Tufts Blogs

Where did the summer go?! Right now my colleagues and I are hustling to wrap up important summer projects before we head out on the road to connect with you, our prospective students. On your end, I’m sure things are picking up speed too, as the Common Application and Coalition Application are now live and you can begin putting words on (virtual) paper. We’re also in the prime window for rising seniors to be finalizing college lists, narrowing down to roughly 8-10 institutions to which you’ll submit applications. For lots of students, list-making can be the most overwhelming, chaotic stage in the college search process, but I happen to think it’s the most fun, so here is my advice for shaping your college list.

As you consider where you’ll spend the next four years, there’s no better place to start than with reflecting on where you have thrived in the past. I grew up in a small town where I sometimes felt constrained by a lack of opportunities in the local community, so when I began researching colleges, my instinct was to assume that bigger meant better. I thought I needed to attend a giant university in a large city in order to have access to the range of majors, classes, student organizations, and experiences that I was looking for. The reality was that I had really flourished - both academically and socially - in my rural, close-knit high school. I deeply valued my strong relationships with teachers and mentors at school, I loved how well I knew the majority of my classmates, and I appreciated how much student voice and ownership were respected by our small school’s administration. For these reasons, I probably should have been considering smaller, undergraduate-focused colleges that mirrored the sense of community and emphasis on student leadership that I had so enjoyed about my high school. While college will certainly be a new experience, don’t underestimate all that you’ve learned about yourself during your first 12-13 years in school. If you spend some time sincerely reflecting, I’m confident you can point to qualities that enhanced your favorite educational experiences. What kinds of settings, peers, teachers, and teaching styles have best facilitated successful learning for you in the past? What kinds of environments have held you back or made it more difficult to invest in your learning? The answers to these questions may tell you something about where you are most likely to excel in college.

Guidebooks and college search tools through College Board BigFuture, College Greenlight, or Naviance SuperMatch can be great starting points to generate an initial list, along with recommendations from counselors or advisors. However, narrowing your list likely requires moving beyond these introductory sources. Reading admissions websites will give you a more robust sense of what an institution offers, while YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms (especially those specific to student groups you anticipate joining) can provide a more authentic, student-produced look at a college’s culture. I often direct students to search for a school’s location on Google Maps to learn more about the layout of the campus, the commercial vs. residential make-up of the surrounding community (shout out to Davis Square), and the distance to a train/bus station or an airport. Reading through class descriptions in the online course catalog and reviewing titles of recent student research projects can help you assess whether the academic offerings at a college resonate with your intellectual goals. And of course, visiting in person, when possible, is the best way to hear directly from current students, get your lingering questions answered by admissions staff, and gauge how comfortable you feel on campus. When visiting isn’t possible, virtual events – including online student panels, live guided virtual tours, one-on-one Zoom appointments with admissions officers, and online college fairs – can also provide a direct, personal connection with folks who represent the campus community.

Reflection and research will help you understand the extent to which a college or university could be a good fit, but I’m also here to remind you that a good college list also requires balance. Maybe you’ve already heard this twelve times from your school counselor or college advisor at this point, but just in case: in addition to fit, your college list should also account for admissibility - your likelihood of being admitted to each institution given the competitiveness of your application - and affordability - the extent to which each college will be a realistic financial option for you and your family. While you might love, love, love a number of uber-selective “reach” schools, you should be certain to apply to an assortment of “possible” or “match” schools and some “likely” options too, schools that you’re excited about and feel confident in your chance of admission. Trust me - applying to at least two likely colleges will ensure that at the end of the day, no matter what your other decision letters say, you’ll be thankful to be in a position to make a choice between at least two colleges before May 1. Colleges’ acceptance rates and admitted student profiles offer some insight into admissibility, but I also recommend speaking to your counselor about your likelihood of admission to particular schools that practice holistic review. Lastly, for many students and families, the net price of college will be an important factor in a final college decision, and therefore it should be an important consideration in shaping your college list. By investigating financial aid policies and utilizing institutions’ Net Price Calculators, you can be more confident that you are applying to colleges that are likely to provide the financial assistance your family requires for a school to be a viable four-year option (hint: Tufts is one of about 80 colleges that meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students).

So that’s it, friends. Shaping your college list is a complex, multi-step process filled with uncertainty, but it also brings the excitement of possibility as you consider your life at the dozens (or hundreds?) of institutions you might be considering. Don’t set out looking for one perfect school; evaluate what you’re looking for and let those qualities guide you to a balanced, cohesive, purposeful list of schools that could be equally exciting environments for you to experience.