Deciding where you want to apply to college is the first important admission decision you will make. Fortunately, this is a part of the college admissions process over which you have a lot of control, and for many students an exciting, rewarding experience.

DEFINITION of COLLEGE LIST:
A list of between 8 and 12 colleges that is consistent with your GPA and test scores, and also matches your intellectual, personal, social, financial, spiritual and other needs, as well as future career goals. More than anything else, you want to find colleges where you feel at home.

Many students put together college lists without knowing much about colleges. Students hope that they will get accepted to their college list schools, and then hope that they will like where they end up going to school. Hope is neither a good predictor of college match, nor of happiness with one’s final college choice. Self-knowledge and good research about colleges is. That’s what this guide is all about.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The college selection process should begin and end with who you are as a student and person and what you want from an undergraduate college experience. The better you are at finding colleges that match you, the more likely it is you will be accepted by these colleges, and the higher the likelihood that you’ll be happy as a student.

Your goal in creating a college list is to identify colleges that are “best” for you, which may or may not be the “best” according to other people’s judgments or according to the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you must attend the most prestigious school you can get into.

A college’s high ranking does not necessarily mean that its quality of education and lifestyle are right for you. This is not to say that high-ranking schools are bad choices for students. It is a reminder that there are many, many distinctive, high quality colleges and universities with lesser rankings to which high school students apply, get accepted and thrive.