Creating the Perfect College List

A great sculptor stares at a giant hunk of stone and can visualize, in their mind’s eye, a finished work of art; the average person just sees a rock. When it comes to the task of creating a list of prospective colleges, most teens and their parents are intimidated and understandably so. In the realm of higher education, the “giant hunk of stone” are the more than 3,000 four-year colleges in the U.S. From this unwieldy list, your task is to ultimately find schools that are affordable, accessible, and a quality fit.  Fortunately, this type of sculpting doesn’t require the talent of a Michelangelo or a Rodin. A bit of knowledge, realistic self-assessment, and a willingness to step back and see the big picture is all that is required to sculpt a perfect list. So, let’s get started on thoroughly answering the question–How many colleges should I apply to?

This blog will address the following topics/questions:

• How do I identify the perfect college for me?
• How many colleges should I apply to?
• What is a “safety” school?
• A “safety” school should be a place you are genuinely interested in attending
• What is a “target” school
• What is a “reach” school?
• Difference between an impossibility and a “reach”
• SAT/ACT and grades are necessary but not sufficient for admission; score average can be deceiving
• Consider your choice of college major when assessing your chances
• What are common mistakes students make when creating a college list?

We also encourage you to visit our FREE college list building tool: College Investigator. This tool allows you to search hundreds of top universities, build a college list, export to a CSV, and sort and compare schools by dozens of important variables. 

How do I find the perfect college for me?

Let’s begin by disabusing you of the idea that there is a singular dream college out there. Your life won’t “be over” if you don’t get into School X. In reality, there are dozens of other institutions that have the same core features as School X. While this might sound like we’re trying to ruin your fantasy of the perfect university, we actually intend this to be exceptionally good news. The truth is that no matter who you are, whether you’re a valedictorian or B/C student, there are at least 40-50 schools out there that would be a fantastic fit for you.

Having an open mind at the start of the process is critical. Too often, students get fixated on a particular college for silly reasons—like an intense attraction to UNC’s powder blue or developing an unhealthy fixation for a particular elite school solely because of its U.S. News ranking. Not to say that surface-level attraction means nothing but you’ll really want to consider factors like proximity to home, your family’s financial situation, your admissions prospects, majors offered as well, as outcome data like the strength of their career services, alumni network, and grad school/job placement.

How many schools should be on my college list?

Your college list should be somewhere between 8-10 schools, including a healthy mix of safety, target, and reach institutions. In cases where a student is applying to a number of highly competitive colleges, you may wish to increase this number to 12.

What is a “Safety” school?

A safety college is a college where your credentials—your grades and test scores—are better than those of the average admitted student, and where you are likely to be admitted.  You’ll also want to make sure that one or two of your safeties are also financial safety schools. Places where your parents are comfortable covering 100% of the tuition plus room, board, and other fees through some combination of savings, a 529 account, or low-interest government loans.

Another important point here is that Ivy League and other elite colleges are not “safety” schools. These schools receive applications from many more top-notch students than they are able to admit. Even if you are the valedictorian of your high school class with stratospheric test scores, schools with single-digit admit rates should never be considered safety schools.

Most importantly, a “safety” school should be an institution you are genuinely interested in attending.

We put this point in bold because it is rarely fully appreciated by college applicants. Safety schools are not meant to be last resorts with absolutely no genuine appeal. For example, if targeting liberal arts schools because you yearn for a small-school experience, your safety schools should also less-selective liberal arts schools, not large publics that simply aren’t a natural fit. Your safety school should have many of the same attributes as your dream schools and target schools. They should offer your major of interest and have solid programs with modern facilities, dedicated faculty, extracurricular offerings, etc.

You should spend as much time researching, contacting, and visiting your safety schools as you do with your top choices. Sure, this takes work, but it guarantees a successful outcome to the admissions process. And that is no small achievement.

What is a “Target” school?

