What colleges should I look into attending?

College Search & Selection
1

I am currently a sophomore at a Catholic high school in Massachusetts… I am also beginning my search for the right college.
I would love to hear some suggestions on colleges that I have a chance on getting into. Thank you!
GPA: 3.7 (low because of bad freshman year- sophomore GPA is around a 4.1)
Sports: JV Soccer (9&10), Varsity Indoor Track (10), and Varsity Outdoor Track (9&10)
Theater: Fall Play (9&10), Spring Musical (9&10), and my school’s concert/men’s choir (9&10)
Clubs: Spanish Club (9&10), Math Team (10), and Habitats for Humanity (10)
Also, I have my classes for Junior Year:
-SAT/ACT Prep (required)
-Religion III (require- no levels)
-Algebra 2
-Anatomy H
-Spanish III H
-AP English Lang.
-AP US History
-AP Psych.

Any advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2

It is too early to make any suggestions – come back when you are a junior and have some standardized tests results

In terms of advice, keep working hard and doing as well as you can in the most rigorous curriculum you can handle and work towards moving into leadership positions in a couple of your activities. And don’t forget to spend time enjoying your friends and family.

When the time comes to look at specific colleges, try to visit some different types of schools and get a sense of what you want in your college experience (ex. academics, size, location, and any other things like big time sports, Greek Life, religious affiliation etc.)

3

There are hundreds of colleges you can get into. The questions you need to think about are how much can you afford, what do you want to major in, where do you want to live, and what type of university do you want to attend. If you answer these questions, then you will be able to start narrowing down your search for suitable universities.

Ask your parents what they are willing to spend total per year. Don’t assume they will finance something just because they are able to. That total needs to cover tuition, room and board, textbooks, health insurance, and transportation, among other things.

Consider the various types of universities – large state flagships with football teams and lots of school spirit, small liberal arts colleges, universities in the heart of a large city, universities in small college towns, colleges close to home where you can easily make weekend visits to see your parents, colleges on the other side of the country where you can experience a different climate and lifestyle, etc.

Think about what majors you are considering. Some universities have engineering majors and some don’t. Some have agriculture majors and some don’t. Some have business schools and some don’t. Depending on what majors you are considering, that can impact your list of colleges to apply to.

The activities from high school that you want to continue in college can also affect your decision. How much you want religion to continue to be a part of your college experience will also be a factor. There are Catholic universities, and there are other universities that are not Catholic but are located in cities with a lot of Catholics in them, and plenty of student programs to meet other Catholic students. Then there are some universities and towns where you might find it more difficult to meet other Catholics.

This isn’t about where you can get admitted. It’s about what you can afford and what you want that is affordable. Write up a dream list of what you would want in a university experience, and from that list choose your top three priorities. Combine that knowledge with the price tag that your parents reveal is possible. Then use that information to start putting a list of possible universities together. Only then do you need to assign them to the category of reach (hard for you to be admitted to), match (likely admission), or safety (sure thing because you exceed their average student in admission criteria and they admit a very high percentage of students, like 80% or more).

4

I’d suggest that you make a use of the “College Search” on the left column under “Find a College.” It’s currently under “renovation,” but it will be back. This is where you input your quantitative data and it finds the matches for you. It’s of course a rough guide, but still useful. You then want to make a good use of the Net Price Calculator for the colleges that you narrowed down to see whether which of those colleges are affordable or manageable. I made a good use of both of these tools when I started out, and they were really helpful. Good luck finding the right college for you.

5

Remember to have fun and pursue YOUR interests in high school. It’s not pre-college. It’s a phase in your education (and your life) that is important itself. It is a time for you to learn about you, not a time to try to please a handful or so of admissions officers two years from now. If you devote yourself to that–knowing yourself–you will be more successful in the college admissions process, in college, and in life. And, you will only be young once.

6

And I do agree that the start of the college search process should be a talk with your parents focusing on any limitations they may have – such as what they can afford to pay for college, any geographic limitations etc.