Building Your Best College List

Today we’re talking about building your best college list.

Getting into top colleges has gotten tougher each year. There are a lot of reasons, but here are two of the biggest culprits:

First, students are just applying to so many more schools than they used to, with some estimating an average student applies to up to 60% more colleges now than just 10 years ago. If colleges gets double the number of applications for the same number of seats, that means their acceptance rates will get cut in half; it’s a mathematical fact.

Some students over-apply to shop around and see who’ll give them the best scholarship. Others are either too indecisive come application time, or haven’t put in the work to learn about and differentiate colleges they’re considering — like reading through a college’s website or taking an in-person or virtual tour. And some students are so nervous they won’t get accepted anywhere that they’re afraid to cross a college off the list in case that might’ve been the one to accept them.

The second big culprit is that there are just way more students these days. Between population increase, higher graduation rates, and a higher rate of high school graduates heading off to college, there were 50% more American first-years enrolled in college in 2020 than in 1980. And the number of international students enrolled at American colleges more than tripled in that same time period. American colleges have only grown their in-person enrollment at a trickle, so the bottom line is there are just too many butts for not enough seats.

That scarcity of seats has evolved American colleges to where great schools have become Ivy caliber, and good schools have become great. With all the extra competitiveness that entails.

Out of America’s 3,000–4,000 colleges, there are 200-some-odd colleges with acceptance rates below 50%. Most admissions experts will tell you that only 3% of students are enrolled in those colleges.

But, for some reason, competitive students — and parents — get it in their head that those are the only “good“ colleges in America, that students should consider when building their college list, where students can get a great education that will lead to a successful, happy, and prosperous life. Guys, it’s just not true.

Getting into the right school for you starts with building a realistic college list. Ideally, your final list should have somewhere between 5 and 10 colleges, with about 25% safety schools, 50% fit schools, and 25% reach schools. So if you were applying to 10 colleges, about two or three would be safety, about five would be fit, and about two or three would be reach schools.

You can find out from most colleges the average SAT and ACT score range and high school GPA for their most recently accepted class. If your scores and grades are above that, that’s a safety school. If your scores and grades are comfortably in that range, you’d be a competitive applicant, making this a fit school. But if your grades and scores are near the bottom of those averages, that would make this a reach school for you.

And all of these should be colleges you’d be happy going to. There’s no reason to apply to a “safety“ school just because your parents are forcing you, but you’d never in a million years enroll there — like, if you would choose your county college over that four-year school. A good safety school is one that might compete for you, offer you scholarships or honors college opportunities that would elevate your experience there and give you good reasons to select it.

Then there are what I call “lottery ticket“ schools. I’m talking about the eight Ivy League and few dozen other Ivy caliber colleges with acceptance rates around or below 15%; dozens of which are even below 10% or 5%. These are schools where, even if you’re highly qualified, so is everyone else applying, and getting in can still be like finding a winning lottery ticket.

If you’ve visited one or more of these schools, have fallen in love, and can articulate three good reasons why this college is better — specifically for you — than your other safety, fit, and reach colleges, then sure, you’ve got to be in it to win it, and you should absolutely reach for your dreams. Put a couple on the college list you should be building. But remember: your final list should only be about 25% reach schools, not a list with nothing but lottery ticket schools and then one safety just in case. You could easily wind up with over 40, 50, or even 60+ essays to write.

Elite colleges estimate that over 70% of students who apply are eligible based on grades and scores, and the majority of those applicants still get turned down. Are you in the top 10 or 15% of students who think they belong there too?

Are you even in the top 15% of your high school? Because that’s a big part of who you’re competing against when you apply to the same colleges as many of your classmates. No college wants to accept the entire graduating class of a single high school, so they often read each high school’s applicants together and pick the best from each one. That means you may have better grades or scores than the top student at the high school next door, but look mediocre compared to peers at your own high school.

Back in 1998, 37% of high school graduates had an A average. But 20 years later, in 2018, that number had increased by nearly half, to 55%. And everyone with an A average — some in college prep classes, some in honors, and some dabbling in or loading up on AP or IB classes — thinks they’re a top student who belongs at a top college. But academic rigor and class rank count.

The challenge is, though they provide class rank to colleges, so many high schools have stopped providing class rank to students, understandably because it creates a lot of anxiety. But that’s made it hard for students and parents to know where they stand compared to their peers.

The good news is, if you live in New Jersey — which most of my students do — and you’re in the top 15% of your junior or senior class, you’re eligible for the STARS program, which is a full scholarship for up to five full-time semesters at your county college. So even if your guidance department won’t give you your exact class rank, you should definitely be able to ask your counselor if you qualify for the NJ STARS program. Then at least you’ll know if you’re in the top 15%.

If you’re not, then absent some amazing hook like a world record, top athletic recruitment, or a parent or sibling who goes to, went to, or works at one of those lottery ticket colleges, you likely stand such an infinitesimally small chance of getting in that it might not be worth your time to even write the essays in the application.

And even if you are, it can still be like holding out hope on a lottery ticket.

I’m not trying to dash anyone’s dreams here. But I want you to have reasonable goals and realistic expectations when building your college list. There aren’t enough seats at the Ivies for every valedictorian in America, let alone the salutatorians and other top achieving students in America and abroad trying to get in just on their merit, without some other leg up.

So if you’re not toward the top of your class, try to list three reasons why you’re not, then three reasons you should get in instead of someone who is. How about three reasons you’ll still thrive in classes and with professors expecting that caliber of student, or three reasons you couldn’t get a great education at a college with a higher acceptance rate?

You’re getting tough-love Eric today, folks.

Stop valuing colleges by how low their acceptance rate is. Rejecting people doesn’t make them good. And getting accepted by a college that rejects so many applicants won’t make you better.

And I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: colleges know that ranking lists and the people who subscribe to them hold low acceptance rates in high regard, and they know how to juice those numbers to look better through that lens.

And hey, if having that prestige on your résumé really means so much to you, I’ll let you in on a few more secrets: transfer acceptance rates are higher than first-year acceptance rates, so starting at one school and then transferring into that elite university can still get you the same degree; that’s how both of America’s last two presidents got Ivy League undergrad degrees.

And if your plans include grad school, med school, or law school, those acceptance rates are even higher. And in your career, it’s the pedigree of your last alma mater that really matters. Some of these top colleges have way more grad students than undergrads. Many are even primarily graduate universities, with a 2:1 ratio of grads to undergrads.

And let me give you one more tip: if you’re applying — or making your student apply — to a bunch of Ivy League schools where you don’t belong just to brag to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, or family that you got in… Lie to them. That’s right. You can just look them in the face and lie. Tell them you got into Harvard or Yale but got a better scholarship somewhere else, or that some other college was just a better fit for your major or the experience you were looking for. No one‘s ever gonna know. Stop torturing yourself and save all the time of writing those essays and all the money of those lottery ticket applications.

The bonus is that you’ll have more time and attention to devote to writing essays for, learning more about, and demonstrating your interest to the safety, fit, and reach schools that are actually right for you.

Most college applications open August 1, and that’s your target date to finish narrowing down your list of 5 to 10 colleges. So put in the work, and make sure every college on that list you are building is there for a reason, and you can truly see yourself getting accepted to and succeeding there.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.