Four-year colleges offer four-year programs that lead to a bachelor's degree. These include universities and liberal arts colleges.
CLICK HERE for a full description of the types of 4 year colleges, including liberal arts colleges, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Arts Colleges, and single sex colleges.
While you are able to apply to college as an undecided major, it is often an advantage to choose a major when you first apply. It is not uncommon for students to change their major during college as their interests change. Colleges are typically interested in your academic areas of interest even if you do not declare a major upon freshmen admission.
To find college majors that may appeal to you:
Spend a little time on self-reflection… What courses do you like? What are your academic strengths? Are any of your favorite extracurricular activities related to a possible major?
Use MaiaLearning to review the results of your career assessments.
Explore College Board for many great resources:
Stop by the CCRC to view some great books such as The Book of Majors.
Check out these sites for some ideas on "What can I do with this major?"
Employers by Majors: This website allows users to search for and view lists of employers categorized by different college majors and fields of study. It provides a comprehensive database of companies organized by the majors they commonly hire for, making it easier for students and job seekers to identify potential employers relevant to their area of study.
What Can I Do with a Major In…?
Published by a variety of colleges, this site provides information on careers for majors ranging from anthropology to theatre.
Check out the Career Center at the University of Delaware which provides guidance on major selection, preparation steps, experiences, and connections needed to be competitive in the workplace.
Look at "Academic Programs/Majors/Degrees" on college websites and find information about the majors you are considering. By viewing a 4-year plan of the courses required for a particular major, you will get an idea of whether that major appeals to you.
Get an internship or job in a field of interest.
Register for a senior year or summer school course to explore a potential area of interest.
Join a club or activity related to your interest.
MaiaLearning (University Search)
Determine how far from home you’d be willing to attend college, which parts of the country interest you.
Determine the size of the college that most appeals to you.
Determine the location of the college that most appeals to you (in a city, in more of a rural setting or college town).
Want some suggestions for different types of schools to explore. Check out THIS list!
Schedule a campus visit by visiting the admissions webpage of the college at least a few weeks in advance.
School days off, spring break and even Saturdays can be great days to schedule campus visits.
Many colleges offer virtual visits or virtual tours.
If you need to miss a school day for a visit, make sure to follow DHS attendance procedures.
REGISTER for a Strive Scan College Fair
IACAC College of Lake County College Fair
October 12, 2023, 6pm-8 pm
Many college admission representatives visit the College & Career Resource Center in the fall. These are a great way for students to find out more about a college, get questions answered and get to know the college rep assigned to Deerfield.
Check Maia for a complete list of colleges visiting DHS.
Add colleges to your favorites in Maia.
In developing your list of colleges, you need to make sure it is balanced in the range of selectivity represented and reasonable in the number of schools. The key to success, as well as maintaining your mental health through your senior year, is to cover the full range of selectivity, which you should be able to do with 6-8 applications. The CCRC and MAIA use the following terminology to describe a student’s chances of admission - REACH, TARGET, and LIKELY:
Reach: These are colleges where your academic profile is at the low end of admitted candidates based on past admissions history. Also, any college with an acceptance rate below 20% should be considered a REACH school, no matter how strong your academic profile. As the selectivity of a school increases, the academic profile becomes less predictable, whereas your extracurricular and personal profile, self-presentation, recommendations and factors outside your control become more significant. Be sure to distinguish between what is a Reach and a “Far Reach” college. If your profile is significantly below the competitive range, your chances of admissions are therefore highly unlikely, and it may not be worth your investment of time and energy to apply.
Target: These are colleges where your candidacy is competitive based on your academic profile and DHS history of admission with the school. A “Target” means that your application will be in the running, but the decision could go either way. If your academic profile is slightly above the mean for grades and testing, you have probably found a good “Target” school. But remember, there is no formula to this process. These general guidelines may hold true if the acceptance rate at the school is above 30%. At more selective schools, grades and test scores become less reliable predictors of outcome.
Likely: These are colleges where your candidacy is very strong and the probability of your admission is 75% or better, if the admission trends at that college don’t shift significantly (which is always an unknown factor in the process). If your grades are well above the mean for that college, if your scores are significantly above the middle 50% range, and if, when looking at the history of DHS applicants to the school, your profile is comfortably in a range that has been accepted in the past, then the school is in your “Likely” category.
To help determine which colleges fit each of these “categories”, look at the admission websites and check the MaiaLearning College Fact Sheet “Admission” tab for scattergrams. We expect everyone to include at least two “Likely” colleges on the final list in December of senior year. Naturally, these should be institutions that you would happily attend. These schools should be researched as carefully and thoughtfully as your "Reach" colleges. Don't apply to any college or university that you really would not like to attend. A " Likely" becomes useless to you if you don't intend to go there under any circumstances.
Advice: Fall in Love with Your Target and Likely Schools
Too often, students spend disproportionate time researching and applying to colleges with single-digit acceptance rates. If that's you, commit to spending just as much time (if not more time) exploring, visiting, and applying to your Target and Likely schools. (Note that we said Likely, not backup.)
Wanna know the difference between a Dream School and a Likely School that you love?
Often it's simply this: more research.
Additionally, remember that while you might be a strong candidate for a particular school, choosing a more competitive or impacted major can affect your admission outcome as well.
Before you decide when to apply, you should consider all of the advantages and disadvantages to each application option. Please note - not all schools offer all application plans.
Early Decision
Statistics show that there is an increased acceptance rate for applicants who applied during early decision, compared to those who applied to those same schools during the regular decision deadline.
Advantages:
Your application will be seen by admissions officers sooner
You’re competing with fewer applicants, and for some schools they are admitting over 50% of the incoming class using Early Decision.
You’ll know sooner if you got accepted
Disadvantages:
You can only apply to one early decision school
If accepted, you must attend
You cannot compare financial aid offers
Early Action
Advantages:
One of the primary benefits of early action is that students receive their admission decisions earlier than regular decision applicants. This can relieve stress and provide more time for planning.
Your application will be seen by admissions officers sooner
You’re competing with fewer applicants - In some cases, the acceptance rates for early action applicants may be slightly higher than for regular decision applicants. This can be advantageous for students applying to highly competitive schools.
You’ll know sooner if you got accepted
You can apply to other schools simultaneously
You typically don’t have to accept offer until May 1
You can compare other financial aid offers
Disadvantages:
If you’re not accepted, there’s little time to submit to regular application deadlines at other schools
Early action applicants may not have the benefit of additional semesters of senior year grades or standardized test scores. This could potentially impact the overall competitiveness of their application.
The early action deadline may create a more compressed timeline for completing applications, especially for students who decide to start the research process later in the senior year.
Many schools are deferring a large percentage of applicants to Regular Decision, which creates a longer time of uncertainty for a final decision.
Regular Decision
Advantages:
More time to submit applications and potentially achieve higher (ACT/SAT) scores
If you’re undecided about where to go, this will give you more time to think it over
No pressure to commit early, if accepted
You can compare your financial aid offers from other colleges
Disadvantages:
You will not hear back from colleges until later in the spring (March/April)
This is a busy time of year for you with graduation plans, exams, and other commitments on top of applications
Everyone else is submitting their application at this time, so it might be harder to stand out
Rolling Admission
Advantages:
The earlier you submit, the earlier you’ll hear back
If you’re accepted, you’re not obligated to attend the college or university
If you’re not accepted at early or regular decision colleges, then there’s a possibility a rolling admissions college is still accepting applicants
Disadvantages:
The longer you wait to apply, the harder it is to get accepted