Every fall and winter college campuses are visited by high school juniors and seniors and their travel-weary parents in search of the best college fit. Students and parents spend a great deal of time and money making these treks, which can often lead to disappointment if there is not a perfect match.
Professor Emeritus Richard Dorf’s latest book, The College Journey: From College to Career (2008), is dedicated to the principle that there is a “best” college for every prospective college student. It offers a distinctive method that will help parents and their children choose the best colleges before leaving the house. Dorf presents an algorithm that accounts for the college-bound child’s goals, strengths, character and situation and matches those to the goals, strengths, character, situation and culture of U.S. colleges. Dorf has created an easy way for parents to be more systematic in choosing the right colleges given their child’s characteristics and disposition, weeding out the colleges that are definitely not an option. Dorf’s book is based on the theory, according to Howard Gardner, that a student should aim to develop his/her five minds: disciplined, synthesizing, creative, respectful, and ethical-spiritual. Dorf’s 32nd title, The College Journey: From College to Career will be available on Amazon.com as a print-on-demand selection and on Kindle, Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Alumni Robert Lutolf ‘93 and Mac Clemmens ’07 are collaborating with Dorf on a Web marketing strategy to promote the e-book.