Three to four of the schools on your list should be “target” colleges. In other words–institutions at which your academic profile is close to the average admitted student. Therefore, you realistically have a better than 50/50 chance at admission. How do you assess this? Simple—the average admitted student looks a lot like you.

What is a “Reach” school?

Many students pick “reach” schools that are more like “snowball’s chance in hell” schools. There’s no harm in an average student submitting an application to Yale—but there is also no purpose either. Reach schools aren’t high probability risks; your time is too valuable to go through the motions of, say, applying to Middlebury with a C average.

Ideally, “reach” schools are where your grades and test scores are slightly lower than those of the average admitted student. Admission isn’t likely, but it isn’t impossible either. You hold out hope that your killer essays and special talents/background will win the hearts of an admission officer.

How to Identify a Deceiving “Target”

At the nation’s most selective schools such as the Ivies, Ivy-equivalents, and elite liberal arts colleges, possessing scores and a GPA near the average or median does not necessarily mean that it is likely that you will be admitted. In short, at these institutions, near-perfect test scores and grades are necessary but not sufficient in the admissions process. Here’s an example:

Micah has a 1500 SAT score and near-perfect grades in AP courses. In constructing his college list, he categorizes Tufts University as a “Target” since his SAT score is exactly 1500 and his grades are consistent with the average GPA among accepted students (3.9 unweighted). What Micah doesn’t realize is that in rejecting 90% of those who apply, Tufts University turns away many students who look just like him.

At Tufts, having credentials that look like the average admitted student is a good start, but the ultimate goal of gaining admission is still many steps away. Extracurricular achievements and honors serve as one tiebreaker of sorts, but many other Tufts applicants will also bring impressive resumes to the table. Additionally, the admissions officers will be considering whether Micah meets their institutional needs for this particular class. Further, Micah is competing against athletes, first-generation students, legacy students, and other specialty groups. The admissions officers will also be considering geographic diversity and whether other students from Micah’s own school are also applying to the university.

At a school as competitive as Tufts, the reality is that having average credentials will help you make a credible case for admission. However, it by no means makes getting in a 50/50 proposition (as desired from a school classified as a “target”).

Does my choice of college major affect my chances?

Yes. A very common mistake is not factoring your choice of major into your admissions probability calculation. Some majors within a certain institution are significantly more selective than others. For example, those applying to most majors at Indiana University will face little resistance with around 80% of overall applicants being admitted. Contrarily, those applying to Kelley School of Business face acceptance rates around 30% and trending downward with an increasing number of applications each year.

In addition to business, many schools evaluate applicants to engineering, computer science, biology, and a handful of other specialty programs with a different level of rigor than they apply toward the general applicant pool.

For a detailed explanation visit: The Admissions Impact of Your College Major Selection.

What are the most common college list mistakes?

1) Categorizing dream schools as target schools based solely on wishful thinking. As in, “My SATs are mediocre and my grades took a dip junior year, but I still have a good shot at Duke.” Not soberly and accurately assessing your own chances during the list-creation can only lead to bad outcomes come decision time.

2) Selling oneself short in the college application process. These individuals develop a college list only consisting of institutions that are academically inferior to the college to which they could have been admitted given their academic potential and capabilities.  As a result, the student usually enrolls at a college that is less selective. Unfortunately, less selective schools often have lower graduation rates, fewer resources, and fewer opportunities for postsecondary and professional success.

College Transitions’ Final Thoughts – How Many Colleges Should I Apply To?

To wrap up, your mission is to narrow down 3,000 potential colleges to a final list of 8-12 schools. Along the way, you’ll want to identify a list of prospective safety, target, and reach schools. This list will include institutions that are accessible, affordable, and truly desirable. The best way to accomplish this is to dig deeper. Research how each school genuinely matches up with your needs and desires. Further, always look at things through a realistic lens, not one that is too rosy or too gloomy. Following our advice will enable you to sculpt the college list equivalent of Rodin’s The Thinker or Michelangelo’s David; failing to adhere to these principles may leave you with an uninformed, poorly-conceived mess and quite possibly, diminished college prospects.