To begin your college search, you should start by getting to know yourself. Take time to consider your individual needs, strengths, goals, interests and abilities. College selection is a personal decision and requires that you establish your own priorities. The college search is about finding the college and university that is the right fit for you. Consider these questions to help you determine what yu are looking for in your future college:
Once you have thoughtfully evaluated what is important to you, you can begin to research colleges. There are some additional factors to consider as you make your decisions. You can use the
College Research Checklist to assist you with this process.
After researching, you should build your college list. The goal is that each student builds a balanced list of colleges. A balanced list includes Reach Schools (Highly Competitive), Target Schools (Competitive) and Likely Schools (Probably Admitted). ** Please see attached worksheet to create your college list **
- Reach Schools (Highly Competitive) - schools where the chances of your
being admitted are probably less than one in three, but where you have some
chance of being admitted.
- Target Schools (Competitive) - colleges that match your profile. Here you
should have around a 50/50 chance of admission.
- Likely Schools (Probably Admitted) - colleges where you are likely to be
admitted based on your credentials. At these schools, the odds of admission are
strongly in your favor.
Resources
Students should be utilizing resources to help them build their college list. You can use the
College Search Resources to assist you with this process.
Internet Search Engines - In addition to Naviance, we recommend that students use other search engines to explore college options. A
detailed list of search engines is available in the CCC.
