Listomania: How to Build the Perfect College List
Building a college list can feel overwhelming. I’ve been helping teens do it for over a decade and I’ve got a few pointers that will make your life easier.
Focus on fit but don’t get fixated. Fit is important but you’re not looking for a soul mate. There isn’t just one college that’s right for you.
Don’t put too much stock in rankings, because they don’t tell you anything about fit.
LIKE YOUR LIKELIES. That’s in all caps for a reason. LIKE YOUR LIKELIES, people, because guess what, you’re getting into those schools. Sadly, that’s easier said than done. It seems that no one actually wants to go to a school they can get into. Oh, the irony. This is by far the hardest part of the list to build and one of the most important.
Visit colleges early, but not too early. The summer between sophomore and junior year is a good time to go on big-picture visits. If you can, try to suss out the differences between liberal arts colleges v. research universities, rural v. urban, small v. medium v. large. Junior year will give you more data (GPA + test scores, major interests) to go on a more directed college visit. Try to do this during the school year when students are on campus if you can swing it.
Work with your school’s college counselor, who knows your school’s admission history well enough to determine which colleges fall into your reach, target, and likely range. Do not guess. Use school data - not just what colleges publish.
Decide how many applications you are willing and capable of completing. For most students, this is usually 10-15 although I’ve worked with students who’ve applied to just 3 schools and ones that have applied to 20+. It’s your process, own it. But understand that more applications almost never means more acceptances.
Your final list should give you options to choose from once you’re done applying. I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but you simply cannot count on getting into your reach schools. It may be a hard pill to swallow, but having balance and liking your likely schools (and your targets) will leave you in the best position come May 1 - the National Candidate’s Reply Date.
And if this all feels incredibly overwhelming and scary, we have coaches who can help you walk through every step of the process so you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.