Which Colleges Should I Apply to?

If your high school senior is navigating (read: streamlining) their college list, it’s important to take stock of what kinds of schools make the list. How many schools should your student apply to? What kind of schools? You may have heard some of the buzzwords floating around the college admissions industry (Safety, Target, and Reach), but we think it’s important to generate awareness of current application trends so you, too, can get ahead…with Whitehead.

With all the eyes on the college admissions industry over the past few years, admissions rates are dropping as colleges are becoming more and more selective. As a result, some students have taken it upon themselves to apply to more and more colleges. A recent NY Times article found that some seniors were applying upwards of 35-40 colleges! This scattershot approach, however, does not allow the applicant to show demonstrated interest, a small indicator of an applicant’s interest in actually attending the college (we help students strategize exactly how colleges track demonstrated interest—from emails to admissions reps and campus visits to “attending” webinars and speaking with admissions reps at college fairs—not all schools are created equal). Instead, we ascribe to the quality over quantity mindset. With some colleges charging as much as $80 an application, we believe it’s important to steward parents’ resources intentionally during such a stressful time. As a result, we recommend that students apply to 7-10 schools—and it’s important to delegate schools within specific categories.

Safety Schools:

• In the most simplest terms, acceptance odds can be determined from incoming SAT/ACT scores and GPA scores of admitted freshman applicants (if your applicant falls somewhere within that 50th-percentile of advertised standardized scores and average GPA, understand that acceptance is not a guarantee, but odds will hover around 70-75%).

• Admissions committees tend to lean holistically, meaning that they review all elements of an applicant’s information (essays, leadership opportunities, extracurriculars, volunteering experience, demonstrated interest, and internship/employment resume.

• Aim for 3-4 schools that fit this category

Target Schools:

• These are the schools that, according to online (reported) statistics, advertise standardized entrance test scores and GPA scores that align with your student’s academic roadmap. Again, this isn’t a guarantee litmus test for admissions, but it should give students a general idea of where they stack up against the competition.

• Aim to apply to 3-4 schools that fit this category

Reach Schools:

• These schools are, by some accord, the most important schools to apply to. Not only to they have the potential to give the greatest ROI, but with admissions trends fluctuating from year to year based on statistics your student cannot even control (geographical region, religious affiliation, legacy, first-generation, etc.), we recommend that students apply to 3-4 reach schools.

• This distinction can be determined by pulling SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students within the past couple of years (understanding that the online advertised stats cannot be guaranteed for accuracy), and noting that your student falls outside of the advertised range. For these schools, this means that other aspects of the application portfolio (essay, interview, transcript, extracurricular, etc). would count that much more for a reach school where admitted scores and stats may be just outside of reach.

We hope this helps—be sure and contact us if we can help guide your family in any way!