Choosing a College? Try to Think of Your Future Self

It’s usually pretty easy for people to recognize that their personalities and tastes have changed over the years. However, it’s difficult for them to see that these attributes will continue to change in the future.

Called the “end of history illusion,” this finding is the crux of a recent series of studies conducted at Harvard and the University of Virginia. Click here to read more about them.

What does this finding mean for college applicants? You shouldn’t just think of your current self when choosing a college. Try to imagine the person you will be as an undergrad and, later, as a graduate. Will this person appreciate going to—or having gone to—the college you have in mind?

For more advice on choosing a college, click here.

Comments

[Trident University]

That's a great point about thinking about your future self. Another question is to ask is what profession your future self would want to be involved in for the rest of your life? That can impact the major selected.