Read on for our checklist of ten considerations for creating your college list.
In this post, we outline ten critical steps to narrowing down your college list so that you send out a selection of smart, targeted college applications when the time comes, and ultimately attend a college that is a great fit for you. Read through our list of considerations for creating a college list, and use it to guide your thinking as your narrow your choices.Įven for students who have dreamed about a specific single college from the time they were in grade school, taking a critical look at the bigger picture and creating a college list based on your own priorities is an important process. While some students might insist that they can’t leave their home state, others will be set on finding a competitive sports team or active Greek life. In fact, we suggest that you use our checklist by reading the categories first, and then arranging them in order of personal priority for you. You need to critically think about what’s most important to you in a college as you begin to make your college list. The answer isn’t crystal clear, and it will have to do with your exact priorities. With more than 7,000 post-secondary institutions to choose from in the United States, there are varieties to suit almost any combination of interests, goals, and priorities.īut come junior year, it’s time to start narrowing down those 7,000 options to something closer to a dozen. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to deciding where you want to apply to college.
While some students might have a specific dream school in mind from childhood through high school, other students will have only some vague idea of what they are looking for in a college, and still others will have absolutely no idea. Up until the beginning of your junior year, college might be a somewhat abstract vision.