Would I Make the Same Choice Today? How Information Changes Our Decisions

In 1987, I made one of the biggest decisions of my young life: where I would go to college. I chose the University of Tampa without visiting the campus, without social media, without virtual tours, and without access to the enormous amount of information students have today. Much of my decision was based on a college catalog, reputation, and the recommendation of someone I trusted. That raises an interesting question:

If I were 17 years old today, would I make the same choice? The answer is that I really don’t know. And in this companion podcast, I explore why that uncertainty matters.

We often look back at our younger selves and ask what we would have done differently. But that question sometimes ignores something important: we were making decisions with the information, resources, circumstances, and perspective available to us at that particular moment.

Today’s students can research tuition, campus culture, dorm rooms, student organizations, financial aid, student reviews, career outcomes, and even communicate directly with current students before ever visiting a school.

My generation didn’t have that same level of access. So maybe the better question isn’t whether we would make the same decision today. Maybe it’s: Did we make the best decision we could with what we knew at the time?

This conversation goes beyond college. It applies to careers, relationships, money, opportunities, and many of the choices we make throughout our lives. Sometimes a decision wasn’t wrong. Sometimes the world simply changed.

Call to Action:
Think about one major decision you made when you were younger. Would you make the same decision today? And if not, ask yourself why. Was the original decision actually wrong—or do you simply have access to information and perspective today that you didn’t have then? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Follow IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves for more conversations about life, education, career, personal growth, and the lessons we discover when we look back with a little more perspective.

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