𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞

  (𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏)

With nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, it may seem overwhelming or impossible to figure out where you should apply. It’s no surprise that so many students wonder, “What colleges should I apply to?” and “How many colleges should I apply to?”

Now, of course, the majority of the students in Bangladesh know about the big schools like- MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and other ivy league colleges because of their prestige and generous financial aid. However, many of us don’t know what differentiates these schools from one another or what other lucrative options are available in terms of Prestige, academic rigor, generous financial aid/ scholarships, and Alumni Connections.

Unfortunately, students who are less well-informed about available schools tend to commit one of two major errors while developing their college list:

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: We’ve heard stories of students who applied to 50+ schools in hopes of getting into somewhere prestigious. This is a poor strategy because the quality of each application will likely decrease with each additional school, given limited time and attention.

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆: Students will sometimes apply only to schools they came to know from other students’ success posts and certain famous schools because those are the only ones they’ve heard of. These students miss out on applying to schools that would have been just as strong of a fit for them, if not better. Sometimes even prestigious universities are unfamiliar to students. For instance, I can’t tell you how many times a student interested in attending Harvard or Stanford to study business thought that Penn State and the University of Chicago were less prestigious state schools.

The better strategy is to thoroughly research colleges and universities so you can make well-informed decisions about developing a college list that not only has a balance (i.e., “Reach,” “target,” and “Safety” schools) but also includes only schools that the student would be thrilled to attend. After all, why work so hard for four years just to settle?

To help you navigate the huge world of available U.S. colleges and universities, I will highlight what your most important considerations ought to be, in no particular order.

𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝟏: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨?

Applying to several schools theoretically improves students' chances of admission. When it comes to college applications, however, unlike medical school admissions or admissions to other types of tough graduate programs, the student is concerned with where they will get in, or what if they don’t get in anywhere.

I usually advise making a school list of 20 institutions, with the following breakdown:

𝟱-𝟲 “𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆” 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: A safety school is one where your GPA and ACT/SAT score exceeds the 75th percentile of admitted students. Now, for international students who need generous financial aid, they do not have any safety schools particularly. However, there are schools that give a considerable amount of scholarships based on SAT/ACT scores. Besides, you can find low-cost schools that provide quality education and decent scholarships to make it affordable for you if you have 10-15K expected family Contributions.

𝟴-𝟵 “𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁” 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: A target school is one where your GPA and ACT/SAT scores are somewhere between the 50th and 75th percentile of admitted students.

𝟰-𝟱 “𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵” 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀: A reach school is one where your GPA and ACT/SAT score fall between the 25th and 50th percentile of admitted students.

Keep in mind that highly selective colleges—i.e., those with acceptance rates below 10 percent, such as Ivy League and “Ivy+” schools—should always be considered a reach or far reach, depending on your academic profile. While an incredible extracurricular profile, superb college essays, and applying early decision or restrictive early action will help boost your admissions odds, these schools routinely reject students with perfect grades and test scores, making it difficult to classify them as a target or safe school for anyone.

I’d like to circle back to our previous point about applying only to schools that you would be excited to attend. We routinely see students applying to schools– that they have no actual desire to attend. With so many available colleges and universities, and limited time and attention to apply, there’s no reason to include schools that don’t appeal to you.

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐆𝐏𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧?

Grades and test scores aren't everything, not even close. Colleges practice holistic admissions, meaning they will strongly consider your background, context, extracurricular achievements, honors, essays, letters of recommendation, and personal factors when making admission decisions.

Still, GPA and ACT or SAT scores provide an excellent foundation for classifying schools’ competitiveness. In addition, you can check each school’s Common Data Set to understand their standings and competitiveness in terms of your profile. Communicating the qualitative factors mentioned above is best done through your application essays which I will discuss in a separate blog.

𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝟐: 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Universities, even those within the same tier, offer significantly different majors, programs, and opportunities to their students that warrant a closer look before you add them to your school list.

For example, take Cornell and Dartmouth, both prestigious Ivy League universities in rural settings. If you are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture or hotel management, Cornell may be the better fit because they offer majors in agricultural sciences and hotel administration that most other top-tier schools do not.

Or, perhaps you are interested in pursuing journalism. If so, a school like Northwestern may be an excellent choice given its prestigious Medill School of Journalism, which students can apply to enter as undergraduates.

Or, you might be interested in pursuing a career in Architecture. If so, a school like the New York Institute of Technology may be a great choice given that they have a dedicated school for Architecture and offer both degrees- BS, B.Arch, and facilities like Fabrication labs, Art and Architecture Library. Another option can be Drexel University which offers a 2+4 option in Bachelor of Architecture.

By identifying specific interests ahead of time, you will be better able to narrow down your school list choices. While you may change your mind about your major during college, you should consider the full range of areas that intrigue you now to ensure that the schools on their list can accommodate evolving interests.

Additionally, what opportunities a college offers can play a role in determining fit. I use “opportunities” here as a catch-all term for any extracurricular activities—clubs, athletics departments, volunteering, community partnerships, disability support programs, and so on—offered by a school that you may be interested in or passionate about.

You should do research on your preferred major or program at your schools of choice. That said, your major choice should be consistent or relatable with the interests you’ve demonstrated throughout your high school years. College admissions committees will see through attempts to game the system, like trying to get in as a Russian Literature major in order to take advantage of a higher acceptance rate, without having shown any interest in the subject during high school.

Some Advise: 

#stoptheivycraze 

Many of you are posting about how to get into Harvard/ other IVY Leagues. Yeah, there is nothing wrong. We all have one dream University/College. 

But the problem is with the obsession of Ivy leagues.  Now people want to do ECAS solely for getting into University precisely Ivy leagues. 

You have to understand there is no meaning of doing ECAS without passion, fun. There are a lot of great University. And In undergrad, ranking don't matter that much. People want to get into Harvard because it is popular. 

No.. Putting all the eggs in one bas can harm you. So, don't confine your dream in only ivies. The world is big. Explore it❤️.

Look for other universities.  There are many universities who give full tution scholarship or even full ride and also have great academics. Universities/colleges won't matter if you don’t study. 

So, the purpose of this post is two:

Try not to post about

1. which eca do I need to get into colleges. It depends on your passion.  No one can tell which eca is going to work. That's the purpose of Holistic Process. 

 

And

2. How to get into Ivies without eca. Again, try not to post things like what can fixed my place in Harvard or other ivies or any University of USA.

Take a look of previous posts of the group. It will help you to get an insight about what you need and what you should avoid.

If you really want to get into those University,  work on your profile, explore things, find your passion and do ECAS related to that passion and write best essay and recommendation letter. 

And there is no boundary.  You can have more than one passion.. Follow that passion.

And again, these things can not sure your chance in any University of USA. But one thing you can- HOPE FOR THE BEST.

Explore other universities. We all have a dream to study in Top Colleges.

So, Make ivies your dream, not obsession. 

Poster Credit: Faiaz Azmain

𝐈𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 & 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐢𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝!!!

Thank You!