How do you best approach the creation of a college list (specifically ED)?

College Search & Selection
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**A) What your family can afford? **

If your family has financial need (according to FAFSA/CSS, not what you think!), you can get need-based grants.
-Look at Net Price Calculators on colleges to see if you would get need based financial aid.
-Apply to Colleges that meet Full need https://blog.prepscholar.com/colleges-that-offer-complete-financial-aid

**B) What are your GPA and SAT? **

**C) What do you want to major in? **

**D) What aspects of college are important to you? **

  1. Net Cost.
  2. Career goal – e.g., Architect, Lawyer, Doctor, Engineer, etc.
  3. Major – this may often correlate with your career goal.
  4. Geographic location – how far from home do you want to be? What is the weather like?
  5. Urban/rural/suburban
  6. Number of Undergraduates - Big/Small. Do you want a small Liberal Arts College (LAC) or a big State School?
  7. GPA/SAT/ACT scores
  8. Faculty Student Ratio
  9. % of students that live on campus
  10. % of students Graduating after 4 years
  11. How big is the department for your major? If you are majoring in something that only has a couple of professors, that does not bode well.
  12. Housing- do they offer all 4 years? freshman only?
  13. Is this a commuter school? (do students go home on weekends)
  14. Surrounding area - what is the nearby town/amenities like?
  15. Transportation - how would you get home
  16. AP Credits - can you get credit for AP tests you have taken
  17. Male/Female ratio
  18. Greek life - what % of students are in greek life. Do you care?
  19. Parking
  20. Diversity
  21. Safety

So for my older daughter she knew that she wanted a big school, 3-4 hours away, Math Major, <$30K per year. She came up with a list of public and private colleges. After she found out where she was admitted, she chose amongst the affordable options.
The younger one had a harder time…she wanted Psych major, 1-2 hours away, smaller (but not too small)…I helped her find a candidate. When I noticed she kept comparing all the other schools to that one, I suggested that she just apply ED (it was a state college) and she did and she was admitted.

For both of them I looked for the “best value colleges” and came up with an idea for them (based on what they wanted) and they both ended up at the place I picked.