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Thinking About College: Activities Adults and Teenagers Can Do Together

Managing Expectations and Outcomes

When you begin to select schools, it is important to build a healthy list that includes a range of target, likely, and reach schools. Naviance and your counselor can assist you in determining which schools fit in each category for you. Below are definitions of each category.   

What is a target school?

A school where you meet most of the application criteria. You fall within the acceptable range of standardized test scores, GPA, extracurricular activities and other requirements. It is advisable to have about 3-4 schools in this category on your list

What is a likely school?

These are schools where you have a high probability of gaining admission and you generally meet or exceed their admission criteria. Sometimes referred to as "safety" schools. It is advisable to have at least 1-2 schools in this category on your list

What is a reach school?

The admit rate is less than 25% or your academic performance puts you in the bottom quartile of students from the previous year. These schools admit very selectively, so the risk is higher of being denied, even if your academic performance is strong.Statistically speaking, these schools are likely to be out of reach unless there are unique circumstances that set you apart from the applicant pool It is advisable to have about 1-2 schools in this category on your list.

Small schools tend to boast some of the most competitive acceptance rates simply because they have relatively fewer spaces available to offer. Some schools with similar academic statistics will appear much less competitive because they have more spaces to offer.

More Applications = Lower Acceptance Rates

An acceptance rate tells you nothing about your specific chances of getting into a school unless you place yourself within
the greater pool of applicants. If your GPA or test scores fall well below the average of accepted students, it’s likely that
the school will be difficult for you to get into, no matter what the acceptance rate is.

EXAMPLE: 

• College A has 100,000 applicants and accepts 5,000 students-- Acceptance Rate is 5%

• College B has 10,000 applicants and also accepts 5,000 students-- Acceptance rate is 50%. 

Although both schools ultimately accepted the same number of students, their acceptance rates are very different because College A received 10 times the applicants that College B did. The Average College Acceptance Rate is 65%

Other factors to consider instead:

• Yield- # of students who enroll after being offered acceptance

• Graduation Rates

• Class Sizes

-From the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC)-

• Naviance Student

• CollegeBoard- BigFuture

• College Discovery- Slate

• US Department of Ed: College Scorecard

• Encourage App

• CollegeVine- A *free* tool that assists you with college advising. Help with your college search, essays, financial aid through livestreams and virtual counseling. 

• Check out the US News College Personality Quiz for great insights!

A note on Direct Admission- a newer trend

What is direct admissions? (from Niche)
Direct admissions is a form of college admissions that allows colleges to proactively offer acceptance to students they know they would admit. Niche Direct Admissions® allows high school seniors to be immediately accepted to college with a scholarship based on their Niche Profile.

So these have been becoming more popular over the years, the most common programs are:

• Common App Direct Admissions- currently has about 117 colleges that participate 

  • Specifically for First Gen/ low income

  • The organization launched its full-scale program last year, offering over 400,000 first-generation and low-income students direct admissions from 71 colleges and universities. Results showed that 3 out of 4 students who added a school to their college list upon receiving a direct admission offer applied to that school.
    

    • Based on the fact above, seems like once you are offered a direct admission offer you still need to apply. 
      

• Niche Direct Admissions- currently has 108 colleges that participate

  •  Niche Direct Admissions® allows high school seniors to be immediately accepted to college with a scholarship based on their Niche Profile.
    

    • Once you are offered direct admission, you do not need to apply. Before enrolling, a student must take a few final steps, such as verifying their information and/or submitting official transcripts (these steps vary by institution). Once the college confirms the acceptance, the student may submit a deposit and formally enroll.

Essentially this is good for students but also good for colleges because it allows them to reach a pool of students that might not have otherwise engaged with them.

Telling your Story- Academic Profile in HS

Courses Colleges Need/Look for:

English- 4 years

Math- 3-4 years. Competitive schools and programs will want to see Pre Calc and/or Calc

Lab Science- 3-4 years. Competitive schools and programs will want to see Physics

Social Science- 3-4 years

World Language- 2-3 years. More competitive schools and programs will want to see 3 or more years

Electives- 3 or more from the subjects above 

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses- AP courses demonstrate your ability to handle advanced work. Selective colleges view AP courses as a sign of your willingness to accept a challenge and as evidence of your intellectual curiosity. 

However, this does NOT mean you must take AP courses to be admitted to college.  Take what is appropriate for you!