How to Build a College List and Research Schools
Elton Lin
Have you started building your college list yet? While spring of junior year is the critical time to research colleges you want to go to, as well as to start actively demonstrating interest in any schools that you may have already been interested in for a while now, it can be wise to start researching schools in your sophomore or even freshman year. Students can keep an updated document of colleges that interest them, then update that list with more bullets or information as they slowly learn more about additional colleges or specific schools.
(This blog is derived from our free Guide to College Fit: Building a List and Researching Colleges! Read it on our website for a more in-depth rundown on building a college list, researching schools, and more.)
What colleges do you have your eye on? How do you find colleges that fit your needs? In fact, what exactly are these needs — what do you want in a college and in your college experience?
Building a college list that is balanced and suited for each individual student's needs is a difficult task -- but we at ILUMIN are here to help. It all starts with understanding college fit:
How to Search for Colleges
Now, to start building your preliminary college list. The initial search for schools can be broad — this is the time to scour through schools, find ones of interest, and jot them down to evaluate and compare later. Here are some solid ways to start (though with some crucial warnings):
Searching by College Rankings
It makes sense to look at rankings lists, of course, and they’re great for identifying colleges for further research. However, take great caution against building your college list based only on how highly-ranked a college is. Whenever you consult a college rankings list, review the criteria that the list is using, because sometimes they weigh on interesting things, and these criteria may be factors that are completely irrelevant to your personal needs.
Some common college ranking sites are U.S. News, Niche, Princeton Review, Times Higher Education, and Forbes. They’re all flawed in their own way, and they’re all helpful in their own way. Use this resource wisely.Searching by Statistics
Searching by statistics is certainly helpful for identifying colleges, as well as filtering out schools that are very much out of your reach (to the point that you will not succeed there) or are too low of a bar (a place that won’t challenge you at all). There are many online resources that allow you to enter your GPA and test scores into search engines, such as Naviance. That will give you schools that are numerically good matches for a student of your caliber.
However, remember that admissions is holistic. Even if you’re above the 75th percentile for GPA or test scores, you are not guaranteed a spot in a college, and if you’re not above that percentile, your chances are not completely dashed, either.Searching by Major
Many students remain undeclared even through their first year of college, and that’s totally okay; however, if you already know what you want to study in college, searching by major is a good way to sort through your college options. Look up which colleges have an abundance of great resources for the major that you’ve got your heart set on.
When you’re looking by major, be careful that you’re not mixing up undergraduate and graduate programs! Many top colleges are institutions with world-renown graduate programs, and students often confuse a school’s graduate program prestige with what it offers to undergraduate students. Don’t make the mistake of wanting to go to Stanford to study business, which does not exist at the undergraduate level at Stanford—only for MBA programs. Make sure you’re searching within undergraduate circles.
The bulk of your college list should be target schools, with the rest being reaches and safeties (and perhaps a dream school)!
Researching Colleges and Refining Your College List
Once you have a lengthy list of colleges, it’s time to do more in-depth research and see which colleges actually meet your criteria and make the cut to your final college list. Again, there are many factors you should consider, beyond numbers like test scores and GPA, when fine-tuning your list. Here are just a handful of possible criteria, as well as example questions to ask yourself:
Academics
(e.g. Does the college require students to fulfill certain general education requirements, and is that something you’d be interested in?)
Location
(e.g. Do you want quick access to the city, or would you prefer a nature-surrounded bubble?)
Size
(e.g. Does the school have a small, mid-size, or notably large student body?)
Campus Culture, Extracurriculars, and Student Life
(e.g. Do students seem like they have many options for academic and social life balance, and is that important to you?)
Financial Needs
(e.g. What kind of scholarships, merit or need-based, does the school offer?)
Housing and Dining
(e.g. How is off-campus living, and is it affordable, safe, and convenient?)
Accommodations
(e.g. How are the school's accommodations and policies for mental health, disability, religion, etc.?)
Career and Post-Undergraduate Opportunities
(e.g. Are there pre-professional student-run organizations on campus?)
Again, for more questions students can ask themselves to fine-tune their college list, as well as a more in-depth rundown on building a college list, researching schools, and more, check out our Guide to College Fit: Building a List and Researching Colleges, available for free on our website.
Also, if you want to learn more about high school coaching and how we at ILUMIN can tailor a specific plan and college list for your student, feel free to set up a free consultation with us!