Once you have completed the Initial Steps, you are ready to start creating a list of potential schools.

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Factors to Consider

Start by looking at the Factors to Consider (below) and identify which ones are most important to you. You don't need to analyze every school on your list by all the factors listed! Pick the factors that are most important based on your needs and start by researching those.

ACADEMIC FACTORS

1. Admission Rate
Depending on how you performed in high school and on entrance testing you may want to apply to schools with higher or lower admission rates. If you aced everything in your academic history, you have a better chance for acceptance at the schools with lower admission rates. On the other hand, if your academic history is less than perfect, make sure you apply to some schools that have a higher admission rate, just in case.
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2. Graduation Rate
Graduating from college is definitely more important than getting accepted.  Review the percentage of students who complete the full program.

3. Freshmen Retention Rate
The percentage of freshmen return for their sophomore year. A high retention rate indicates overall student satisfaction with their first year experience at that school. It also indicates that few students failed their freshmen year, a crucial time for students trying to adjust to college life.

4. Student to Faculty Ratio
How many students are there to each faculty? Can you expect classes sizes of 700 or 50?

5. School Size
Even if the student to faculty ratio is reasonable, analyze the overall size of the school. This can play a huge role in your comfort level, and in how well you fit in. A large school may be overwhelming for some students, but a small school may be underwhelming for others. Do you want to recognize everyone on campus, or do you want to have more privacy?

6. Graduate/Professional School Options
If you have high aspirations of going on to a graduate or professional school, such as law school or medical school, investigate what percentage of four-year college graduates pursue another degree. This metric gives you some insights about whether the school adequately prepares students for continuing their education, and insights into the probability of follow-through for your academic goals.

7. Jobs Right Out of School
If you worry about finding a job when you finish school, consider the percentage of students who receive a job right after graduation. Some schools have excellent job placement programs, assisting their students in making the transition from student to employee, and helping them find jobs after graduation.

8. Curriculum
Different schools offer different programs with their curriculum. For example, as an Engineering student, I had a set of classes that I was required to take, with little deviation apart from electives. Some other schools, such as Brown University, have a more open curriculum, allowing students to have much greater flexibility with the courses they take.

9. Course Availability
I often see advertisements for schools that provide night and weekend courses. Depending on your availability, you may need to choose a school that has those options. These types of schools make it possible for those who must work full-time jobs to also pursue an education.

10. Quality of Department of Study
Review the quality of the department for your area of study. Is the program accredited so you can ensure you're receiving the highest quality education?

11. Accreditation
Review the school’s accreditation. In order to get into graduate or professional school, your undergraduate studies may have to be completed at an accredited institution. Students who attend unaccredited schools are not eligible for financial aid. For well-known universities and colleges, accreditation is almost a given. But with smaller colleges and online schools, this isn’t always the case. Even if an online school is accredited, research graduate schools and professional schools of interest to ensure the schools accept the accreditation.

​Adapted from an article on Money Crasher. See here for original article.

STUDENT LIFE FACTORS

1. On-Campus Living
As important as academics are when choosing a college, student life can be just as important for some young adults. For the most part, student life begins and ends in dorm rooms. If you want an active student life, you need to live with other students. Look for the schools that have a high percentage of on-campus living if you want an active student life. Additionally, if you really want on-campus living, make sure there is availability in the dorms.

2. Location
Location is most likely a factor for every potential student. If you need a school close to home, use the metric of miles or traveling distance to find the best fit for you. In addition, you’ll have to decide whether you want the bustle of a big city, or if rural, small town living will be a better fit for you. 

3. Size of Campus
Consider the geographic size of the campus. Do you want a school where you might have to trek from building to building, taking trains or buses to reach some of your classes? Or do you prefer a small campus, where all the buildings are in close proximity? These are important lifestyle questions that can significantly affect your day-to-day life as a student.

4. Meal Plans
Do the schools offer affordable meal plans? Do students partake in these plans and enjoy the food? Are the meal plans required?

5. Extracurricular Activities
Consider a school’s extracurricular activities, in terms of both number and variety offered. These activities may include clubs associated with a field of study, recreational sports, volunteer groups, and religious organizations. 

6. Safety Statistics
Safety statistics are an important metric of campus life. How well are students protected from crimes? How many college police officers are there compared to the number of enrolled students? When you visit a school, do you see evidence of campus security’s presence?

