Match and Fit
College match and fit considers all aspects of a student's academic, financial, and personal needs at a college or university. College Match refers to a college or university’s academic suitability for a student. Academic suitability is based on the prospective student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) and ACT/SAT scores compared to the GPA and ACT/SAT scores of the average student admitted into the college or university. College Fit refers to how a college meets a prospective student’s needs and wants academically, socially, and financially. Good college fits will meet most, if not all, of the student’s preferences in a college. Check out these resources to help your students find the right campus!
Foundational Tools & Resources
Resources for Practitioners
Explore these training modules that provide background information, tools, activities, and materials to use with students. The modules provide guidance on how to incorporate information and resources into existing college advising activities, as well as describe how to use the semi-customized student materials to encourage students to actively engage in their college search.
Identify best practices and case studies for incorporating match and fit into postsecondary advising efforts.
Learn more about helping students find the right campus by exploring NCAN's Fit and Match presentation.
Resources for Students and Families
Explore this online match and fit platform that provides information, advice, and tools to help students explore college and career options
Use this match-and-fit tool to identify best-fit colleges, explore career options, and manage student loan debt. College Raptor also provides personalized college lists and college search tools, as well as personalized scholarship suggestions.
Identify Kentucky Colleges and Universities majors and pathway programs, in-demand jobs, educational requirements, and wages.
Match and Fit.pngAdditional Resources
Resources for Practitioners:
MDRC Brief on Promoting College Match and Fit, Lessons for Practioners: Taking from learnings from a pilot-tested innovative advising program known as College Match in three Chicago Public High Schools, MDRC shares the practical lessons from the program and offers five strategies that show promise that counselors and advisors could integrate into their current college guidance activities.
More than a Dream Using "Best Fit" College Advising to Help Students of Color Succeed: LA-focused study that offers insight into strategies of match and fit to support the success of students of color.
Exemplars:
Toolkit on College Fit by Oregon's GEAR UP: Oregon's GEAR UP toolkit offers educators a resource that provides information on match and fit for students in grades 7 to 9. It includes helpful links and a template counselors could use to advise their students.