As students visit colleges, prepare for their upcoming year of high school and enjoy the final moments of summer, the question that looms is where should I apply to college?
This is an individual question that is based on many factors that have been covered in previous blogs; particularly, I invite you to read “Where should I attend (or apply) – Choosing a college is about fit!” Once you have an idea of what you are looking for in a college [i.e., cost, location, size, academic programs (your major), extracurricular activities, graduation rates, etc.], I recommend applying to three types of colleges – safe schools, target schools and reach schools.
Safe Schools: These are the schools that students know based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) will accept them. A student’s academic background should be stronger than the Middle 50% (consists of ranges of SAT/ACT scores and GPAs/Class Ranks) of students who attend this college.
Target Schools: These are the schools that students believe based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) should accept them. A student’s academic background should be around the Middle 50% of students who attend this college.
Reach Schools: These are the schools that students consider based on their academic background (SAT score, GPA and high school classes) to be a significant stretch to accept them. A student’s academic background will be lower than the Middle 50% of students who attend this college. A student applying to a reach school may be accepted based on their unique talents, such as music, sports, service or other life experiences. More importantly, they can work to improve their comparison to the institution’s Middle 50% by increasing their SAT/ACT scores and GPA.
If you’re looking for a “magic number” of colleges to apply to, I recommend six, which provides two each of safe, target and reach schools. However, I do not recommend that every student apply to six schools – I encourage each student to take this advice and make it their own.
Tags: College Admissions, SAT Preparation
Joe Connell has been helping high school students transition to college for the last nine years through positions in admissions, new student orientation and retention. Currently, Joe is the Director of Academic Services & Testing at Dutchess Community College (NY); he has previous work experience at William Paterson University (NJ), Marist College (NY) and Miami University (OH). Joe has presented on issues related to college students' transition and success at both regional and national levels and has taught both SAT preparation and college courses for the past eight years.
