Yes, Your Child Can Find a College Home Where They Will Thrive
Parents with children who have unique needs for their learning and living environment worry that there may not be a college where their child will be happy and successful. Their child may have learning differences, documented disabilities, long-term health issues, or be part of a marginalized identity and require a welcoming and supportive campus environment in order to thrive. Regardless of the details, these families all share a deep love for their child and a fervent wish that their child find a college home that will support them in developing and gaining skills to build a successful future. They wonder: will my child be able to go to college, be happy and succeed in college, and go on to live a successful life? At Lantern College Counseling, we've helped many families find that the answer to these questions is YES, by guiding them to schools where their child can thrive.
I recently shared a new paradigm for the college search and application process centered on thriving as a foundation for lifelong success and based on the concept of Deep-Fit™, developed through my decades of experience supporting college students. At a Deep-Fit college, a student will have the opportunity to have positive, impactful experiences, meet their specific academic and personal goals, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life. Deep-Fit is especially powerful for students with unique requirements for their learning environment, since a Deep-Fit school is critical for their growth, development, and well-being.
“Dr. Stephan’s Deep-Fit approach strongly resonates with the work I do as an academic coach for high school and college students with disabilities. Deep-Fit embraces the long-view of what a college education is all about - not just getting into a top-tier institution, but thriving while you are there and becoming your most authentic self. Higher education is an inherently ableist system, and students with disabilities need to be strong self-advocates when it comes to accessing resources and navigating barriers on campus. When students and families use a Deep-Fit approach to the college search, they can discover schools that embrace their diverse abilities, prioritize equity and inclusion, and provide access to the services they need to succeed. They can identify the Deep-Fit college experience they deserve - one that makes them feel inspired, confident, and optimistic about their future.”
— Academic Life Coach and disability specialist Kate Pillette
Good-Fit vs. Deep-Fit
Most college search guidance is about identifying a good-fit school that meets the student’s general criteria, such as location, size, and academic and social opportunities. These criteria are objective and concrete factors and independent of any given student. For example, consider this recent NY Times tool, which allows students to build their own rankings based on earnings potential, cost (sticker and net price), academic profile, party scene, diversity (racial and economic), potential for economic mobility, athletics, and campus safety.
With the concept of Deep-Fit, choosing a school isn't about chasing prestige, US News and World Report rankings, or basic ‘fit’ criteria. These factors are important to consider, of course, but Deep-Fit is more than this. After all, two schools with similar size, location, and academic and social opportunities are not the same, and a student might have vastly different experiences at them.
What is a Deep-Fit College?
A Deep-Fit college is a good-fit college where a student will have the opportunity to have positive, impactful experiences, meet their specific academic and personal goals, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life—to create their future.
What is a Deep-Fit College Search?
A Deep-Fit college search is one where a student is engaged in a guided process of identifying Deep-Fit colleges. At Lantern College Counseling, we support students with a range of tools to gain a sense of what they seek and value, their academic direction, and do deep research to identify Deep-Fit colleges.
Where Can Students Have Deep-Fit Experiences?
Every school offers impactful experiences. However, not every student will find these experiences at every school, especially students with unique needs for their learning environment. Some schools provide a higher likelihood of that particular student thriving and having these enriching experiences—these are known as a student’s Deep-Fit colleges.
Beyond Good-Fit, What are Your Deep-Fit Criteria?
At Lantern, we build a customized college list of good-fit schools for each student based on our work and what we’ve learned about what they seek and value in their college experience. We then guide students to determine which of these good-fit schools are a Deep-Fit for them. What questions should they ask and answer to know if a school is a place where they can have positive, impactful experiences, meet their specific academic and personal goals, thrive, and lay the foundation for a successful life—to create their future?
How to Identify a Deep-Fit Office of Accessibility for Disability Support
If a student has a disability, we encourage them to research each school’s Office of Accessibility on its website and meet with a staff member from the Office on a campus visit or through a virtual appointment if they cannot make a physical visit. Students should ask questions about what type of support they could expect at a school, as applies to their specific situation, such as:
How many people work there, and what is their background and experience?
How many students does the Office serve?
What is the process for arranging accommodations?
What services do they provide?
Is there a fee for any of these services?
Are there executive function or academic coaches available? Subject tutors? Writing tutors? What are the details of these services? Are they one-on-one? Small group? How often can a student engage with these services?
Is distraction-free testing available, and in what form? Is there a testing center?
Can students with qualifying disabilities receive extended time on exams? Assistive technology? Note takers?
Is it possible to receive a foreign language waiver or substitution?
Can students with qualifying disabilities receive priority registration? Be part-time through a reduced course load and take more time to complete their degree? Study remotely?
What housing accommodations are available?
What dining accommodations are available?
What transportation services exist?
Are there special programs for students with disabilities? If so, what are their features?
How to Identify a Deep-Fit Safe Environment
If a student has an identity that puts them at risk, we use resources such as the ACLU’s tracking of state anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the ADL's Campus Antisemitism Report Card, or the College Boards Resources for Advising Undocumented Students, among others, to develop a list of schools that meet the student’s good-fit safety criteria.* Once we build a list of safe, good-fit schools, we guide students to consider important questions to learn more about what they could expect to experience at each school.
For instance, if a student identifies as LGBTQ+, we encourage them to consider Campus Pride’s top 10 criteria for LGBTQ students to look for in a college campus and ask the following questions:
Are there active LGBTQ student organizations?
When you visit, are LGBTQ students visible?
Are there LGBTQ faculty and staff who support the community?
