Where Can I Do This?

There is a path for everyone!

• Think about what you may want to study.  Do a few career assessment surveys, but know that if you are undecided, that's ok too!  All colleges have Exploratory Studies programs where you experience the variety of academic offerings.

• Calculate or estimate your GPA and test scores

• Use search platforms to find colleges where you’ll land in the top 1/3 of the incoming class.

  1. College Board Big Future has both a career assessment tool and a search program to help you narrow down your choices

  2. Naviance, School Links and other in-school platforms have search program to help you match up your interests and abilities with college (in Naviance, it's called SuperMatch).

• Definitely go for your dream!  But be realistic.

• The big merit scholarship money is at the Target and Safety levels (see below)

Other platforms that can help with your search:

• College Scorecard (US Dept of Education)

• College websites

  1. President’s page

  2. Strategic Plan

  3. Net Price Calculators

• Alumni Factor (latest edition 2013-2014)

• Fiske Guide to Colleges

• Survey of Earned Doctorates (NSF)

• Common Data Sets…search for an individual college's CDS (e.g., "Colorado College Common Data Set").  Sections B and C will tell you all about who they are accepting and what they are looking for in their applications.

• Niche - use with caution as responses can be anecdotal and self-selected; "acceptable" reviews should skew toward average and above; look at the "one word or phrase" areas as well as positive and negative themes that emerge

• PrepScholar

• Peterson's - may be fees

• Chegg - may be fees

• Princeton Review

• College Confidential

• College Board

• CollegeData.com

Reach, Target and Safety colleges are different for everyone, depending on your GPA and test scores.

• A REACH college is one to which you are fall below the median incoming GPA and test scores.  But you can still apply - you may be the person they're looking for!

• A TARGET or MATCH college is one at which the median incoming GPA and test scores are close to what you have.

• A SAFETY college is one at which your GPA and test scores are well above its median incoming GPA/test scores.

The number of colleges to which you apply should be anywhere from 1 to 20:

• If your dream school is also a safety school for you, you may only need to apply to one college!

• Most students apply to 1-3 Reach, 1-3 Target, and 1-3 Safety colleges, to give themselves some options in the spring.

• Great way to pay for college and serve your country!

• Start working on this process your junior year

• ROTC vs Academies - see detailed information here

  • Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is a leadership training and development program that prepares full-time, college-enrolled students for service opportunities in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force (the Coast Guard offers a similar program called the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative [CSPI]). Joining ROTC opens a door to professional skills development, scholarship opportunities and tuition assistance, and, upon completion, attaining the rank of officer. Today, ROTC is offered at more than 1,700 colleges and universities.

  • The Military offers unique educational opportunities for students who plan to pursue a college degree. These options — service academies, senior military colleges and maritime academies — offer world-class education and a deeper understanding of military culture. In addition, these schools grant full tuition in exchange for a period of service commitment.

    • U.S. Military Academy (West Point) - Army

    • U.S. Naval Academy - Navy and Marine Corps

    • U.S. Air Force Academy - Air Force and Space Force

    • U.S. Coast Guard Academy - Coast Guard

    • U.S. Merchant Marine Academy - Merchant Marines

• DODMERB - understand the medical review board process at the beginning of your exploration of military college options

• Academies usually have their own applications

• Apply Direct, for example…

  • University of Amsterdam

  • United Kingdom - UCAS application platform

  • Australia/New Zealand – be aware of different time frames because of their location in the Southern Hemisphere

• American colleges operating internationally, for example…

  • American University of Rome

  • Franklin University Switzerland

  • Temple University Japan

• Dual BA programs with American colleges, for example…

  • University of California Berkeley – SciencesPo de Paris

  • Columbia University – Trinity College Dublin

• Make sure colleges/programs are accredited and recognized in the United States

• Look for language requirements (do you need to reach a certain level in high school?)

• Statistically challenging for everyone (there are 23,000+ valedictorians in this country)

• Legacy students currently have an advantage

• For your application, you'll need:

  • Rigorous course work with excellent grades

  • Excellent test scores

  • Resumé with unique and in-depth activities and achievements

  • Demonstration of initiative (passion project, business, etc.)

  • Leadership, leadership, leadership

  • Service and kindness (e.g., Dartmouth College)

  • Stand out essays

  • Interviews

• Useful Podcasts (Yale Admissions Podcast, Dartmouth Admissions Beat, etc.)

• Cautionary Tale: Operation Varsity Blues (documentary recreation on Netflix)

See this page for detailed information.

• Most states have a Bridge to Bachelor’s-type program to guarantee transfer of credits and admission from community colleges to 4-year public institutions.  This can be a great way to get into a college system in another state you want to live in (e.g., California).

• Pros:

  • Makes the most financial sense

  • Get to try out college level coursework for relatively low cost

  • Satisfy some/all general education requirements

  • Close to home – family support

  • Can work a job at the same time

  • There are some community colleges with dormitories

• Cons:

  • MAY miss out on typical college social and living experiences (but some CCs do have dorms)

  • Quality of instruction may be variable

  • Coursework may not be accepted by college you ultimately choose, particularly if that college is out of state