Choosing the right College for you

1. Ask yourself some questions.

Think about and ask yourself some of the questions that will help you decide on what kind of college will be best for you . You can Visit College Search Step-by-Step to learn about basic college categories and find answers to questions about your preferences.

2. Search For Colleges.

-Use College Search to find colleges that match your preferences. Search for colleges by location, major, size, and more. There's guidance to help you along the way so that you can start building a college list.

3. Add Colleges to your list. 

If you are able to go visit the colleges and make sure you check what the requirements are for each college. Some have different deadlines, requirements such as letters of reccomendations and other things that need to be submitted 

4.What now?

For more about searching for colleges, visit How to Find a College That Fits You.

How Many Schools should I Apply to?

• 3-5 Dream Schools 

• 3-5 Target Schools

• 3-5 Safetly Schools 

1. Whats a Dream School?

• A dream school is a college where your academic credentials fall in the lower end, or even below, the school's average range for the cohort of students accepted the previous year. Dream schools might be long shots, but they should still be possible. Don't let the sticker price of a financial reach school scare you off! Financial need, academic strength, and a college's desire to have you on campus can all influence your financial aid award and make the cost of attendance more manageable.

2. Whats a Target School?

• A target school is one where your academic credentials ( grades , SAT  or ACT scores , and class rank) fall well within the school's average range for the most recently accepted class. There are no guarantees, but it's not unreasonable to expect to be accepted to several of your target schools.

3. Whats a Safety School?

• A safety school is one where your academic credentials exceed the school's range for the average first-year student. You should be reasonably certain that you will be admitted to your safety schools. Like your dream and target schools, these should also be colleges you'd be happy to attend. In addition to admissions criteria, it's a good idea to think about financial aid when creating your list of safety schools—make sure there is at least one school that you know your family can afford on that list.