Whether your student is a freshman or entering the last semester of their junior year, you should be looking ahead towards graduation. The first, and obvious question, should be—what’s next? What will your student do after high school? Will they enter the job market, take a gap year off to decide, enter the military, or will college be their next step?
If college is in their future, the college list should be a priority. All decisions, goals and pursuits will be geared toward receiving an offer of admission from those colleges on that list. Those colleges should be chosen with much thought and planning. Your student’s goal is to first be offered admission, and secondly be awarded aid that will pay for the education.
In order to craft a great college list, you and your student must keep an open mind. With over 4000 institutions of higher learning in this country alone, the obvious choices are not necessarily the best ones. Before you haphazardly throw some names onto the list, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Look at the statistics and rise to the top
The best college is the college that fits your student’s academic and social needs, and at the same time is affordable. The last thing you want is for your student to graduate with debt; and the best way to guarantee the most merit aid is to apply to a college where your student is at the top of the applicant pool. If your student’s grades, scores, and extracurriculars exceed those of the average applicant, a college will be more likely to entice him with merit aid (scholarships and grants).
How do you know where your student falls in the applicant pool? Use sites like College Navigator and College Data to compare your student with current students. Look at the figures for admitted students: what is the average test score, what is the average GPA, how much weight do they place on extracurriculars? If your student’s statistics are above these average amounts, the college will consider them a highly desirable applicant.
Step 2: Consider the unknowns
Most students gravitate toward the known colleges—those with national or state recognition. But there are so many excellent colleges within each state that go unnoticed. These are often smaller private colleges offering excellent liberal arts educations. These colleges have alumni that support them and often provide continued support—translating into scholarships and grants to new students. The larger state university may appear cheaper based on tuition, but the smaller private college will often award more merit aid to entice students.
I recommend parents encourage their students to look into the College That Change Lives . These colleges are built on the premise of “building the knowledge, character and values of young people by introducing them to a personalized and transformative collegiate experience.” Also consider technical colleges like Penn College that combine a liberal arts education with hands-on career training.
Here are some other links to research:
13 of the Most Unique Colleges in America
50 Most Underrated Colleges in America
50 Underrated Colleges Doing Great Things
Step 3: It’s all about the numbers
You might be surprised to know that in addition to all the factors students use to choose a college, there is one they might overlook: statistics. While location, major, campus appeal, and others are certainly important statistics will help you and your student make a more informed college choice.
Why statistics? Statistics will help you determine some of the key factors involved in choosing a college. With statistics you increase the odds of your student being accepted, receiving more financial aid, and graduating on time. You can also determine the class sizes, the freshman retention rate and the odds of finding a job after graduation.
Two good sources for college statistics are College Navigator and College Data. These two resources will help you make an informed college choice. Numbers aren’t everything, but consider these eight important stats when you and your student are looking at schools:
- Rankings (simply as a baseline for comparison)
- Financial aid percentages
- Acceptance rates
- Student-to-professor ratios
- Freshman retention rates
- Graduation rates
- Student indebtedness
- Percentage of student who are employed after graduation
Step 4: Let the money do the talking
There’s no point in adding a college to the list if it’s unaffordable. Your student will be disappointed if offered admission and the cost makes it impossible for them to attend. Before applying, research the financial aid footprint of every single college on the list. How much aid do they typically give? How much debt does the average student graduate with? Use their net price calculator and determine what it will cost to attend there before applying. If your student is offered admission, there will be no surprises and disappointment if you do your due diligence before the application process begins.
Colleges offering small percentages of financial aid in the form of scholarships and grants should only be considered if you can pay or your student makes applying to scholarships a priority. You can’t count on scholarships or grants, but your student can certainly do everything to position themselves at the top of the applicant pool to receive them.
Step 5: Do a side-by-side comparison
How do you compare colleges once you have a solid list? Your student should develop their own rankings based on their personal choices and priorities. These items might include the obvious items like academics and location, to such unconventional items like Greek life and campus appearance. List all the items on a chart, giving each item a plus (+) or a minus (-) and tally up the scores. The colleges with the highest scores should make the final list. Colleges with lower scores might not make the list or need further evaluation.
By following these five steps, your student can create a strong college list of colleges that fit them academically, socially and financially. You might discover some hidden gems while navigating the search, just as my daughter did (and fell in love!).