7. Demographics
Schools always publish demographics information, such as gender, race, and religion. If you have a particular preference, you won’t have to do much research to figure out what school would best suit you.

8. Transportation
Do the schools offer transportation around campus, as well as transportation to off-campus locations such as bookstores, apartments, and shopping? Consider the number of students who have cars on campus, as well as the costs and availability of campus parking. Parking can be a huge ordeal at some schools, causing many students a lot of frustration. On some campuses, first-year students cannot have cars on campus at all, without special permission.

9. Spirituality
If attending a school that follows your religious beliefs is important to you, closely study schools of interest to determine their level of involvement with students’ spirituality. Some schools require that students sign agreements related to their spirituality, or follow some sort of honor code, which might require that students abstain from drinking, or regularly attend church, among other things.
These schools will be staffed with professors and faculty who are like-minded, sharing many common religious beliefs. If you are not religious, you may not be comfortable signing a morality agreement or following an honor code, but you may still find a place in a school that has close ties to spirituality.

Adapted from an article on Money Crasher. See here for original article.

FINANCIAL FACTORS

 1. Cost
Some prospective students may look at pricier schools, but for others, it’s important to afford college without taking out student loans. Remember to include room and board, along with tuition, when calculating the total costs for attending a school!

2. Financial Aid Qualification
Some schools are more likely to hand out student aid than others. If you know you will need help paying for college, look for schools that meet the needs of students requesting financial aid.If you will need financial aid, closely examine the types of financial aid packages available to enrolled students. The school’s website may also provide details about the percentage of students who receive financial aid, and the average amount of financial aid students receive. Also, consider the number of students receiving college scholarships and grants, and review scholarship opportunities for schools to determine eligibility.

3. Working Students
Many college students work while they attend school, but some schools have a higher number of working students and encourage work more than others. Many schools also offer work-study opportunities for students in need of financial aid; the jobs offered by the schools can supplement loans and grants.

Adapted from an article on Money Crasher. See here for original article.

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Creating a List

With your list of important factors you're ready to begin creating a school list. Your list should:

• Contain different types of institutions (example: 2-year, 4-year, and Military Academy) if applicable
• Contain (at least) 5-8 potential schools
• Consist of a combination of “safety,” “fit” and “reach” colleges (see below).

"SAFETY", "FIT", "REACH"

​"Safety" school
A "safety" school is one that accepts almost all students who apply. Most students apply to just one safety, but a student may opt for an academic safety and a financial safety.

"Fit" school
A "fit" school is one the student could happily attend. The student should fit the general admission criteria in academic and social arenas. A good rule of thumb is to have 2-4 probable colleges under consideration.

"Reach" school
These are the top choices, but ones that are less likely to accept the student. This maybe because the student's qualifications match or fall slightly short of the college's average, and the competition for the limited places in the freshman class is intense. Students should have 1-2 schools  in this category.

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Helpful Tools: SchooLinks

There are multiple features within SchooLinks for students to explore schools and save a list of potential schools.

COLLEGES OPEN SEARCH FEATURE

One option for an open search of schools is to use SchooLink's 'Colleges' feature. This is an option for students who don't know where to start but know which factors (see above) are important to them. SchooLink's Colleges feature allows you to search by important factors. You can search by state location, cost per year, size of school, campus setting, public or private, type of school, area of study, selectivity, test scores, sports, etc

Another option for searching schools is to your saved Major to identify schools that offer that Major. (Refer back to the Initial Steps page for information on Careers and Majors). Majors can be added into the search box to add as a search parameter.

This is a useful feature if you know your career and major, but need to identify which schools offer that degree.

DETERMINING

SchooLinks school profiles help you determine which schools are "safety" school, which are "fit" school, and which are "reach" schools.

Each school profile page includes statistics such as: acceptance rate, student demographics, in/out of state students, average GPA of applicants, acceptance rate, and average SAT/ACT scores. You can compare your GPA, SAT/ACT scores and how you compare to students who were accepted into the school last year. This is an efficient way for you to determine if the school is a "Safety", "Fit", or "Reach" school for you.

DIGITAL COLLEGE LIST

SchooLinks Favorite feature allows you to save a list of careers, majors, and schools. Adding items to the Save list makes it easy to refer back to the information at anytime. This is a great option for keeping a digital list of school choices.

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Next Steps

Now that you have your list of potential schools it's time to start the Application Process!