In Search of a Match

Case Study 2
Expanding the College List
At her large public high school in New York City, Diana excelled academically. If she
attended college, she would be a first-generation college student. However, Diana
comes from a single-parent home, where her responsibilities — including taking
care of her younger brother, cleaning the apartment, and cooking dinner — often
prevented her from starting her homework until late at night. They also prevented
her from fully dedicating herself to the extracurricular activities and clubs in which
she participated.
Before her senior year, Diana had received little guidance on post-graduation plans.
She was interested in attending a four-year college with a nursing program, but,
like many students, she had formed a specific view of the colleges that were “off
limits” for her. Perhaps based on inaccurate information, she was adamant that
she would not attend a “no-name college,” a City University of New York (CUNY)
college, a college that had the words “Saint” or “Technology” in its name, or a small
liberal arts college.
Diana’s College Match adviser assumed responsibility for exposing her to a wider
range of colleges. She worked to develop a strong relationship with Diana, getting
to know her on a personal level so that she could suggest colleges that would suit
Diana’s needs and interests. The adviser quickly learned that there was much more
to Diana than her strong transcript.
Based on what she learned through her meetings with Diana and using a Match
List, the adviser helped Diana identify colleges that would be a good match for
her. Diana began to consider colleges that she had initially rejected, and decided
to apply to a wider range of colleges, including Adelphi University, Northeastern
University, Boston College, and University of Pennsylvania. After seeing that her
SAT scores were close to the averages for some of the most competitive colleges
on the Match List, she retook the SATs and increased her score by over 100 points
in each section.
NOTE: A pseudonym is used above to protect the student’s identity. See the Epilogue on page 41
to learn about the outcome of this case.
Match, Step by Step | 19