Making a College List
Although high school seniors are still awaiting their college decisions in March, high school juniors should have college applications on their minds right now, too. When creating a college list, students want to consider more than just the prestige behind the name.
As a number of colleges report a record high number of applicants this cycle, many highly selective schools are increasingly considering “fit” to be more essential to their selection process. A student with perfect grades and test scores might be rejected if the college does not see their aspirations and resume to be a good fit for the program for which they are applying. Plus, college applications are not free—unless, of course, the student received a fee waiver from their counselor or was identified as a fee-waiver-eligible student after obtaining a waiver for the SAT. Students should only be applying to schools they would be happy to attend, and they should know how the school would help them reach their career goals.
Starting a List - Big Picture
It’s a good idea to start with a big list and then narrow it down to a balance of reach, target, and likely schools. To make that initial list, you can think about big-picture items: rankings, location, and cost.
The ranking for a student’s major should be one of the first things a student considers when selecting colleges. Sources like U.S. News & World Report are great places for students to start, but it’s good practice to compare rankings across multiple sources. For example, ambitious students interested in pursuing engineering might be interested in schools like MIT and Stanford, which are consistently ranked the top undergraduate schools in this field. There are various other factors that play into a student’s school choice when considering opportunities in their major, though—we’ll get to those soon.
Now let’s consider location. The school you choose to attend will be the one where you will spend four years of your life, so it’s also important to consider things like location and community or atmosphere. For example, if you want the full college experience with a defined campus and tight-knit community, a school like NYU won’t make you happy. On the other hand, if a big city would offer you proximity to internships that are essential to finding success in your field of study, you might choose a school like Georgetown or George Washington University to optimize your access to D.C. opportunities as a political science major. The summer is always a great option for these kinds of internships, but some students plan to balance work and study in their junior and senior years. Another factor in location could even be weather—the geographical climate of a school shouldn’t be a reason you give schools when asked why you chose to apply, but it’s something you should consider. If you grew up in sunny Florida and love warm weather, are you certain you can tolerate four long Minnesota winters? You shouldn’t write a school off completely for the weather, but it might be a better idea to be more selective with schools in these locations.
The last big-picture question is cost—do you have a plan for how you will afford the school you want to attend? Many students express that they are willing to take on more student loans for a dream school, but they are much more likely to choose safety schools for their potential financial aid and scholarship packages. Selecting schools in your state is a good option for this. Some schools offer merit scholarships that students can apply for, and researching the schools you are considering ahead of time will be essential to avoid missing those deadlines. For example, UNC-Chapel Hill offers several academic scholarships, including the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program and Morehead Cain Scholarship, both of which have application deadlines in early fall.
Narrowing Your List - Details
Once you have a broad list of schools you want to apply to, you can start researching these schools individually to narrow your list. You can start by just poking around the school’s website to learn more about the program offered for your major, the classes offered, the curriculum, research or internship opportunities, professors you might be excited to work with, and student organizations that could help further your career goals.
When looking at the department for your major, you might want to see if there are sufficient courses and opportunities available for your specific research interests or career plans. For example, if you are interested in studying neuroscience with a particular interest in Alzheimer's research but a school mainly has research in demyelinating neurodegenerative diseases, they might not be for you. That’s not to say there’s no benefit in applying—you could certainly do research in your particular subject matter elsewhere through an internship in the summer—but it’s something to take into consideration when narrowing your list.
Additional things to consider might be special programs offered by the school, student-run organizations, the values of a school, and campus culture. Try to envision your goals for college, and think about what resources at the school would help you meet those goals.
College Visits
Students often point to demonstrated interest when selecting colleges to visit, but there are several reasons to visit a school’s campus. It’s important to get a sense of what the atmosphere of the campus is like before deciding whether or not you want to commit to that school. If you are planning to take a trip for spring break, you should consider visiting a nearby campus for a day. This doesn’t even necessarily have to be a school on your application list—just being on a college campus while classes are in session can give you a better sense of what you like or dislike. Maybe you’ll learn that you don’t actually want to attend a big school the way you initially thought, or that you prefer campuses with more green spaces.
Final Thoughts
If a lot of this seems overwhelming, that might be a sign that you should start creating your list now. Chipping away at this research over the next few months will be much more manageable than trying to get your ducks in a row while also trying to balance internships, college application essays, and maintaining your grades in school.