What are the LGBTQ-related campus policies? Is “sexual orientation” in the school’s nondiscrimination policy? “Gender identity or expression”? Does the campus support same-sex domestic partner benefits or trans-inclusive health benefits?
Are there visible signs of pride on the campus? Rainbow flags? Pink triangles? Ally or Safe Space/Space Zone program signs?
Is there LGBTQ-themed housing? Are there gender-neutral bathrooms?
Is there an established LGBTQ Center or Office? If so, does the Center have paid professional staff leading it?
Are there LGBTQ academic offerings such as courses, a major, or a minor?
Is there a liberal attitude on campus?
What is the LGBTQ social scene - on campus or in the surrounding area (neighborhood, town, city)?
* If a student wants to attend college in a state where a full range of reproductive health care is available, we reference the NY Times abortion law tracking tool while list-building. And for families concerned about gun safety, we find the Giffords Law Center Annual Scorecard is a valuable resource. FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings are useful when we guide students who want to attend campuses with a culture of civil discourse.
Student Case Study: Dylan
Lantern College Counseling student Dylan was targeting the highly competitive field of CS and had special requirements for his learning environment. He is a cancer survivor who had his last treatment in September of his senior year, so he had very real constraints concerning access to specific types of health care. He needed to be within a specific distance of a major children’s hospital. Also, his illness had shaped his perspective. He sought a rich, rewarding, enjoyable college experience.
He was accepted to several highly selective institutions but chose to attend less selective University of Vermont for Deep-Fit reasons. These are (in part) his notes about his reasons:
campus college experience
interest housing (gaming!)
multiple styles of living on campus, and plenty of it
their computer science major is spot on with what I am looking for
practical classes each year, with less but still some theory
well-documented paths to take, and lots of paths to take
Vermont is beautiful (he is from California)
lifestyle on-campus – the culture of wellness
symphony orchestra
campus ministry
the tour guide was super enthusiastic, and although he was not a CS major, he definitely reminded me of my current friends
And, of course, The University of Vermont’s Medical Center, including a children’s hospital, is right there.
He is now a happy (and healthy!) sophomore after a successful first year! I was excited to speak with him recently and thrilled to learn that in his first year, he met an electrical engineering professor through campus ministry doing “amazing research” using machine learning to make a more efficient and sustainable power grid for ISO New England. Dylan will be doing research with the professor and helping to create complex models to reduce the number of variables in problems related to optimizing the grid. This is the type of impactful experience I was hoping he would find at UVM! Indeed, one of the big six college experiences linked to life long success is working on a long-term project. Another is working with a professor who makes a student excited to learn, cares about the student as an individual, and mentors them.
Student Case Study: Tiffany
Tiffany is a student with severe Celiac disease. It was critical for her health that we find her a college home that would properly accommodate her gluten allergy - a college with what her mother termed "a responsible cafeteria." Her mother wrote, "I have tried to look it up at both schools, but it's the generic canned response regarding all allergies on their websites." What she was finding was "good-fit." I supported their family to find a "Deep-Fit" school concerning her Celiac disease. I encouraged them to include a meeting with a school's dietician, nutritionist, or Director of Dining Services on their campus visits and ask questions such as these recommended by the National Celiac Association and a parent of a child with Celiac disease. I also advised them to request to speak with a current student or recent alumni with Celiac disease to learn about their dining experiences. Lastly, I suggested they to consider the school's surrounding community - were there gluten-free takeout and dining options for when Tiffany might want to eat off campus with friends?
After doing their research, including speaking with a current student and the head of food services, the family felt confident with Tiffany's applying to Middlebury College early decision, where she was accepted. She is now a healthy and happy first-year student at Middlebury!
Student Case Study: Alex
When I first met Alex, I was continuously struck by her extraordinary self-awareness. When talking through what she sought and valued in a college, she said to me, "Overall, here is what (generally) I am looking for in colleges now: great psychology program, fairly large school, access to a lot of classes, not too rural (more urban than rural), school is supportive of LGBTQ+." She then went on, "I want to add that I know LGBTQ+ people are the minority, so finding a small school with a large group of people who are LGBTQ+ will be super hard. If we can find them, let's look at them, but large schools are really the best bet at finding diversity just because there are so many people there." Note that she recognizes she has general criteria and also, by the use of the word "now," that she knows her thinking may evolve. We started with lists like Campus Pride's 2023 BEST OF THE BEST LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities and U.S. News and World Report's List of Highly Rated Colleges for LGBTQ+ Students to build her list of possible Deep-Fit schools. She then made college visits and considered resources such as Campus Pride's top 10 criteria for LGBTQ students to look for in a college campus, as described earlier. Ultimately, she chose to attend Rutgers University, singled out by Campus Pride in 2023 as one of the best LGBTQ-friendly colleges, where she is a sophomore having a positive queer experience as a trans student.
Student Case Study: Emma
Emma is a bright student from New Jersey with dyslexia who needs access to accommodations to succeed. She also is Dominican, and diversity - at her college and within its surrounding community - is a significant factor for her well-being in college. During her college search, we identified schools with strong learning disability support, as described above, and focused on smaller undergraduate-focused schools that offered diverse communities. She is now a sophomore at Rollins College, thriving academically, and has access to the Latinx communities of Rollins and Florida to flourish. It is encouraging to hear from her how much the small, closed-knit Rollins community has buoyed her transition and adjustment to college.
Learn more about how Lantern’s Deep-Fit counseling services can help your child find a college home where they will succeed and be happy.
Where is your child on their journey to find their Deep-Fit? Access our Deep-Fit Assessment tool.
