NARROWING YOUR COLLEGE LIST
Once you’ve made a list of colleges you’re interested in, the next step is to narrow down the list to colleges you’ll apply to. We recommend that seniors apply to 5-7 colleges — more than that usually doesn’t make sense. Quality is better than quantity. You must complete each section of an application carefully, and admission officers can tell if you’re not serious about their school. In fact, they look for students who seem to really want to go to their school. Here’s how to make a balanced college list.
Check out the Scattergrams in SchooLinks to help you determine if a college is a Reach/Match/Safety. Admission decisions (accept/deny/defer) from college-bound Lane Tech graduates have been loaded into SchooLinks. These decisions have been plotted on graphs (2 axes--GPA and SAT), so you can assess your admissions chances at hundreds of Lane Tech collegiate destinations.
Reach: 1-2 Colleges
Your SAT/ACT score is lower than the average score range of last year’s freshman class. These are colleges that you think may be more of a challenge to get into. Getting in is not a sure thing, but it’s realistic enough to be worth the effort of applying. Remember: colleges consider the whole package.
Match: 2-3 Colleges
Your SAT/ACT score is solidly in the same score range as last year’s freshman class. These are colleges that you feel you have a good chance of getting into and that are good matches for you overall.
Safety: 1-2 Colleges
Your SAT/ACT score is higher than the average score range of last year’s freshman class. These are colleges that you feel you have a very good chance of getting into and that you think you can afford to attend. They should also be colleges you would be happy to attend.
FAQs & Tips
What if I'm unsure of my major?
Some colleges don’t require you to apply within a major but do give you the option to say what you want to study. This gives you a choice: should you apply undecided, or indicate a potential major?
If you're leaning strongly toward an area of study and have the academic experience to back it up, it’s smart to go ahead and indicate that interest. This can help show colleges where to focus on your high school transcript.
For example, if you want to study biology and have excellent grades in natural science and math and have even done a little research, put own biology as a prospective major. Doing this will put your experience in context and show how interested you are in the subject.
That said, if you’re really not sure and simply want to explore academic subjects in college, there’s nothing wrong with applying undecided. Many universities expect undergraduates to browse a variety of fields and often require them to take classes in all major subjects.
Furthermore, switching your major is very common in college—at some colleges, more than half of undergraduates end up switching!
Just make sure that on your application, even if you don’t indicate a major, you demonstrate strong intellectual interests and aptitude, either through your essays or extracurricular activities.
CLICK HERE for more information on How to Choose a College Major
Accept that all highly selective schools are reaches!
Even if you have the best grades in in your graduating class, getting accepted to schools such as Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, UChicago is never a given. If you are a top student, apply if those colleges appeal to you. But also apply to some backup schools with admission rates above 20 percent.
Include "financial safeties."
Apply to colleges you believe will be affordable, either because their cost of attendance is manageable or because you expect your net price to be reasonable. Look for colleges where your grades and scores make you a highly desirable, above-average candidate—and thus more likely to get cost-reducing financial aid.