So, you went ahead and made your decisions on what kind of schools you want to apply to and all of that jazz...now what? Well, I have advice on making your final list!
First housekeeping item before we get into it: money! Most college applications run in the $35-50 range PER SCHOOL! That's hundreds of dollars just to apply. That's a tough financial situation for many families, especially in this economy and it can ultimately dictate how many schools you can apply to. I learned that some individuals qualify for college application fee waivers that allow you to apply to many institutions for free. I definitely took advantage of this help and if you qualify, here is the
link from
CollegeBoard.
Now that we have that out of the way...your list.
Eh, before that, let me cover something quickly on research. When you research the kind of schools you like, take note of the credentials of the institutions accepted students. You can find it in their profile and it includes things like student rank from their high school, SAT scores, etc. and it helps you get an idea of what your chances will be to get into that school. Don't worry if you don't meet all the criteria or if you exceed some...get a variety of schools in your bucket because they fall into certain categories that I'll explain now.
Ok, now we are really onto the list.
I would recommend applying to about 9-10 schools that fall under these categories:
Three safety schools: A safety school would be defined as a school that you exceed all the criteria for on their average accepted student profile.
Let's say Maria has a 3.3GPA and a 1800 cumulative SAT score. She is looking through colleges and notes one that catches her eye called College X. The average accepted student had a 2.7 in high school and a 1400 cumulative SAT score. (Of course there are more criteria points but this is for you to get a basic understanding.) Anyways, in this case Maria exceeds both areas for an average accepted student and can most likely get in. This school would be a safety school for her.
Three to four solid schools: A solid school would be defined as a school where you have more or less the average criteria of the accepted students.
Maria continues her school research and stumbles on College B with an average student profile of a 3.1GPA and 1550 cumulative SAT score as well as College C with an average student profile of a 3.3GPA and 1900 cumulative SAT score. In both of those cases, Maria roughly fits the criteria of average students. I would say Maria has a solid chance of getting into both of those schools purely based off of those stats.
Three reach schools: A reach school would be defined as a school where your profile as a student is below the average accepted student. These can be your dream schools that you have less than 50% chance of getting into but hey, maybe with an awesome application and interview, could get you in the door.
Maria takes a look at a few
Ivy League Schools and some other highly selective schools. She finds Colleges D and E that have an average student profile of a 3.8GPA and 2000 cumulative SAT score. Maria's stats are much lower but she puts them on her reach list. Two thoughts here - it never hurts to try and you don't want to look back and regret not making the attempt.
All college hopefuls don't have the luxury of applying to 9-10 schools or reach schools, etc.. I know that. This is just based off of the help I received in going through this process and hopefully you can use this as a starting point on making your dream list.
Do you have other tips on making a final college application list? Is there something you want explained more? Have a question or comment on this? Post below so we can help each other out.
