8 Guaranteed Ways to Make Your College List Strong
8 Guaranteed Ways to Make Your College List Strong
Few questions are more ubiquitous (and probably nerve-racking) for a high school student than, “Where do you want to go to college?” But if you’re like most rising seniors, this thought consumes many of your waking hours. And while we know how stressful this can feel, there’s good news. For each of you, there are many colleges and universities that will match your goals and personality. The right fit is out there. And the journey to finding it begins with building a strong college list. It is sadly too common that many students treat applying to college like a game, never putting in the careful time they need to find real success, or just deciding where to apply based upon familiarity and name recognition.But you’re not like most students. You are on a mission to find the college or university that will give you the best chance at being happy and on the path to accomplishing your goals. And accomplishing this mission is very possible with the proper reflection and strategy. The 8 tips we listed below are guaranteed to help you create the strongest, most personalized college list possible. Discover them for yourself!
1. Spend Some Time Getting to Know Yourself
Before you work on learning which schools might be a good fit for you, take time to reflect on who you are and what you hope to gain from your college experience. The better you know what you want, the easier it will be to identify schools that match your interests. In what kind of environment can you see yourself thriving? Would you prefer to study in a major city, with access to research and job opportunities as well as your favorite creature comforts? Or would you rather spend your time in a rural location, where it may be easier to build a sense of community, explore nature, and have a “traditional” college experience? How well do you learn in large, lecture-style settings versus a smaller, discussion-intensive classroom? Does the thought of knowing everyone in your grade excite or bore you? Can you imagine being thousands of miles away from your family and current friends, or would you be more comfortable knowing that you could sleep in your own bed after a short car ride home? Have you ever thought about what it would be like to study in a college environment where there were only women or only men? Does that sound freeing or stifling to you? Keep a notebook, either physical or digital, where you can journal your thoughts on your ideal experience as they evolve. As you learn more about different colleges, use your journal to record your reactions and observe the patterns that begin to develop. These pieces of insight will help you filter every school on your list of potential colleges against the traits you’ve already identified as being most important to you.
2. Research Beyond the Rankings
Be diligent in learning about schools that interest you. Look beyond the rankings found in various publications. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to attend a prestigious university. Serious students should seek challenge as much as they can. But there is more to knowing which college is right for you than seeing where it ranks versus its peer institutions. You’ll be surprised how many great schools there are that you may never have heard of that could be perfect for you. You can develop your own ranking system, prioritizing the characteristics that matter most to you. As you run every school that interests you through that filter, the best fits will start to become clear.Before long, you will have crafted a strong college list tailored to your passions.
3. Ask Tough Questions
Be a savvy consumer. When you talk to admissions officers, alumni, tour guides, or any other college representative, ask probing questions designed to produce meaningful answers.Avoid questions whose answers are readily available on Google. Make the most of the time you have in front of the people who can give you firsthand information about whether their college is an ideal fit for you.The more prepared you are, the easier this step is. Create a list of potential questions based on your research and specific interests. Make sure these questions are tailored and specific to the schools you are exploring. Where possible, ask several people the same question so you can benefit from multiple perspectives. Keep in mind that you may not always get the answer you want, and that’s okay. In fact, it can be helpful to learn that a program which sounded perfect for you is different from what you thought it was. As important as it is to discover which schools you should apply to, putting together a strong college list requires you to eliminate the ones that don’t match.
4. Visit Everywhere You Can
There’s no substitute for firsthand experience. Visit as many of the campuses on your short list as you can, so you can see for yourself whether they truly belong on your list. Structure your visit in a way that lets you maximize your time on the campus. The goal is to live as close to a day in the life of a student at that school as you can arrange. Attend classes and make time to speak with professors in the academic departments that interest you. Eat in the dining hall. Sleep in a dorm. Don’t forget to schedule some time to stop by the admissions office and introduce yourself. You can often find out which officers are tasked with reading your application and begin to develop a relationship with them. Aim to attend the information session and go on the campus tour. If you immerse yourself in campus culture, you will have an easier time evaluating whether or not that particular school belongs on your list.
5. Only Apply to Schools You Love
Many students struggle with this one. The temptation is great to apply to schools because you think you’ll get in or because the application process is simple. Avoid this mindset.While you certainly want to make sure that your list includes colleges where you have a strong chance of being accepted, make sure that you actually want to attend those schools. If you put in the effort to research enough schools thoroughly, you can create a list full of places that all have the potential to make you happy. Ultimately you will have to choose one school to attend. The more you can eliminate before you have to write essays and pay application fees, the more time, effort, and money you can save.
6. Be Excited about Your Safety Schools
It’s easy to get excited about highly selective colleges. But as the name suggests, these schools are difficult to gain admission to regardless of how qualified you are as a student. To build a strong college list, you need to identify schools whose admissions decisions are more predictable but that also provide a similar experience to your reach or target schools. Allow yourself to love all the colleges on your list. It’s okay to hope you get into your dream school. (We hope you do too!) But help safeguard against disappointment by making sure you would be excited to attend all the schools you apply to. If you can’t imagine being happy at a particular college, don’t apply to it.
7. Target Target Schools
The bulk of your college list should be comprised of target schools: colleges that often accept students with similar interests and academic records to your own. Roughly half of the schools on your list should fall in this category. Why do target schools matter? This is where most students will experience the biggest share of their success in the admissions process. Select colleges where you can envision yourself thriving. And because these schools are looking for students like you, you should feel even more confident to conduct thorough research and test for fit before you apply.
8. Be Selective about Highly Selective Colleges
Choose your reach schools wisely. Don’t overload your list with colleges where admission is unlikely. The law of averages does not apply to the college process. However, if you get to know very well the highly selective schools that interest you, you can create an application that maximizes your chances of success. Let’s take a look at the Ivy League. Each of the eight schools that make up this elite association brings something unique to the table. A student who might thrive because of Brown’s Open Curriculum, for example, could find herself feeling restricted by the requirements of Columbia’s Core. This doesn’t speak to her intellectual ability, or even her prospects beyond college. Instead, it speaks to how she prefers to learn. Dig deep in your research about all the schools that interest you. Don’t settle for knowing that they are prestigious. Under the surface are major differences in teaching style and core values that could influence whether or not it makes sense for you to apply.
A Strong College List Leads to Strong College Applications
Now you know what to look for when creating your college list. Spend time reflecting on your goals and passions, then carefully conduct research to find places that can cultivate them.When you apply to colleges that truly excite you, you will be able to better write impactful essays, perform well in interviews, and make an impressive accounting of yourself.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
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