By: Gracie B.
Although college application season is coming to an end, now is the perfect time for juniors, sophomores, and even freshmen to begin planning for college. In fact, you can take the first step in the application process today by creating a college list. There is no perfect formula for creating the ultimate college list, but there are several important factors you must consider to create a list best suited to your individual needs and goals.
What Exactly is a College List?
A college list is a plan of which universities you will apply to your senior year of high school. Most students interested in attending a four-year university should apply to at least three colleges. Your list of colleges should include safety, match, and reach schools. Safety schools are colleges that will most likely offer you acceptance. When choosing safety schools, look for colleges that have high acceptance rates (generally over 50%). Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor should significantly exceed those of the average students accepted into your safety schools. For instance, a school with a 70% acceptance rate, an average SAT score of 1200, and an average unweighted GPA of 3.4 would be a great safety for a student with an SAT score of 1450 and a 3.9 unweighted GPA. However, the same school might be a reach for a student with an SAT score of 950 and a 2.5 unweighted GPA. Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor may be below those of the average students accepted into your reach schools. Additionally, schools with acceptance rates under 15% tend to be classified as reach schools for all students because their applicant pools are filled with high-achieving students, making their admissions extremely competitive. Nevertheless, low acceptance rates should not discourage you from applying to reach schools. Keep in mind that colleges also consider your background, extracurricular achievements, and unique personal characteristics. Any one of these factors might impress admissions committees enough to earn you acceptance into one of your reach schools. Due to the unpredictability of admissions decisions at selective colleges, it is also important to apply to match schools. Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor should be roughly equivalent to those of the average students accepted into your match schools, and the schools’ acceptance rates should exceed 15%. Choose these schools carefully, as most students will end up attending one of their match schools.
How to Choose the Right Colleges
Once you understand the basic components of a college list, it is time to start creating your own application plan. A college bound student may have hundreds of potential safety, reach, and match schools. The difficult part is choosing which universities are are best suited to your own needs and interests. One important factor to consider is cost. How much can you afford to pay for college? Do not be deceived by the high sticker prices of some private colleges. For example, Ivy League universities are known for their high tuition and fees, which can be more than double the cost of public state universities. However, these private colleges are also known for their extremely generous financial aid packages, and some qualified low-income students can attend top schools for free. Most universities have official financial aid calculators. You can fill in your family’s financial information to estimate what it will cost you to attend a particular college. Another factor to consider is location. Do you want to attend a college close to home? Do you prefer an urban or a rural environment? Do you prefer cold or warm weather? If you’ve lived at the beach your entire life, you may regret attending a college in a town that receives more than sixty inches of snow per year. Also consider college size. Would you prefer to sit in a large lecture hall or a small classroom? It is important to ask yourself all of these questions when deciding which schools to add to your college list. The next factor is perhaps the most important: you must consider the individual programs each college offers for your intended major or field of study. While one school might have a very prestigious engineering program, it may be lacking in the performing arts department and would be a poor choice for a student interested in majoring in theatre. Some majors, such as financial engineering and actuarial science, are only available at select universities. If you are committed to a specific field of study, it is very important that you apply to colleges with strong programs in your intended major.
To Apply Early or Not to Apply Early?
Once you have created the ultimate college list, you must decide when to apply to colleges. For four-year colleges in the U.S., there are three main application plans: early action, early decision, and regular decision. Applying to a college early (usually in the fall of your senior year) often increases your chance of admission. Be cautious when applying to a college on an early decision plan. Early decision applications are binding contracts. When you apply to a college under this plan, you make a commitment to attend that school if you are accepted. This means that you can only apply to one college on an early decision plan: you should be sure that this college is your top choice. Note that some early decision programs at selective schools will allow applicants to also apply to public colleges via the early action plan. Early action plans are non-binding. Some early action plans are restrictive and prohibit students from applying early to other schools. Regular decision admission plans are non-binding and are great backup plans for students who have already been released from early decision contracts at other schools via deferrals or rejections. Regular decision applicants apply in the winter of their senior year and receive their admissions decisions after early decisions are released. A general rule of thumb is that non-restrictive early action is usually superior to regular decision. It increases your chance of admission and thus gives you more options. Only apply to a college via early decision if you are sure that particular university is your top choice. Once released from any binding contracts, you may apply to other colleges on your list via regular decision.
As you can see, creating the ultimate college list requires a significant amount of research. However, if you have read this article, you have already taken the first step towards earning admission to your dream college!
Sources:
Pippen, Carolyn. “Early Action, Early Decision, and Regular Decision: What's the Difference?” Vanderbilt University Undergraduate Admissions, 13 Aug. 2013, admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/08/early-action-early-decision-and-regular-decision-whats-the-difference/.
Although college application season is coming to an end, now is the perfect time for juniors, sophomores, and even freshmen to begin planning for college. In fact, you can take the first step in the application process today by creating a college list. There is no perfect formula for creating the ultimate college list, but there are several important factors you must consider to create a list best suited to your individual needs and goals.
