How do I research colleges and build a balanced college list?

Hi everyone, I'm a junior and I'm starting to research colleges to build my list. I'm not sure how to determine which schools are reaches, targets, and safeties for me. Also, how many colleges should I apply to? Any tips or resources would be super helpful!

Hello there! It's great that you're starting to build your college list early. Having gone through this process with my own child, I can definitely offer some advice. First, I'd recommend researching schools based on your interests, location preferences, and desired major. Websites like College Board, Niche, and Naviance are helpful resources for comparing colleges and gathering information about them. To determine which schools are reaches, targets, and safeties, you'll want to compare your GPA, test scores, and other factors like extracurricular activities to the average admitted student profile for each college. Generally, reaches are schools where your stats fall below the average, targets are where you're around the average, and safeties are where you're comfortably above the average. It's important to have a mix of these categories in your list. As for the number of colleges to apply to, it varies for each person. A common recommendation is 8-12 schools, with a good balance of reaches, targets, and safeties. Just make sure you're genuinely interested in each school and can manage the application workload. Lastly, attending college fairs, visiting campuses, and speaking with current students or alumni can also help you gain insights into the schools on your list. Best of luck with your college search!