Tips for narrowing down college list?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I have a lot of colleges on my "rough draft" list, including 6 highly selective schools (Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wash U SL), a number of somewhat less selective LACs, my local state school (U MN Twin Cities), and a few others. I'm hoping to narrow everything down to 3 reaches, 5 matches, and 2 safeties (one guideline I'm using is admission rate, i.e. <25%=reach, 25-50%=match, >50%=safety. I know this isn't highly accurate, but I can refine it later).</p>

<p>But I just don't know how to narrow my list down! I've done a lot of research on some of the schools and really like them, but even when there are negative factors at a school I have a hard time taking it off my list (though I have, reluctantly, if it is a factor I can articulate and know for sure I couldn't thoroughly enjoy the school).</p>

<p>Particularly with Yale, Harvard, and Columbia. I'm about 90% sure that Yale is my first choice and I'll apply EA, but there are a lot of things I like about Harvard and Columbia...only I don't really want to apply to all 3. I can't afford to apply to a ton of schools (is requesting a fee waiver a bad thing?) and I don't want to take the time to do so anyway. I think it starts to get ridiculous after 10 apps. I want to do less and do them well, particularly since I plan to apply for a lot of scholarships.</p>

<p>Does anyone have tips for narrowing down my list? I've already checked which extracurriculars they have, average indebtedness at graduation, % of fin aid given in scholarships/grant aid vs. work study/loans, and other stats available on collegeboard. Also I've looked at the college's websites, particularly my areas of interest, and the viewbooks and other materials I've received in the mail. Obviously all the colleges tout their amazingness so not all the website/viewbook info is reliable. I really need to start hacking my list to pieces...and I'm afraid I'll come across a college months down the road that I would have loved and it'll be too late to apply or something.</p>

<p>So help me, please ^_^</p>

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<p>i started with about 16, ended up sending in applications to 9</p>

<p>when you have to start filling out apps, it will take care of itself</p>

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<p>go EA to yale, RD to harvard and columbia, then you can choose between the three. (hopefully)</p>

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<p>lol, brassmonkey, that is exactly my tactic, and with Canadian schools as my fin. and academic safeties, I'll prob. apply to a lot of reach schools in the end...talk abt being hopeful^.^</p>

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<p>lavender, I think when your list includes SUPER selectives like Yale and Harvard plus highly selectives like Columbia, Amherst and Swarthmore, you may need to cast a wider net, i.e., apply to more rather than less. In that case I would say that 10-12 applications is not out of the question.</p>

<p>ALL schools have negatives and it's okay to keep them on the list even if there are certain aspects that you're unsure of. I think the fact that you admit this is healthy. </p>

<p>Also, be very clear on your family's financial situation. Will you qualify for need based aid or will you also expect to receive merit aid? It's critical to understand the difference and to gauge the possibilities before narrowing in on your final choices.</p>

<p>Some ideas to cut down on the work and expense:
*Yes, do apply for application fee waivers. This is not a negative.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>See if one of your safeties has rolling admissions so that you can have one admission under your belt early in the process. (Note: this only works if it's a school that you really want to attend.)</p></li>
<li><p>Re-calibrate your list after you learn what happens with your SCEA.
If you get in, then you can focus on your top choices and not worry about selectivity. If you don't get in, you may want to add more in the mid-match range.</p></li>
<li><p>Visit. For example the atmosphere of Amherst and Columbia are quite different. Which would be a better fit for YOU?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>In any event, plan to complete all the essays well in advance of the EA admissions date. There's nothing worse than having to write essays while overcoming disappointment.</p>

<p>Good luck and let us know how it goes.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the advice! I hope to visit schools in the fall since I'm too busy this summer.</p>

<p>My family's financial situation is OK, but my parents probably won't help with my college at all. My dad makes $67k and my mom doesn't work. There are 7 kids and my older sister is going into her senior year at St. Olaf (she did her first 2 years at U Washington, but my dad made less and she qualified for tuition exemption). In fact, my dad made a LOT less until about 2 years ago when we moved to MN. So my parents have never been able to save, and right now expenses > income. I don't mind taking out loans and doing work study and I hope to get at least a few scholarships, so I'm not too worried about finances, but I will definitely qualify for need-based aid. Unfortunately, when my sister started at St. Olaf, our family's EFC was $10,000 - nowhere near what they could pay. They were able to help her with a few thousand since we'd just moved and made some money off selling our other house.</p>

<p>I think I could be happy in a variety of different atmospheres. For instance, I know that at Amherst and Columbia there will be a lot to do; since Amherst has 5 colleges in the area, there will be all kinds of musical and theatrical events I can be involved in. Columbia would be awesome because of its proximity to Broadway. I've been to NYC and really liked it, so I'm pretty sure I would enjoy college there. Also, I love Boston. I haven't been to New Haven but I've read a lot about it and I think I'd like it too.</p>

<p>Thanks - I didn't know whether asking for a fee waiver would hurt me. Actually, there is a fund at my school for helping people apply to selective, high-fee schools, so I will try to find out more about that too.</p>

<p>Any more advice...?</p>

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<p>Well, last year when I was in the same place as you, I think I had a very long list of about, oh, 30 colleges, then I really focused on three things: environment, financial aid, and academics. Which after looking through many books and very few visits (like you I didn't have much of an opportunity to visit colleges, only visited three and only one was actually a reach) I dropped my list to 12 colleges, and get this, 8 reaches, 2 matches, and 2 safeties - all of which I would have been happy to attend. So, hmmm, with actual advice, I don't really know what to recommend, I think at this stage, almost everything is a whim, and you should do what your instict tells you, though I would recommend applying to schools with a variety of environments rural vs. urban; small school (<1500) vs. medium school (1500-5000) vs. large school (5000-8000) vs. massive state schools (>8000). Cause what you think you once wanted might not be true anymore.</p>