How To Build a Balanced College List
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What does a balanced college list mean? It is not about having only dream colleges on your list as it is important for you to have realistic expectations about which college will suit you and be the best academically, financially, and socially.
Now the important question that arises is what does a balanced college list look like? As explained in the previous article, all the colleges on your list need to be categorized into “safety,” “target,” and “reach” colleges.
Safety colleges = If your academic profile is stronger than the average 50% of students accepted.
Target colleges = If your academic profile is similar to that average 50%.
Reach colleges = If your academic profile is not as strong as the average 50%.
Similar Article: Types Of College Lists: Reach, Target and Safety Colleges
All of this information can be found on the colleges' website under the category class profile and it is important to know where your academic profile stands in comparison to accepted students in order to manage your expectations. A wide range of colleges should be applied to for maximizing options. Too many reach colleges may lead to no offers of admission.
So how do you assess which colleges are the best fit? If you have a very strong academic profile, applying to only the ivy league universities might seem like a good idea, but considering only “brand names” is not a good strategy. You need to make sure that you will thrive at the chosen college. This means to focus on research activities, courses, and campus life that you are looking for in college life.
Doing research to find colleges that are a good financial fit is also important. The yearly fee and the economy have become major factors in deciding where international students enroll and what course they choose to study. It is normal to be shocked at the tuition fee rates at some colleges and universities, these numbers don’t tell the whole story. If you look into how much financial aid the college offers and whether their admissions policy is either need-blind or need-aware, which means does the college take economic status into consideration.
Some additional tips to create a balanced college list -
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Look into the academic curriculum, student life, campus activities, and financial aid, etc. Identify which of these aspects matter the most to you and see what does the college offers. Do this for every college of interest.
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Keep personal preference into consideration. If you prefer warm weather all around the year then a college in a mountainous region may not be the best fit. Consider the college size, local geography, and the social community when building a list.
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Keep finances in mind. It is important for your parents, who may be helping with the college costs, to be involved in this process as guides. You should contact the colleges regarding financial aid or scholarships and adjust the financial expectations accordingly.
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Build an application strategy. We at Shiksha inform students to think whether applying early decision or early action will help their chances of admission or not. This can radically impact the final list and admissions outcome.
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Also read:
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- Universities in USA1036 Universities
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- Universities in Australia122 Universities
- Universities in Ireland32 Universities
- Universities in New Zealand70 Universities
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