How to Determine Good Fit Schools
Elton Lin
What does it mean for a school to be a good fit for an individual student?
“College fit” is a commonplace term in college application conversations, and for good reason. Every college and university is different, as is each individual applicant, and so no school is guaranteed to be a good fit for a student (even if the student is high-achieving, and even if the school is prestigious)!
Many families misdefine “college fit” in terms of whether or not a student’s test scores and GPA are up to par with those of the college’s student body averages. Such a method of evaluation is not only limited to academics, but also boils college education down to numbers, which is a disservice to the depths of what a college education can really do for your student.
We emphasize the importance of finding the college with the right culture, opportunities, and resources for each of our students—but fit is a difficult thing to determine. Here are some resources your student can use to figure out if a school is a good fit for them:
Bigfuture, College Navigator
BigFuture and College Navigator are great places to start researching schools and getting a sense of what your student is generally looking for in a college. Size of student body, campus location, tuition, housing situation, athletics, public versus private, accommodation services, extracurriculars—these are all criteria that can be important in figuring out college fit, and all criteria by which students can filter on these websites.
UNIGO
UNIGO has a college match quiz with results that can add some good fit schools to your student's college list—schools that they may not have known or considered. To find good fit schools for quiz takers, UNIGO considers a plethora of factors, including desired field of study, size of school, test scores, location (and relative to your student's home), personality traits, school selectivity, net costs, and more!
Niche
Niche may be a familiar resource to you and your student, especially to those of you who peruse college rankings. Though college rankings should be used with caution, students can use Niche's large rankings database to their advantage if they have an idea of specific things they want from a college. For example, if your student knows they want a campus with great facilities, food, housing, classrooms, laboratories, and performance venues, then checking out Niche's Best College Campuses ranking should give your student some great schools to consider! Niche also has rankings for Best Professors, Best Value, Best Student Life, Safest Campuses, Most Diverse, and more, which your student can use to discover their own college criteria.
A Guide To College Fit: Building A List And Researching Colleges
Our ILUMIN Guide to College Fit is also a helpful free resource for students! The guide explains exactly what college fit is and why it is so important in college admissions, then gives students the rundown on building a college list (including when to start building your list and what safety, target, and reach schools are). The guide also walks students through not only the initial search for schools, but also the process of researching and refining your list with all kinds of criteria, from academics to extracurriculars and student life to post-undergraduate and career opportunities!
However, we at ILUMIN know full well that each individual student has different needs and priorities when it comes to their college experience and education. If you want to learn more about 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!