature of this IL experience. Following an incredibly reflective first day of Intensive Learning, we’ve walked away with a greater sense of who we are as people, and the many considerations that come with deciding which college is the right fit. After this, we’ll truly be thriving now and beyond!
