Why Build Your Puzzle

Approximately 4,000,000 people start college every year because they are tempted by the promise of college. However, less than half of those will graduate.

MyCollegePuzzle was built to help you improve your chances of graduating from college.

Students who don't graduate share certain risk factors such as:

• miscalculation of the time commitment,
• an academic program that is not aligned with a career goal, or
• the absence of a support network of family or friends.

We believe this website will help you identify risks that may jeopardize your chances of graduating and then empower you with the information you need to overcome those risks.

We depict your college experience as a puzzle of interlocking pieces, each of which describes certain risks or factors that can join to become a positive outcome of college graduation.

Of course, there are no silver bullets for college success. But, we believe that consideration of the questions posed here will help. You will proceed through a set of questions that take roughly 20 minutes to answer.

You can use the puzzle to answer such questions as:

• Should I go to college now?
• What are my major strengths and weaknesses?
• Do I have the time and support to help me complete the degree?
• What type of academic program is best?

Completion of the entire "puzzle" should give you a better understanding of the key opportunities and obstacles. At the end of the puzzle we give you an overall summary and "letter of recommendations". The letter can be a valuable resource for you as you begin to closely examine college choices and programs.

We believe that users of this website will include a full spectrum of people considering college, from those considering vocational programs to those considering more traditional, four-year degrees.

The CEO and co-founder of MyCollegePuzzle is Michael W. Kirst. Dr. Kirst is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, former President of the California State Board of Education, and a former high level federal official. His extensive accomplishments and list of publications can be viewed at his website (www.michaelwkirst.com). Dr. Kirst examines many of the crucial issues in college success at his blog (www.thecollegepuzzle.com).