Hello all! I'm a junior and I'm starting to put together my college list. I've heard that I should have a mix of reach, target, and safety schools, but I'm not sure how to categorize each college. How do I decide which category a college falls into? Thanks for any tips you can share!
Hey there! It's great that you're being proactive about your college search. Having a balanced college list is important, and I can share some tips that helped my own child when they were in a similar situation. To categorize a college as a reach, target, or safety, you'll want to compare your academic profile (GPA, test scores, and class rank) to the average admitted student profile of the colleges you're interested in. Here's a general guideline: 1. Reach schools: Your academic profile is below the college's average or you have less than a 25% chance of acceptance. 2. Target schools: Your academic profile is similar to the college's average and you have around a 25-75% chance of acceptance. 3. Safety schools: Your academic profile is above the college's average and you have a greater than 75% chance of acceptance. Keep in mind that this is just a starting point, and you should also consider factors like location, size, academics, and extracurricular opportunities. Good luck with your college search!
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