Creating a college listvis a long lengthy experience and if you are like me you areextreamly indecisive. I started off my college list with over 40 colleges and now I have 10 so that’s pretty good for me. However, I cant apply to ten colleges. I’m a junior in high school right now but senior year seems to be coming closer and closer. So I created this form to see if any one was dealing with this same thing and if anyone has any advice like really I need help narrowing this list.
The List:
USC
Scripps
University of Richmond
Oberlin College
Uga
Temple
Berry College (ga)
Davidspn college
Agnes Scott
Washington university in st. Louis
So if you can help me with this list I will forever be grateful to you and chance you if you want.
And I’m thinking about adding Rice and UNC chapel hill. Yah. I know I got some issues.
Well I will start-what is your financial situation like? Will paying for college be a stretch or difficult? How are your grades and scores. Will you want merit money? Are your credentials so strong that you can consider need blind and “meet full need” schools? What do you want to study? Look at some of the chance threads to see what others view as necessary to consider when choosing schools for your list.
Ok… Thank you. Some of the colleges that I’m looking at are a little bit of a stretch but u k a qualified applicant for most of them.
What are your criteria? They seem like very different schools.
Most of them are liberal arts but the big schools in my list are for their big arts program. I haven’t taken any tests yet and my ECs are pretty good. I want to major in art and I got some am awards for art. My Gpa is a 3.7 uw. I’ve taken 11 Ap classes. What colleges should I take off my list?
Have you visited any of them? Just very different vibes is all – hard to know what to add or subtract without knowing what you’re looking for specifically.
Have you read thru any books about college apps? Good ones will have chapters on how to select a college that is a fit, things to ask and look for on a college visit, etc. One book I like is “Admission Matters”.
As a junior I suggest you visit colleges of various types in your area to get a feel for the different atmosphere. A large public, a rural LAC, a mid-size school, a LAC in a city or suburb, etc. And while the local schools may not be the ones you are applying to, it will give you a sense of what it is like. A lot of kids that think they’d be ok with anything find that some types are definitely not right for them.
I personally don’t think that 10 schools is too many if you have some reaches, matches, and safeties in the mix. You need some test scores to know how to categorize your list. Have you visited any of these colleges? I visited both USC and Scripps with my daughter, and while there is much to like about each one, they are very, very different colleges. Perhaps some visiting will help you narrow down the list. If you can’t visit these particular schools, you can try to visit some nearby and see what you prefer in general (large, urban, small LAC, suburban, rural, etc.).
Are you from Georgia? How did you do on the PSAT (that will provide an idea of whether or not the schools you have listed are in reach?)
Are you planning to apply to any art schools, given that’s what you want to pursue?
Agree with @mikemac - think about whether you would prefer urban/suburban/rural or small/mid/large sized campuses. If you don’t know, visit a couple of places local to you and see how they feel.
Have you had a substantial conversation with your parents about what they are willing to pay? Have you run any financial aid calculators to see what your EFC is likely to be? There have been many many threads here on CC that involve parents saying don’t worry about the cost and then finding out what that cost is likely to be AFTER the applications are in and the student accepted. Make sure you’re really on the same page regarding money.
Seems like you have a lot of reaches with a 3.7 GPA and no test score info yet. I don’t know much about the southern schools so I’m guessing a little on those.
Higher Reach:
USC
Scripps
Washington university in st. Louis
Lower Reach:
University of Richmond
Oberlin College
Davidson
Match?
UGA
Temple
Berry College (GA)
Agnes Scott
I have visited GSU, Agnes Scott, and SCAD. I didn’t like Ga state or Scad because it felt like the campus was all over the place and it didn’t really feel like a college. Agnes Scot campus was really pretty and I like the Gothic architecture of the buildings but the campus felt super duper small but out of the colleges I visited I liked them the best. I want a traditional campus with old architecture and I want to be able to do a lot of things on campus and I want to explore off campus.My safety schools are UGA, Temple, Berry College (GA) Agnes Scott, My Maybe (50/50) colleges are University of Richmond ,Oberlin College, USC and Davidson, and my reach schools are Scrips and WUSTL. The reason why I am looking at Big schools like UGA, Temple and USC is because I am interested in the arts program and usually no matter what college you go to there are not many people in art classes. I did the net price calculator for all the schools and all of the schools have pretty good financial aid and scholarships. My favorite is Scripps because I like the consortium and the campus is gorgeous.
Don’t replace USC with UCLA. You won’t get any money from UCLA, so it likely won’t be cheaper even though its public. I would determine which schools are matches, reaches and safeties and then apply to 2 safeties, 3 matches, and 2 reaches. Definitely apply to UGA EA if you’re instate. Depending on where you live, your gpa may be a little low (if you’re at a competitive metro Atlanta school) but you have a great amount of AP classes; that is really important to UGA and 11 is about the average amount ea.