hi everyone! i was just wondering if u guys had any tips on how to start my college list. i know it might be a little early, but i just want to see what colleges i like and dont like. how do i decide which colleges are a match, reach, safety, etc? thanks!
hey! personally, I started my college list end of junior year because your stats change and extracurriculars, etc. but if you really want to start right now, look at the in-state-schools you like or heard of. lookup acceptance rates, average GPA, sat scores, what are their most competitive majors, etc., and make a list on google sheets to keep yourself organized!! hope this helps! let me know if you have any more questions.
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Now is a good time to figure out the general category of college which you think you’ll like. Thing like size, urban/suburban/rural, region of the country, etc. It’s also worth your while to take a look at some examples of each.
That way, by the fall, you will be able to start building a “long list” of potential colleges, and then, next spring, you’ll be able to start focusing on a college list, visit a top contenders in the break between Junior and Senior year, and be ready to start applying in fall of Senior year.
However, as I wrote, at the moment start learning what you want, and which types of college would be able to provide this to you.
So start with a list of all the characteristics colleges which you think would affect your experience there, academically (very important) and socially (also important). Also start talking with your parents about finances. There is little point in considering any category of college which your parents could not afford.
Finally - have fun with it.
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#1 is find out from your parents what the budget is, and run some net price calculators of some colleges (e.g. state flagship, local state university, a few private colleges) to get an idea of what cost and financial aid may be like.
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Perhaps look into buying the fiske guide to college book then start looking through it folding down the pages of any colleges that seem interesting
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is that book worth it or can i just use a website to look at colleges (collegevine, collegeconfidential, etc)? thanks for your reply!
haha funnily enough i never even thought about the price for some reason (even though thats one of the most important factors for me), i looked at the other factors first. i definitely need to talk to my parents about that soon. thanks for your reply!
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so just get the general idea of what type of college i want (socially, geographically, academically, etc), then cut down the long list later? got it. thanks so much for your reply!
hey thanks so much for your response! how do i classify a school as a match/reach/safety when it comes to ECs? its easy to classify schools with my stats since its just a google search, but ECs are very different
Don’t consider ECs when classifying schools. Go by your unweighted GPA and test scores and the school’s acceptance rate.
And be careful for schools that admit by major to be sure that your are looking at the acceptance rate for your major, and if it’s a public school, the difference in acceptance rate between instate and out of state residents .
IMO, if a school has a 20-25% acceptance rate or less, it should be a reach for even a perfect stats applicant.
A safety is a school that you are 100% going to be accepted to, that is affordable to your family, and you would be happy to attend. IMO, start there! It’s easy to add the reaches, harder to find the safeties.
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ok thank you so much!
this book is defiantly worth it in my opinion it gives you a detailed insight into the atmosphere of the university and raised points I didn’t find easily online. It also made it easy to compare universities and have all the information in one place. I found myself constantly referring to the book as I conducted the college search process. It is a very honest candid book and unlike online sites isn’t just one person’s opinion and so less biased. (I promise I’m not a marketer for the book ahah I just really liked it)
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You should be able to borrow the guide books from your local library.
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Fiske is definitely worth it and not available online.
You can check it out of your local library. Our libraries are closed, but we can reserve books online, then pick them up from a drop box at the library.
Princeton Review is also worth it, but is available online at PrincetonReview.com
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Hi! I started my college list and it was very different from the schools I actually ended up applying to.
I would recommend making a spreadsheet and listing the name of college, acceptance rates, what major you might be interested in, test scores, rankings, etc.
One thing I did that really helped was make a list of my ideal school. I included classes they would have, where it might be located, how big it would be, how much money it was, etc.
I then went to guidebooks or online sites like Niche or Princeton Review and sorted them based on aspects that interested me. I would write down any school that sounded interesting to me. This will probably be a long list! One of the cool things about Princeton Review is that it gave similar schools and what students said about the school. Picking a college is much more than academics!!
Safety schools are schools where you have a higher average test score or GPA than, match/target are where you are in the average range, and reach schools are a bit above your stats.
Sorry if this is a lot or unclear, but I wish you the best of luck and know that you’ll end up where you are supposed to.
Lastly, remember to just have fun! You still have time.
If you have any questions let me know and I would be happy to help.
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For most students the budget is the #1 criteria. This is followed quickly by considerations of which schools a student thinks that they can get accepted to.
It is important to pick out at least one and preferably two safeties. For us our safeties were either in-state public universities, or universities in Canada (we live in the northern part of the US, and admissions in Canada tends to be predictable).
Different universities are best for different majors. Having some sense of what majors you might be considering is a good idea.
It is valuable to visit a few schools. Unfortunately with the pandemic this will be less useful right now both because you cannot go into classrooms and watch classes and also because there will be fewer students wandering around. It is a good idea to get a sense of whether you want a big university or a smaller school, whether you want to be in big city, small city, or small town, and see what just feels right.
Right now you can probably drive around the campus of schools near you. In a year the pandemic should be over and you might be able to get a tour, talk to students and a professor, and perhaps sit in on a class.
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You have received great advice in the above posts.
Buy Fiske Guide To Colleges.
Determine what you would like to study. The best schools for the study of engineering, business, or nursing are typically different than the best schools for studying liberal arts/humanities.
Any standardized test scores such as SAT or ACT ?
Budget should be considered after a future applicant has determined his or her GPA, class rank, & standardized test scores because a good number of schools offer substantial merit scholarships based on an applicant’s numbers.
Also, budget should be considered on a school-by-school basis as many schools meet an accepted applicant’s full financial need.
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