God’s Will and Preparing for College

Tim and Betty TsengInstitute for the Study of AsianAmerican Christianity (ISAAC)

Overview• (Fear) Factors in College Admission

• Overcoming the “fears”– God’s will for college education– Appreciating the value of a “good” college education

• Possible next steps• Conclusion & Discussion

Factors for college selection

• Student• Boy- or girlfriend going there

• Best friend going there

• Fun activities!• Distance from home

• Parent• $$• More $$• Even more $$• Alma Mata• Reputation

Fear Factors in college admissions:

headlines• “competition grows intense in college admissions game…more qualified students rejected as applicants soar…”

• “College parents out of control. Aggressive tactics may hurt students’ shot at admission.

• The college admission game: Fear, uncertainty plague students and parents”

• UCLA (Class of 2007) admitted only 24% of 45,000 applicants

• Harvard (Class of 2007) rejected 19,000 out of 21,000 applicant.

Fear Factors in college admissions:

why?• Echo Boom:

– 1994: 2.5 million high school graduates– 2003: 2.9 million high school graduates– 2009: 3.2 million high school graduates projected

• Social Change:– College education is viewed as KEY to economic success in an information and service oriented society

– Colleges are using aggressive, sophisticated, direct, marketing techniques - students willing to relocate

• The Role of the Internet– Makes information accessible and application process easier - increases number of applicants

Timeout!

Checking in -• What are your responses?

God’s Will for Your College Education

• Which best describes your personality?– Medical Doctor - - - - Anti-

Global Warming activist– Pastor - - - - CEO– Stanford - - - - CSU East Bay

God’s Will for Your College Education

• Parents: how did you know that your choice of college or career “fit” into God’s will?

• How does college education “fit” into God’s will for us?

God’s Will for Your College Education

God-centered people: Education and Israel

• So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. - Deut. 10:12-13 (NRSV)

God’s Will for Your College Education

• You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land - Deut. 11:18-21 (NRSV)

God’s Will for Your College Education

God-centered people: Compassion and just

• Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. - Deut. 10:16-19 (NRSV)

God’s Will for Your College Education

• Biblical principle for education:– Not mere obedience– Character formation (Christlikeness)– Social transformation (salt & light)

• Confucian humanism: self-cultivation– More than good grades!– Jen -> family -> community ->

nation-> world

God’s Will for Your College Education

• Basic Assumptions:– the world’s “system” is sinful and

distortion of what God intends– The world’s “system” needs to be

transformed– Israel’s experience is a first example of

God’s efforts to change the world’s “system”

– Jesus Christ is the best model for transforming the world’s “system”

– Therefore, the first step is to reject the world’s definition of what “good” college education is.

Myths of a “good” college education

Myth• There are fewer college admission slots than applicants

• The more selective a school the better the education

Reality• This is true only in the super selective colleges (the 10 schs that admit < 20% of applicants)

• Not necessarily true. More later.

Myths of a “good” college education

Myth• “I’ll make more money after a highly selective college education”

• Highly selective college gets you to graduate school

Reality• Dale and Krueger study: “no difference in income”

• Dale and Krueger study: “graduate schools admit based on student’s qualities”

Myths of a “good” college education

Myth• Only the highly ranked colleges are good (U.S. News and World Report, etc. annual ranking of “top” colleges)

Reality• Ranking system based on factors that are easily manipulated (e.g., administrators opinions carry 25% weight of the ranking survey)

• Ranking systems have not been able to measure the quality of an educational experience for an individual

What is a “good” college education?

• Handout of values and practical criteria.

Possible Next Steps• Finding God’s “Fit” for college:

– Do personal assessments (both parent and student)

– Study the college choices– Begin the application journey

• College admission advisory help– Build a relationship with your high school college/guidance counselor

– Seek private college consultation service, when needed

Conclusion

• Perfect love casts out all fear….

• God’s grace is sufficient….• Any questions?

For more informationTim and Betty Tseng

Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity (ISAAC)

6001 Castlebrook Drive

Castro Valley, CA 94552-1645

www.isaacweb.org

timtseng@isaacweb.org

bettytseng@sbcglobal.net

• Further Reading• Loren Pope, Looking

Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You (Penguin, 2007)

• Sally P. Springer and Marion R. Franck, Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know about Getting Into College (John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2005)