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A college list is a plan of which universities you will apply to your senior year of high school. Most students interested in attending a four-year university should apply to at least three colleges. Your list of colleges should include safety, match, and reach schools. Safety schools are colleges that will most likely offer you acceptance. When choosing safety schools, look for colleges that have high acceptance rates (generally over 50%). Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor should significantly exceed those of the average students accepted into your safety schools. For instance, a school with a 70% acceptance rate, an average SAT score of 1200, and an average unweighted GPA of 3.4 would be a great safety for a student with an SAT score of 1450 and a 3.9 unweighted GPA. However, the same school might be a reach for a student with an SAT score of 950 and a 2.5 unweighted GPA. Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor may be below those of the average students accepted into your reach schools. Additionally, schools with acceptance rates under 15% tend to be classified as reach schools for all students because their applicant pools are filled with high-achieving students, making their admissions extremely competitive. Nevertheless, low acceptance rates should not discourage you from applying to reach schools. Keep in mind that colleges also consider your background, extracurricular achievements, and unique personal characteristics. Any one of these factors might impress admissions committees enough to earn you acceptance into one of your reach schools. Due to the unpredictability of admissions decisions at selective colleges, it is also important to apply to match schools. Your test scores, GPA, and course rigor should be roughly equivalent to those of the average students accepted into your match schools, and the schools’ acceptance rates should exceed 15%. Choose these schools carefully, as most students will end up attending one of their match schools.
How to Choose the Right Colleges
Once you understand the basic components of a college list, it is time to start creating your own application plan. A college bound student may have hundreds of potential safety, reach, and match schools. The difficult part is choosing which universities are are best suited to your own needs and interests. One important factor to consider is cost. How much can you afford to pay for college? Do not be deceived by the high sticker prices of some private colleges. For example, Ivy League universities are known for their high tuition and fees, which can be more than double the cost of public state universities. However, these private colleges are also known for their extremely generous financial aid packages, and some qualified low-income students can attend top schools for free. Most universities have official financial aid calculators. You can fill in your family’s financial information to estimate what it will cost you to attend a particular college. Another factor to consider is location. Do you want to attend a college close to home? Do you prefer an urban or a rural environment? Do you prefer cold or warm weather? If you’ve lived at the beach your entire life, you may regret attending a college in a town that receives more than sixty inches of snow per year. Also consider college size. Would you prefer to sit in a large lecture hall or a small classroom? It is important to ask yourself all of these questions when deciding which schools to add to your college list. The next factor is perhaps the most important: you must consider the individual programs each college offers for your intended major or field of study. While one school might have a very prestigious engineering program, it may be lacking in the performing arts department and would be a poor choice for a student interested in majoring in theatre. Some majors, such as financial engineering and actuarial science, are only available at select universities. If you are committed to a specific field of study, it is very important that you apply to colleges with strong programs in your intended major.
To Apply Early or Not to Apply Early?
Once you have created the ultimate college list, you must decide when to apply to colleges. For four-year colleges in the U.S., there are three main application plans: early action, early decision, and regular decision. Applying to a college early (usually in the fall of your senior year) often increases your chance of admission. Be cautious when applying to a college on an early decision plan. Early decision applications are binding contracts. When you apply to a college under this plan, you make a commitment to attend that school if you are accepted. This means that you can only apply to one college on an early decision plan: you should be sure that this college is your top choice. Note that some early decision programs at selective schools will allow applicants to also apply to public colleges via the early action plan. Early action plans are non-binding. Some early action plans are restrictive and prohibit students from applying early to other schools. Regular decision admission plans are non-binding and are great backup plans for students who have already been released from early decision contracts at other schools via deferrals or rejections. Regular decision applicants apply in the winter of their senior year and receive their admissions decisions after early decisions are released. A general rule of thumb is that non-restrictive early action is usually superior to regular decision. It increases your chance of admission and thus gives you more options. Only apply to a college via early decision if you are sure that particular university is your top choice. Once released from any binding contracts, you may apply to other colleges on your list via regular decision.
As you can see, creating the ultimate college list requires a significant amount of research. However, if you have read this article, you have already taken the first step towards earning admission to your dream college!
Sources:
Pippen, Carolyn. “Early Action, Early Decision, and Regular Decision: What's the Difference?” Vanderbilt University Undergraduate Admissions, 13 Aug. 2013, admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/08/early-action-early-decision-and-regular-decision-whats-the-difference/.
Starting early is the key! Research colleges that stick out to YOU! I like how creating a list and then narrowing it down can allow you to look at a variety of schools and then figure out what works best for your learning styles. Do you want to stay close by? Do you want to go to a large school? What do you want to major in? All of these are important questions to ask when finding the perfect college for you.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative piece. I especially liked the suggestion to have a safety school, and for some students that safety school might be a community college - which is perfectly fine! Sometimes, community colleges offer the most cost effective way to earn your associates degree and then transfer to a 4 year college for a bachelors.
ReplyDeleteIt is never to early to start thinking about college and visiting colleges! Research is very important when making big costly decisions. The college of your dreams must feel RIGHT and it must feel like HOME. Sometimes it takes time to find the right fit for you. Thank you for providing this information for other students. Sometimes students do not think about these things and unfortunately some parents are not asking these questions of their student either. I love your insight, and it is more powerful coming from a student. Thank you for sharing your ideas and helping other students get into their dream college.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Blog, Gracie B. You really have researched and thought about the process of applying for college. Your advice is spot on and inspirational. I had never heard of colleges being a safety school, a match school, or a reach school. Those terms were new to me but make a lot of sense. Too often students wait til the last minute thinking that getting into college is easy. Your blog stresses that it is important to start early and to plan ahead. I love that!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Gracie! You have given very informative and relevant information on how to select the right college to attend! With all the factors someone has to consider in choosing the right university, it is important that you try and get the selection right the first time! This will be really useful information for high school students to read and consider!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information with us.
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I really like this blog. Thanks for sharing. It is very important to always have more than one college to apply to. I like to encourage people to apply to at least 5 colleges or universities. It is also important to find out what the entrance requirements are for all the schools you are applying too. Go visit the colleges that you have been accepted to and make sure it the college for you. School size, graduation rate, and safety are very important components for me.
ReplyDelete