Getting Started: Creating a College List

The most important goal of your college search is to find good matches for your learning interests, abilities, and wallet, not necessarily to find prestige or a “ranked” college (those rankings are based on data which is not complete and on criteria which may not match your needs). Getting started means asking who you are and what you would like in a college, and these answers will vary from student to student. There are thousands of colleges available, so there is usually something for everyone.

Here is a list of questions to consider. They are not in order of importance because every student will have different priorities. Often those priorities even change throughout senior year. Rank your own priorities:

• Type - Do you want a liberal arts college, a university with a specialized program, or a vocational or technical program? Do you want a 2-year or a 4-year program?
• Size - Under 2,000? 2,000-4,000? 4,000-10,000? Over 10,000?
• Location - Vermont? New England? Northeast? Other parts of US? Canada? Other countries? Distance from home by car, bus, plane?
• Campus setting - Urban? Suburban? Rural? Near big city? Near town?
• Academic program - Does it offer courses and/or a major matching my interests?
• Academic atmosphere - How challenging will it be for me?
• Student population – Do I want a diverse student body, or am I more comfortable with students similar to me? Coed (men and women) or all-women or all-men?
• Student life – Are there particular campus and cultural activities or clubs, community service opportunities, band, concerts, speakers, outdoor expeditions, theater? What do I want from the athletic program (intercollegiate/intramural-club teams?) Are there fraternities and sororities (“Greek” system)? Is there a religious affiliation?
• Cost/Affordability – What is our family’s ability to pay for college? What financial aid is available?
• Housing - Do most students live on campus or off-campus? In coed or single-sex dorms? Are “wellness dorms” available (no alcohol/drugs)?
• Facilities – Are the classrooms, library, computers, housing, recreation, labs, theater, music rooms adequate for my needs?
• Selectivity – What are my chances of acceptance - fair, good, excellent? What are the admissions requirements? Average SAT/ACT scores? How many students are accepted vs. how many apply?
  
  

Resources

1. Your school counselor, family, TA alumni, friends. You and your counselor will explore Choices and printed material, consult your family, and create the initial list.

2. TA has the Choices 2005 program on computers in the Computer Lab and in Guidance. Choices can link career/academic major interests to available colleges as well as narrow down college choices based on all the above questionnaire criteria.

3. Recommended books in the Guidance Office library:

Colleges That Change Lives, Lauren Pope, 2000. (Read Chpt.1 !)

Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges, updated yearly

College Handbook, College Board, updated yearly

Guide to College in Canada, 2003

Cool Colleges, Donald Asher, 2000

Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges, updated yearly

Insider’s Guide to the Colleges, updated yearly

Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or ADD, Peterson’s, 2003

4. Every college has a website. There will be links to admissions, virtual tours, academic information, athletics, and ways to contact the admissions department.

Creating a College List

The average number of colleges to which students apply is six. Some choose just a few; others choose many more than six. Because the college admissions process is not a predictable science, the best approach is to include only colleges you think you would be content to attend, and to remain flexible. Identifying only one college where you think you’d be a good match can be an unnecessary setup for disappointment.

Once you have visited many colleges on your initial list and decided which ones suit you best, you can create a final list based on admissions criteria. Your college list is usually divided into three kinds of admissions prospects: likely, realistic, reach.

Likely: These are the colleges sometimes called “safety”, where chances for admission are excellent and the education is affordable. These may not be your first choice, but it is important to choose one or two colleges you would be satisfied to attend in case other colleges don’t admit you, events during your senior year change your priorities, or your family finances dictate your final choice.

Realistic: These are the colleges for which you are well qualified, but the admissions possibility is 50-50 (TA students with your credentials have sometimes been admitted, sometimes not). This category usually has the most colleges on the list.

Reach: These are the colleges where the chances of admission are less likely. They may include your first choice, but try not to set your heart on that choice only.