There is no magic number, but five to eight applications are usually enough to ensure that a student is accepted into a suitable institution depending, of course, on the individual student's record and circumstances. Even if a student has a suitable number of colleges on a list, there is no guarantee that it contains the best colleges for that student. To help a student finalize the list, Janet Stetson, associate director of admission at Bard College, suggests asking:.
By the end of junior year, students should have five to 10 colleges under consideration. This allows for some flexibility in choice of major, career plans and potential financial aid or scholarship options.
Institutions with flexible admission standards are often treated as "safety" colleges. This term refers to colleges whose requirements mean little chance of rejection for that applicant. Most students apply to just one safety, but a student may opt for an academic safety and a financial safety. A "probable" college is one that the student feels will fulfill needs and desires; one the student could happily attend, even though it may not be the first choice. The student should fit the general admission criteria in academic and social arenas.
A good rule of thumb is to have two to four probable colleges under consideration. These are the top choices, but ones that are less likely to accept the student.
This may be because the student's qualifications match or fall slightly short of the college's average, and the competition for the limited places in the freshman class is intense. Do you like the dorms? What are the students like? Try and build an understanding of what the descriptors you read about colleges really feel like in real life. You can find so much information from current students about the dorms, food, and environment just from a little online digging.
One of our course instructors, Cristina, grew up in a city in Texas and assumed she wanted to attend a college in an urban environment on the northern part of the east coast. When she toured Trinity University in Texas and loved it, she realized that the northeastern schools were basically the same school in 8 locations, and not what she had been looking for after all. Use your resources; seek insight from those you know. The professors, university ideals, and students will influence how you see and react to the world.
Your application process should reflect the monumental decision you are making about the place to spend the next few years of your life. Finally, evaluate your choices realistically. According to the Pew Research Center , more than half of schools Once you get that acceptance letter, you have even less time to make a choice.
Trust me. Suzanne Shaffer counsels parents and students in the college admissions process and the importance of early college preparation.
Her Parenting for College blog offers timely college tips for parents and students, as well as providing parents with the resources necessary to help their college-bound teens navigate the college maze. Posted October 16, , pm by Suzanne Shaffer.
Three Considerations When Applying to College 1. The Time Applying to college takes a tremendous amount of time, and each college has their own specific application criteria. Quality vs.
Quantity Allen Grove, an admissions expert in the About.
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