DEFINITION OF REACH, GOOD CHANCE AND PRETTY SURE THING SCHOOLS
As you compare test scores, GPA and acceptance rates of colleges to your own data, place colleges on your list in one of the following categories:

Don’t forget, all of this is just a guesstimate.

DEFINITION of REACH (aka, Long Shot, Lottery School):
These are colleges at which you have a 25% or less chance of being admitted because your GPA and test scores are less than applicants who have been admitted in the past. To be a Reach,

• Your test scores are near or are in the bottom 25% of accepted students. (Just so you know, students who are accepted in the 25% and less range are often athletes or other kinds of special admit.)

• The acceptance rate is 35% or less.

• Acceptance is possible, but not probable.

adMISSION POSSIBLE® TIP! The most selective colleges tend to admit students with SAT combined Math and Reading scores in the 1500+s or 34+ on the ACT. But even super star students should consider as Reaches any Ivy League schools, the top tech schools such as Cal Tech and MIT and other highly selective colleges and universities. No one can count on being accepted.

DEFINITION of good chance(aka, Target, Good Match, Possible):
These are colleges at which you have a 50% or better chance of being admitted because your GPA and test scores are in the middle 50% of the range of applicants who have been admitted in the past. To be a Good Chance,

• Your test scores fall in the 25th and 75th percentile range of accepted students. (The closer you are to the 75th percentile score, the better your chances are for admission.)

• The acceptance rate is over 35%, and usually closer to 50%.

• You have a decent to good chance of being accepted.