It’s the summer before your child’s senior year of high school and you’re panicking because they still don’t have a clue where they want to apply. Don’t worry – that won’t be you if you use these tips and tools to make the best college list!
I was sort of an anomaly when it came to creating my college list, because I knew exactly what I wanted and didn’t want in a school. Few schools checked all my boxes – small liberal arts, strong academics, beautiful campus, diversity, no Greek life (often the hardest to find), within four hours from home – so it wasn’t hard for me to narrow down the list.
I was one of just a handful of students at my huge high school – more than 3,000 students – who applied to small liberal arts colleges. That meant I had to be even more independent in my search and seek out colleges that were not necessarily sending representatives to my high school. (People always gasp when I tell them my high school was bigger than my college.)
If your child is stuck on starting their list, encourage them to reflect on these aspects of their high school experience:
- Do you like the size of the school and of your classes, or are you looking for a change?
- In what kind of environment do you learn best: small, discussion-based classes, big lectures or interactive labs?
- What have been your favorite and most interesting classes? Is there a subject you wish your high school offered?
- What clubs and activities have you enjoyed the most? Which activities do you want to continue (or start) in college?
The answers to these questions can guide how you filter your college search. If your child finds it difficult to answer these questions, you may want to visit a few different types of schools to get a feel for what kind of environment they prefer.
Especially because my criteria filled my list with expensive private schools, my parents convinced me to add a “financial safety” school just in case our situation changed or I wasn’t offered any aid at the other schools. With today’s sky-high tuition, that’s probably not a bad idea for anyone. Researching whether schools offer merit scholarships – and how commonly – is also helpful.
Balance is important. Too many “reach” schools and too few “safety” schools can lead to disappointment when decisions roll in. Of course, don’t cross out a school you’re really interested in just because you don’t think you’ll be accepted.
Even though I had a specific idea of the kind of school I wanted, I still took advantage of online search tools (and good ol’ Google) to find schools that I wouldn’t otherwise know about. Social media played a role too. Here are some more helpful tools.
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Naviance
Many American high schools use Naviance, a college-planning platform for students, staff and parents. One of Naviance’s unique features is the Scattergram, a graph for each college that shows how many students from your high school were accepted, rejected or waitlisted according to their standardized test scores and GPAs within the past few years.
Scattergrams can be helpful in estimating your child’s odds of acceptance, but test scores and GPAs are only some of the components colleges consider in an application. Just because a prior student with the same SAT score and GPA was rejected from a school doesn’t mean your essay or extracurriculars can’t send you over the top.
Naviance also has a detailed college search feature, allowing students to filter by criteria such as school size, distance from home, selectivity, majors and sports offered. Students can create and update their lists, which marks schools as “reach,” “match” or “safety” based on their stats – but take those labels with a grain of salt.
School counselors and parents can go into Naviance and suggest colleges for their student to add. Once students begin applying, they can track the status of each of their applications on Naviance.
U.S. News College Compass
College Compass is a paid service that creates a personalized list of colleges that are a good fit for your child based on their preferences – such as location, size, cost and academic programs. It also gives you access to exclusive U.S. News data on each school’s financial aid and student debt profile, admission stats and alumni starting salaries by major.
CollegeAdvisor
The paid CollegeAdvisor service is powered by a team of more than 300 admissions experts and former admissions officers. Students who sign up are matched with a personal advising team that helps with application strategy. They also gain access to an online platform to organize their applications and track deadlines.
CollegeAdvisor has a virtual library of more than 500 expert-led webinars “designed to give you a competitive edge in the admissions process.” Students can attend their live essay workshops too.
